allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) (10/10/87)
As quoted from <2701@vdsvax.steinmetz.UUCP> by barnett@vdsvax.steinmetz.UUCP (Bruce G Barnett): +--------------- | Another idea: perhaps Rev C news, ( or next version of RN) should | stress the idea of primary newsgroup (i.e. the first newsgroup in the | list). I use savenews (aka keepnews) to archive articles, and it only | stores one copy under the first newsgroup on the newsgroup line. +--------------- Agreed. It would also help the following, which I repost periodically as a service to the net.... LIMITING THE PROPAGATION OF NEWS TO INAPPROPRIATE NEWSGROUPS Quite often, someone posts an article to a wide range of newsgroups (usually the subject of the article warrants such crossposting), and many replies are generated; but the replies don't belong in more than one or two of the original newsgroups. Since the Followup-To: line defaults to the contents of the Newsgroups: line, the replies end up all over the place. My solution was to teach "rn" to limit the Followup-To: line automatically. The following line, added to /usr/lib/news/rn/RNINIT (or wherever you hide your RNINIT file) will automatically limit the Followup-To: list to the first newsgroup in the Newsgroups: line, and works on both replies and new articles. I've been using it for over a year without any problems. The line below is "split" for the benefit of mailers/inews'es which have line length limits. Delete the `\' character at the end of each line and join the lines together without spaces between them (from vi, type the commands "$xJx" at the end of each line except the last one) and place the result in your system-wide RNINIT file. -ENEWSHEADER="Newsgroups: %F\\nSubject: Re: %S\\nReferences: %R\\n\ Reply-To: %L@%H.UUCP (%N)\\nFollowup-To: %(%F=^\\([^,]*\\),.*$?%1:%F)\\n\ Distribution: %D\\nOrganization: %o\\n\\n" WARNING: IF YOU ARE AN INTERNET SITE OR ARE REGISTERED WITH THE UUCP PROJECT, THE Reply-To: LINE ABOVE IS INCORRECT AND MUST BE CHANGED TO REFLECT YOUR PROPER DOMAIN. As this RNINIT line is invoked on every posting, it should limit the number of followups to inappropriate groups generated by new articles. As it also is invoked on followups, it will help to curb the propagation of inappropriate followups to existing articles posted without this feature. Yours for a better net, -- Brandon S. Allbery, moderator of comp.sources.misc {{harvard,mit-eddie}!necntc,well!hoptoad,sun!mandrill!hal}!ncoast!allbery ARPA: necntc!ncoast!allbery@harvard.harvard.edu Fido: 157/502 MCI: BALLBERY <<ncoast Public Access UNIX: +1 216 781 6201 24hrs. 300/1200/2400 baud>> "...he calls _that_ a `little adventure'?!" - Cmdr. Ryker
msb@sq.UUCP (10/14/87)
[{...} designates opinions]
Bruce Barnett and Brandon Allbery have discussed the topic of reducing
inappropriate cross-postings, in articles cross-posted to news.admin
and news.software.b. As this {is} as an inappropriate cross-posting,
I am now adding news.misc, where the topic {belongs}, and redirecting
followups there.
Bruce and Brandon suggest that the news software should support the
notion of "primary newsgroup". This is {bad}. If an article is on the
topic of travel to C-speaking countries, it is EQUALLY appropriate for
both rec.travel and comp.lang.c, and so are any followups as long as
they stay on that topic. If the followups only go to one newsgroup,
interested people who don't subscribe to both groups may miss them.
When the topic drifts to travel in general, then {and only then} should
the newsgroup list be restricted to rec.travel; if the drift is the other
way, to a C-language topic, then the list should be restricted to comp.lang.c.
I do support the use of better software to restrict indiscriminate cross-
posted followups, but "primary newsgroup" {isn't} the way to do it.
{Obviously better} is to have the software that posts followups detect
the cross-posting case and interactively prompt the poster as to whether
to include each newsgroup, as someone else suggested recently.
Is this article still appropriate for each of:
Newsgroups: soc.men,soc.women,soc.misc
? [ny] y
REALLY? [ny] n # oh, all right
Include soc.men? [ny] y
Include soc.women? [ny] y
Include soc.misc? [ny] n
Such intelligent software {should} also warn when a Followup-To: line is
different from a Newsgroups: line, for it is the followupper's prerogative
to ignore the original poster's Followup-To:, as I did here, if they feel
it was badly chosen; but to do so they first have to notice that it exists.
Since most news is not archived, the impact of different methods on the
archiving {is} of lesser importance than the impact on normal reading.
Anyway, a sensible archiving system {ought} to handle cross-postings
properly in the first place.
Others' opinions on the value of these contrasting approaches, and others,
are invited...in news.misc.
Mark Brader I've always wanted to be a mad scientist!
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto Or perhaps just mad!
utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com -- Robert L. Biddle