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Commit 324915c0 authored by rswindell's avatar rswindell
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Several updates to address sysop FAQs.

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docs/newslink.txt
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......@@ -5,12 +5,21 @@ $Id$
Background
----------
NewsLink is an external module written in JavaScript for Synchronet v3.1+.
It is used to link one or more Synchronet sub-boards with one or more
USENET (or other NNTP network) newsgroups on one or more news servers.
NewsLink is an external module for Synchronet BBS Software v3.1+.
It is used to link one or more Synchronet sub-boards (aka message areas)
with one or more USENET (or other NNTP network) newsgroups on one or
more News Servers.
The source code for NewsLink (if you're interested) is contained in the
files newslink.js and newsutil.js in the Synchronet EXEC directory.
News Servers use the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) to transfer
messages to and from a News Client (aka newsreader). Popular News Clients
include Microsoft Outlook Express, Netscape Communicator, Mozilla, Pine,
Xnews, and many others. NewsLink emulates a News Client based on the NNTP
standard. News Servers normally listen for incoming connections on TCP
port 119 and usually require an authenticated user login.
NewsLink is written in 100% JavaScript and the source code (if you're
interested) is contained in the files newslink.js and newsutil.js in the
Synchronet EXEC directory.
Step-by-Step Installation/Configuration
......@@ -35,15 +44,15 @@ been completed for you.
8: Execution Frequency 48 times a day
9: Requires Exclusive Execution No
10: Force Users Off-line For Event No
11: Native (32-bit) Executable No
12: Use Shell to Execute No
13: Background Execution No
11: Native (32-bit) Executable <doesn't matter>
12: Use Shell to Execute <doesn't matter>
13: Background Execution <doesn't matter>
14: Always Run After Init/Re-init No
You may change the Execution Frequency to suit your needs.
2. Go into SCFG->Message Areas and create a new Message Group for your USENET
messsage areas. Example:
messsage areas (assuming you're linking to a USENET News Server). Example:
[USENET Group]
1: Long Name USENET Newsgroups
......@@ -51,8 +60,13 @@ been completed for you.
3: Internal Code Prefix USENET_
4: Access Requirements
Note: At this point you may want to login to your New Server with a regular
News Client (aka newsreader), retrieve a list of available newsgroups
and make a list of the newsgroups you would like linked into your
BBS's message areas.
3. Now go into SCFG->Message Areas->USENET->Sub-boards and create some
sub-boards to link to USENET newsgroups. Example:
sub-boards to link to newsgroups on the News Server. Example:
[alt.bbs.allsysop Sub-board]
1: Long Name alt.bbs.allsysop
......@@ -69,33 +83,48 @@ been completed for you.
12: Purge by Age Disabled
13: Duplicate Checking Enabled (10000 message CRCs)
4. For each USENET sub-board, set Network Options->Internet (UUCP/NNTP) to
"Yes".
4. For each NewsLinked sub-board, set Network Options->Internet (UUCP/NNTP)
to "Yes".
5. Edit your ctrl/newslink.cfg file:
A. Change the "SERVER" line to specify the host name or IP address of the
USENET news server you are linking with.
B. Change the "USER" and "PASS" lines to specify the username and password
you must use to login to the above USENET news server.
C. For each USENET sub-board you configured in step 3, add an "AREA" line,
specifying each sub-board's "Internal Code". Example:
AREA USENET_ALLSYSOP
D. OPTIONAL: If you wish to download all existing newsgroup articles on
the news server (rather than just the newly-posted articles) for all the
linked newsgroups, add the line "FLAGS I".
WARNING: Using this feature may cause the initial newslink execution
News Server you are linking with. If the News Server is listening on a
non-standard TCP port (e.g. other than 119), you will need to add a
"PORT" line specifying the TCP port number of the server.
B. If the News Server requires an authenticated user login, change the
"USER" and "PASS" lines to specify the username and password you use
to login to the above News Server. If the "USER" line is missing or
commented-out (with a semicolon), then no user authentication will
be attempted (sometimes called "anonymous login").
C. For each sub-board you configured in step 3, add an "AREA" line,
specifying each sub-board's "Internal Code" (from SCFG->Message Areas).
