• nntp

...> nntp ...

The 'nntp' commands control the operation of the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). The nntp features are defined at compile-time. Two NNTP modules are available:

• NNTP which is an NNTP client only, that stores news in a mailbox-compatible form

• NNTPS which is both an NNTP client and server, that stores news articles in a form inaccessible to mailbox users.

NNTP

We first describe the "NNTP" nntp client features:

nntp addserver <nntpserver_host> <interval> [<range>] [<groups>] Add an NNTP news server to query every <interval> seconds for new articles in the specified <groups>.

• <range> specifies the time-of-day limits when the queries will be made, in the form hh:mm-hh:mm where start time precedes end time.

• Multiple 'nntp addserver' commands may be used to concatenate groups (up to a maximum of 512 bytes).
• Example: nntp add w5ddl.ampr.org 3600 18:00-06:00

nntp directory [ <News_spool_dir> [News_control_dir> ] Display or set the spool directory for spooling news articles. Default is /spool/mail. Optionally set a new control directory. The default control dir is /spool/news.

nntp directory old=new Establish a newsgroup name mapping, so that a newsgroup name beginning with <old> is changed to one beginning with <new>, which may be a null string. To delete a mapping, use <old>==. The mapping scan continues until the list is exhausted, in the same order the nntp dir commands were specified. Examples:

• nntp dir  rec.radio.=
  nntp dir  amateur.=
  nntp dir  shortwave=swl
  nntp dir  equipment=eq

will map rec.radio.amateur.policy to policy, rec.radio.swap to swap, rec.radio.shortwave to swl, and rec.radio.amateur.equipment to eq.

nntp dropserver <nntpserver_host> Drop the specified NNTP server from the list of servers to contact.

nntp firstpoll [<#days>] Default: 5 Sets or shows the number of days of old news that is requested in the initial poll to a new server.

nntp groups <group> [<group> ...] Default: All groups Display or set the currently set USEnet newsgroup(s). The group names are separated by spaces or commas. The '*' and '!' metacharacters (meaning 'all' and 'not' respectively) are supported.

nntp kick <nntpserver_host> Kick the local NNTP client to get in touch with the named server.

nntp listservers List the currently defined servers.

nntp lzw <ON | off> Turn on or off attempts to request LZW compression be used by the server when sending articles.

nntp maxcleints [<count>] Displays or sets the maximum number of simultaneous NNTP client sessions that will be allowed. The default is 0, that is, no limit (except that imposed available memory).

nntp trace <level> Default: 1 Sets or shows the current trace level for NNTP traffic.

• Level
  • 0: No tracing.
  • 1: Display serious errors only
  • 2: Display serious and transient errors
  • 3: Display serious and transient errors, plus session progress
  • 4: Display serious and transient errors, session progress and actual received articles
  • 5: Display errors.

nntp quiet <yes | NO> Default: no Sets or shows the current arrival-notification setting for NNTP traffic. The notification will include a BEL character if "smtp quiet no" is in effect.

NNTPS

We now describe the "NNTPS" client/server commands. Remember that the 'start nntp' command must be used to allow the nntp server to accept connects from other nntp clients.

nntp active Displays the active file, which shows configured newsgroups. See 'nntp create'.

nntp access [on | OFF] Displays or sets whether access permissions are enforced. When enabled, the file /spool/news/access is scanned to determine the access permissions for a client host. Each line of this file has fields of the form: host:permissions: where host is explicit hostname (FQDN) or starname, eg, *.aara.org and permissions are a string of chars: R => read, P => post, none=>deny access. When access is turned on, hosts not mentioned are DENIED nntp access.

nntp add <nntpserver_host> <interval> [<range>] [<groups>] Add an NNTP news server to query every <interval> seconds for new articles in the specified <groups>. If no <groups> are specified, all groups found in /spool/news/active are checked.

• <range> specifies the time-of-day limits when the queries will be made, in the form hh:mm-hh:mm where start time precedes end time.

