Organization: The American University
Approved-By:  Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.BITNET>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pacs-l
Date:         Tue, 25 Aug 1992 12:00:09 CDT
From:         Jim McIntosh <JIM@american.edu>
Subject:      Re: Prospect Research on the Net news message
X-cc:         PACS-L Owners <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.BITNET>
              24 Aug 92 12:54:25 -0400 from <reggers@julian.uwo.ca>

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
On Mon, 24 Aug 92 12:54:25 -0400 Reg Quinton said:
>I'll Cc: the people managing the gateway. They should be honoring the original
>From: line and not worrying about the Sender: line -- I think it's a bug
>in their gateway software. Or perhaps there's something odd about the way
>we're mailing the article off to them.
>
>You have done nothing wrong.

The user reads the newsgroup on a remote system (hence the NNTP). When
the user posts, using nntp, news detects the fact the newsgroup is
moderated and mails the post to a mailpath site rather than posting it to
the newsgroup (or possibly sends it directly to the moderator). The
mailpath site has a list of moderators for each newsgroup and forwards
the post to the moderator for bit.listserv.pacs-l. The moderator approves
the post and forwards it to the ListServ mailing list, which explodes a
copy out to each subscriber. One of the subscribers is the gateway
machine (the first time the gateway is involved) which posts the article
to the newsgroup. The headers are not changed, except to insert the
NETNEWS line to identify the gateway.

The path, then, is:

   user -->
     news -->
      (mailpath -->)
         moderator -->
           mailing list -->
             gateway -->
               newsgroup -->
                 Usenet distribution (mostly nntp)

So, where is the header getting mangled? Well, we know it is okay coming
from the user and we know it has been changed by the time it gets to the
gateway. If the moderator would capture a message we could see if it is
manged prior to the moderator getting it (ie, in news or in the mailpath
site) or after (in the ListServ).

>There's a sender line because your article is posted on julian by someone
>else (namely news). That's all well and good. That's how NNTP is supposed
>to work. User news is the person who posts the article for you.

Actually, julian should sense that the newsgroup is moderated and the has
not been approved. julian should not post the article, but should instead
route it to the moderator via the mailpath site (or directly).

>Since the newsgroup is moderated you article is sent off to the newsgroup
>moderator and ends up posted as an article

Yes, but only via the long convoluted path described above. Any one of
these places could be changing the header.

>I'll Cc: the people managing the gateway. They should be honoring the original
>From: line and not worrying about the Sender: line -- I think it's a bug
>in their gateway software. Or perhaps there's something odd about the way
>we're mailing the article off to them.

I'd have the moderator capture a message to see how they receive it. My
guess would be either in the e-mail process to the moderator (via a
mailpath site if you use one), in whatever process the moderator uses to
approve the post, or in the ListServ mailing list software.

Jim McIntosh (jim@american.edu)  (Gatekeeper for PACS-L to b.l.pacs-l)
The American University
Washington DC 20016-8019 USA
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU