From: andrew@calvin.dgbt.doc.ca (Andrew Patrick)
Subject: SUMMARY: how can I have private newsgroups?
Followup-To: news.software.b
Summary: I still don't have an answer
Keywords: news private newsgroups
Organization: Communications Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 21:28:56 GMT


A while ago I wrote:

> Is there a way for me to have private local newsgroups?
> 
> That is, I have a list of users and they should be the only ones who
> can read and post to this newsgroup.  Better yet, no one else should
> even know about this newsgroup.
> 
> I am using C-News and various news readers.

I received 10 replies from various people, but still do not have a good
answer to my question.

A number of people suggested I use a mailing list.  I already have one
of these, and I still want a private newsgroup.  Newsgroups are much
better for following threads, archiving discussions, etc.

Some other people talked about modifying sys files to make sure the
newsgroups are not distributed to other systems.  This is not the
problem.  I want to restrict these groups to only a certain list of
users on the local machine.

One person suggested that the Waffle BBS software could do the job.  I
am hesistant to try this since Waffle costs money (this is for a
FreeNet with little or no budget) and will probably require building a
whole news system for one or two private groups.

Another person suggested that group permission in the news/spool
directory might work, and I have not tried this yet.

So, if anyone has any further ideas, I still want to hear about them.



Here is a partial digest of the replies I received:

>From jrd@nocturne.boulder-creek.ca.us  Sun Dec 20 21:20:56 1992
Subject: Re: how can I have private newsgroups?
From: "J.R. Dean" <jrd@nocturne.boulder-creek.ca.us>
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 92 18:59:24 PST


Get Waffle BBS software for Unix.  I'm forwarding the ad file to
you.  I run the DOS version, and I have over a dozen local forums/
newsgroups.  Waffle for Unix integrates well with C-news or B-news.

Note: You can also gate/post mailing lists to local groups.



--------
>From Patrick.McCurdy@Corp.Sun.COM  Tue Dec 22 17:41:14 1992
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 14:46:03 PST
From: Patrick.McCurdy@Corp.Sun.COM (Patrick McCurdy)
Subject: Re: how can I have private newsgroups?


I have achieved this by setting up a mail alias on my workstation.
*You* add those people who *you* want.  The only folks who know
about it are the ones whom you tell about it.

You can put an entry in your /etc/aliases file that references
a file that contains the addresses of those folks you want on the 
alias.  I have been doing this for about six months, and it has
worked splendidly.


Patrick


--------
>From burgess@hrd769.brooks.af.mil  Fri Dec 18 12:00:14 1992
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 11:04:53 -0600
From: burgess@hrd769.brooks.af.mil (Dave Burgess)


  Using innd, you can create a newgroup with an unused first atom.  I'm
sure you can do the same in C-news.  I use ARMSTRONG as the first atom
of all of my private groups, and then never send them to anyone I don't 
want to get them...

TSgt Dave Burgess

...

Oh,  I misunderstood.

  There are no methods available at this time to do that.  There are a couple
of workarounds that might work, but they are very software specific.

  What we need is an exclude/include file that limits access.  There has been 
some talk about this in this newsgroup before, but no one that I am aware of
has ever implemented such a beast.

TSgt Dave Burgess


--------
>From ulogic!ulogic!hartman@netcom.com  Mon Dec 21 12:19:16 1992
Subject: Re: how can I have private newsgroups?
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 92 9:15:53 PST
From: hartman@uLogic.netcom.com


I believe it is called a "mailing list".


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Work away today, think about tomorrow.		|
Never comes the day, for my love and me.	|	-Richard Hartman	
I feel her gently sighing			|	hartman@uLogic.COM
as the evening slips away....			|



--------
>From pat@jaameri.gsfc.nasa.gov  Fri Dec 18 13:42:02 1992
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 13:41:47 EST
From: patrick m. ryan <pat@jaameri.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Re: how can I have private newsgroups?


	what you want is a mailing list, not a newsgroup.

pat

--
"I have a cunning plan." -- Baldric
                                                             patrick m. ryan
     nasa / goddard space flight center / oceans and ice branch / hughes stx
                     pat@jaameri.gsfc.nasa.gov / zmpmr@charney.gsfc.nasa.gov


--------
>From riemann@gmdzi.gmd.de  Mon Dec 21 13:34:47 1992
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 19:34:14 +0100
From: riemann@gmd.de (Claus Riemann)
Subject: Re: how can I have private newsgroups?


I have the same problem. If all users would use nn, it's trivial
(see faq-nn), but we have Un*x-, Mac-, and PC-users....

The only solution I found was to write a nntp-client-server, acting
like the NNTP-Server for a special group of users, mirroring the normal
newsgroups from our official server and offering some additional
newsgroups. Access will be controlled by IP-Number. 

If you will receive better ideas, I would appreciate to get them, too.

Thanx in advance,
   --cla

P.S.: No, there is no implementation the idea above... (Hm, one of my
      if-I-have-time-I-will-implement-this project.)

**********************************************************
German National Research Center for Computer Science (GMD)
Claus Riemann (I3.MMK)           Phone: (+49 2241) 14-2865
Postfach 1316                       riemann@gmd.de
5205 Sankt Augustin 1              Don't dream it - Be it!


--------
>From slb@heidi.acc.Virginia.EDU  Fri Dec 18 12:32:17 1992
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 12:31:58 EST
From: sandy <slb@heidi.acc.Virginia.EDU>
Subject: Re: how can I have private newsgroups?




Andrew,
   About the only way I know of to approximate what you
are talking about is to use group permissions - that is
make the /usr/spool/news/xxx directory owned by a certain
group and add the readers of that newsgroup to the group
in /etc/group.   Other people would still know about the 
group, but they couldn't read the articles in it.  This 
only works if all your readers read news locally - i.e. you
don't use nntp to read news from other machines, and if you
are running a Unix that allows users to be in more than one
group at once (older system V is the only I know of that 
doesn't allow this, but there might be others).

If you get an answer about another slicker way to do this,
or a way to do this with nntp, please forward a copy to me.
This is a problem that lots of people are interested in
solving, I think.


----
sandy bryant
slb@virginia.edu



-- 
Andrew Patrick, Ph.D.       Communications Research Centre, Ottawa, CANADA
                       andrew@calvin.dgbt.doc.CA
                       
  For a good time, run "telnet debra.dgbt.doc.ca" and login as "chat".
Xref: sparky news.software.b:3623 news.software.nntp:1719