Re: [leafnode-list] Setting Path header

[otr <o.rousseaux@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark Brown wrote:
> 
> Thinking about it I can't see any reason why Leafnode is trying to set
> the Path: header on postings.  AFAICT it doesn't use the header itself
> and I would be very surprised if an upstream server got upset because
> it was omitted.  Conversely, it could expose unwanted information and
> possibly interfere with the distribution of the article if it got set to
> an unfortunate value.
> 
> Surely it would be simpler and cleaner if Leafnode didn't give any
> special consideration to Path?

I agree, and at last hosts with private Internet address (rfc 1918) might not
appear in the path header.

Another alternative would be to set this as an option in the configuration
file.

rfc850 (Standard for Interchange of USENET Messages) says :

The Path line is not used for replies, and should  not  be
taken  as  a  mailing address.  It is intended to show the
route the message  travelled  to  reach  the  local  site.
There  are  several  uses for this information.  One is to
monitor USENET routing for performance  reasons.   Another
is  to  establish  a path to reach new sites.  Perhaps the
most important is to cut down on redundant USENET  traffic
by failing to forward a message to a site that is known to
have already received it.   In  particular,  when  site  A
sends  an article to site B, the Path line includes   "A",
so that site B will not immediately send the article  back
to  site  A.   The  site  name  each site uses to identify
itself should be  the  same  as  the  name  by  which  its
neighbors  know  it,  in  order  to make this optimization
possible.
....

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