[leafnode-list] argosoft news 1.0.1.9 and combit news mgr 1.0.1 break RFC-1036 (was: fetchnews: no Path: found)

[Matthias Andree <matthias.andree@xxxxxx>]

ArgoSoft, Combit,

a user of my open source software, leafnode, an off-line NNTP proxy,
reported trouble with your news server software to the leafnode mailing
list in search for help.

As it turns out, your software omits the Path: header as is mandated by
the 16-year-old standard RFC-1036 when articles posted by newsreaders
don't contain this header (they usually don't as this header is inserted
by a server if missing), and therefore returns articles to news clients
that are not RFC-1036 compliant. For details, please see
http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1036.html section 2.

Please repair your software in this respect so as to increase
compatibility of your software, and to leave your customers the free
choice of their news reader.

Thank you.

Original report with list commentary below. Note that a group reply will
also reach the mailing list after I approve of your response.


Martin Ritter, 2004-01-23:

> I need to fetch news from servers which don't provide a Path: header. As
> this is violating some RFC, fetchnews is discarding all their articles. Is
> there any way to force fetchnews to tolerate a missing Path: header?

RFC-1036, issued in late 1987, marks this header as mandatory in section 2.
I have no sympathy for software that breaks this RFC without being fed
grossly malformatted input (which it is not - it breaks all articles).

As ArGoSoft is commercial software and Combit also appear to be a
for-profit company, I'm not inclined to add workarounds without getting
a cent.  Leafnode works well with standards compliant news servers.

Feel free to forward this mail to the news admin or support staff of
news.vistasoftware.com.

> Servers are:
>   news.vistasoftware.com
    runs argosoft news for NT 1.0.1.9

>   nntp.combit-news.net
    runs combit news manager 1.0.1

-- 
Matthias Andree
Leafnode maintainer
-- 
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