Example: AREA USENET_ALLSYSOP
D. By default, NewsLink will only import articles (aka messages) posted
*after* the first scan of the newsgroups (i.e. it will not import
*any* articles during the first run). If you want NewsLink to import
*all* existing articles for *all* linked newsgroups (potentially many
*thousands* of messages, depending on the News Server), add the line
"FLAGS I" (case insensitive).
WARNING: Using this feature may cause the initial NewsLink execution
to take a long time to download all the existing articles (potentially
many thousands) that may be stored on the news server.
E. Remove or comment-out the "DISABLED" line.
many thousands) that may be stored on the News Server.
E. Remove or comment-out (with a semicolon) the "DISABLED" line.
6. Now you may force the NEWSLINK timed event to run. In SBBSCTRL (Win32 GUI),
you can do this by clicking BBS->Force Timed Event->NEWSLINK, or for the
console or NT services versions of Synchronet, you can touch or create the
file data/newslink.now to force the event to run.
7. Watch your events log for the newslink execution progress and details.
7. Watch your events log for the NewsLink execution progress and details.
Remember, if the 'I' flag was not specified (globally or per-newsgroup)
in your ctrl/newslink.cfg, then no articles (aka messages) will be imported
during the first run and only newly-posted articles will be imported on
subsequent runs.
Area Flags
----------
......@@ -105,33 +134,38 @@ be specified globally (for all linked areas) using the "FLAGS" line.
The supported flags characters are:
x do not add tearlines & taglines to exported messages
n do not add "From Newsgroup" text to imported messages
t do not add tearline to imported messages
a convert extended-ASCII chars to ASCII on imported messages
r remove "Newsgroups:" header field from imported messages
b decode binary attachments
i import all articles on first run (not just new articles)
s no subject filtering (do not check against text/subject.can)
x do not add tearlines & taglines to exported messages
n do not add "From Newsgroup" text to imported messages
t do not add tearline to imported messages
a convert extended-ASCII chars to ASCII on imported messages
r remove "Newsgroups:" header field from imported messages
b decode binary attachments
i import all articles on first run (not just new articles)
s no subject filtering (do not check against text/subject.can)
To specify one or more flag characters for a specific area, you must use the
following "AREA" line syntax:
AREA <sub-code> <newsgroup> <flags> [attachment_dir]
AREA <sub-code> <newsgroup> <flags> [attachment_dir]
where:
<sub-code> is the sub-board's complete internal code (including the
group's code prefix, if there is one).
<sub-code> is the sub-board's complete internal code (including the
group's code prefix, if there is one).
<newsgroup> is the name of the newsgroup as it is represented on the
News Server. If this field is missing or is less than 2 characters in
length, the newsgroup name from SCFG is used.
<flags> is the optional list of flag characters.
<newsgroup> is the name of the newsgroup as it is represented on the
news server. If this field is missing or is less than 2 characters in
length, the newsgroup name from SCFG is used.
[attachment_dir] is the optional destination directory for decoded
binary file attachments (only used with the 'b' flag)
<flags> is the optional list of flag characters.
Examples:
[attachment_dir] is the optional destination directory for decoded
binary file attachments (only used with the 'b' flag)
AREA USENET_ALLSYSOP alt.bbs.allsysop nib /sysop_attachments
AREA USENET_ALLSYSOP - asr
Multiple Servers/Config Files
......@@ -140,21 +174,21 @@ ctrl/newslink.cfg is just the default NewsLink configuration file name. If you
specify the path to a different file on the "?newslink" command-line, NewsLink
will use that configuration file instead. This allows you to have multiple
NewsLink timed events configured with different configurations for different
news servers.
News Servers.
Command-line Options
--------------------
Other supported NewsLink command-line options:
-d enable debug output
-ri reset import pointers (import all)
-ui update import pointers (import none)
-re reset export pointers (export all)
-ue update export pointers (export none)
-ne no e-mail addresses
-nm no mangling of e-mail addresses (disable anti-SPAM measures)
-ix [n] import a fixed number (n) of articles/messages (default is 500)
-d enable debug output
-ri reset import pointers (import all)
-ui update import pointers (import none)
-re reset export pointers (export all)
-ue update export pointers (export none)
-ne no e-mail addresses
-nm no mangling of e-mail addresses (disable anti-SPAM measures)
-ix [n] import a fixed number (n) of articles/messages (default is 500)
JSexec
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