venta@i2ack.sublink.org (Paolo Ventafridda) (09/28/90)
Some messages ago, lear@turbo.bio.net was putting some ideas for a list-server program. Well, RNA 2.0 can be used as a list-server with little work. [I hope that by the time you read this, RNA 2.0 will already be out on comp.sources.misc ] All i have to do is adding a new keyword inside the parser (for instance 'ADD', 'REMOVE' or whatever, along with their aliases) and put an appropriate handling inside interpreter. Inside RNA you already deal with a bunch of useful variables deducted from mail's header. Like: $UUCP_SENDER , $ARPA_SENDER etc. Actually the only requested thing is that email has to contain '@@' on the line with rna commands. Rnalib 2.1 will contain also list-server cababilities. If you have good ideas about features, please let's talk about it here so the program can come out the way you like. Of course, if rna is not on sources.misc save this article and forget it by the time being.... Ciao, Paolo -- Paolo Ventafridda - Milano, ITALY | INTERNET: venta@i2ack.SUBLINK.ORG
tim@maths.tcd.ie (Timothy Murphy) (10/05/90)
In <1621@i2ack.sublink.org> venta@i2ack.sublink.org (Paolo Ventafridda) writes: >Some messages ago, lear@turbo.bio.net was putting some ideas >for a list-server program. Well, RNA 2.0 can be used as a >list-server with little work. >[I hope that by the time you read this, RNA 2.0 will already be > out on comp.sources.misc ] Not yet, as far as I can see. Nelson Beebe (of TeX fame) kindly sent me a very small Unix list-server. (If anyone wants a copy, ask me. If the number is vast, I'll post it.) But this program didn't do quite what I wanted, and led me to think that the term 'list-server' is somewhat ambiguous. Perhaps what I was looking for should be called an archive-server -- a program which sent out requested files. The program as it stands is what might be called a mail-server -- it allows people to 'subscribe' to a mailing-list. I must say I was surprised to find that almost all the existing list-servers run on IBM machines. They run more or less standard software, serving both the functions described above. -- Timothy Murphy e-mail: tim@maths.tcd.ie
ahd@kendra.kew.com (Drew Derbyshire) (10/06/90)
From article <1990Oct5.150135.26313@maths.tcd.ie>, by tim@maths.tcd.ie (Timothy Murphy): > The program as it stands is what might be called a mail-server -- > it allows people to 'subscribe' to a mailing-list. > > I must say I was surprised to find > that almost all the existing list-servers run on IBM machines. > They run more or less standard software, > serving both the functions described above. That's because BITNET, an IBM NJE protocol based network, has as a high percentage of IBM boxes as USENET has UNIX boxes, and the Revised LISTSERV processor was written for Bitnet by a Frenchman, Eric Thomas, in Paris. It's widely accepted on BITNET bewcause getting files is harder than the Internet (no FTP- effectively, all personal and public files are mailed), but cheaper than USENET (because BITNET links normally use dedicated telephone lines, sending as much data as fits is as cheap as not using the line). Given that many USENET hosts pick up the costs for for each call (and length therefore), running a list server can easily involve real costs.
shaver@convex.com (Dave Shaver) (10/09/90)
tim@maths.tcd.ie (Timothy Murphy) writes: >Perhaps what I was looking for should be called >an archive-server -- a program which sent out requested files. I wrote an archive-server in Perl. It could easily be made into a list-server, too. Via FTP, look on elroy.cs.iastate.edu (129.186.3.15) in /pub/servers/csdserv.TZ (it's a compressed tar file). The other servers in that directory were written by other people. My server is based in great part on the Multihouse Mail Server written by jv@mh.nl (Johan Vromans). Thanks go to Johan for sharing his work! /\ Dave Shaver \\ CONVEX Computer Corporation \/ Internet: shaver@convex.com UUCP: uunet!convex!shaver