• Multiple 'nntp add' commands may be used to concatenate groups (up to a maximum of 512 bytes).
• Example: nntp add news.usl.edu 3600 usl.test,rec.radio.swap

nntp create <news.group.name> [y|n] Updates the /spool/news/active file, which must have an entry for each news group you wish to receive. Choose y to permit posting to this group, or n to deny posting. y is assumed if nothing is specified. The /spool/news/pointer file is also updated with the path to the directory which will contain the articles. Articles will be stored as separate files, named by an integer corresponding to their arrival order.

nntp drop <nntpserver_host> Drop the specified NNTP server from the list of servers to contact.

nntp dump <newsgroup> [<area>] Dump all the news articles in <newsgroup> to the JNOS area called <area>. This would allow mailbox users to read news, but no provisions are made to dump just new articles. If <area> is omitted, then <newsgroup> is used as the area name. Note: this command is unavailable if JNOS was compiled with #define NEWS_TO_MAIL (see note 4 below).

nntp firstpoll [<#days>] Default: 5 Sets or shows the number of days of old news that is requested in the initial poll to a new server.

nntp ihave [<val>] Default: 0 Set or display the IHAVE nntp-protocol behavior. The IHAVE protocol tells the server the message-ids of articles stored here; it is used to forward articles off this system.

1. 0 => IHAVE disabled (default)

2. 1 => IHAVE reports only for newsgroups associated with serverhost

3. 2 => IHAVE reports for all newsgroups

nntp kick <nntpserver_host> Kick the local NNTP client to get in touch with the named server.

nntp list List the currently defined servers.

nntp lzw <ON | off> Turn on or off attempts to request LZW compression be used by the server when sending articles.

nntp post Posts to a local newsgroup. A session is created, and the console user is queried for UserName (unless established by a prior 'nntp profile' command), Newsgroup, Subject, and message body. While entering the msg, a line consisting of ".u" or ".r" will then prompt for a file name, which is inserted into the article being built. "/EX", "***END" or "." will end the article when found alone on a line. When the message body is terminated, the prompt [Send, Abort, Exit, List] is displayed. Enter the first letter of the desired choice. Note that Exit quits the post subcommand, while Abort (or Send) allows you to post another article.

nntp profile {fullname|host|organization|reply|sig|user} string_value Profile establishes values for the header fields of posts originating here. Options include:

• sig path_to_signature_file
• host FQDN Defaults to our 'hostname'
• fullname "First Mi. Lastname"
• organ "organization name desired"
• user "user name"
• reply reply-to-address

nntp read <newsgroup> [<article_number>] Reads the local <newsgroup>, beginning with the first unread article unless <article_number> is also provided. A session is created for displaying the articles. After each article, a prompt "Read next/previous? (n/p/q) " allows the console user to easily progress through the articles.

nntp quiet [<val>] Default: 0 Dispays or sets the value if the quiet behavior flag. Nntp will display a message and/or beep when a new article arrives:

• 0 => beep only (default)

• 1 => beep and display msg

• 2 => no msg or beep

NOTES:

1. See the expire command for information on removing old articles.

2. The TO: addresses, when present, are stripped from article headers by the NNTP client. This was done to prevent loops should the area be forwarded to another JNOS system, since the TO: address would cause the msg to be routed back to the mail-to-news daemon. If you want to forward an area, give the TO: address on the line in forward.bbs that lists the area. Example: rec.radio.swl all@swl
3. The NNTPS software includes a mail-to-news feature, such that email with a To: address that begins with "!" is passed to the NNTPS module. The remainder of the To: address is interpreted as a newsgroup name, with the name truncated at the first occurrence of one of "%@.,/", and with "!" translated to "." and "+" to ",". An alias is usually used to provide this special name. For example, to route all ALLUS bulletins to both the allus area, and the ampr.allus newsgroup, use the alias: allus allus !ampr!allus To do the above task, and also post to local.allus, use: allus allus !ampr!allus+local!allus
4. The NNTPS software includes a news-to-mail feature, such that news articles can be emailed to local or remote destinations after they are processed by nntp. This would allow, for example, emailing to a public area, so that BBS users too could read news articles. JNOS must be compiled with #define NNTPS and #define NEWS_TO_MAIL and a file /spool/news/gateway must exist to define the mapping from a newsgroup to an SMTP To: address. Each non-comment line in the gateway file must begin with a newsgroup name (starnames OK), followed by spaces or tabs, followed by the email To: address. Examples:
   1. # comment line
   2. rec.radio.swapsale
   3. rec.radio.shortwaveswl
   4. rec.radio.amateur.* ham