Path: utzoo!utstat!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!mips!twg.com!david From: david@twg.com (David S. Herron) Newsgroups: news.software.nntp Subject: Re: May an NNTP client omit the Message-ID header line? Message-ID: <7598@gollum.twg.com> Date: 16 Jul 90 00:56:37 GMT References: <1990Jul10.182236.1@arizona.edu> Reply-To: david@twg.com (David S. Herron) Organization: The Wollongong Group, Palo Alto, CA Lines: 25 In article <1990Jul10.182236.1@arizona.edu> leonard@arizona.edu writes: ... > NNTP Serious Error: 441 Invalid headers - Message_ID: header missing.. ... >It seems clear, in a reading of RFC's 977 and 850, that the Message-ID >header line is REQUIRED. Why, then, do the U*x news readers typically >omit it? Should this requirement be relaxed, and should the NNTP >servers create a Message-ID when they receive a posting that lacks one? Well.. the news system (at least with standard off-the-shelf software) is responsible for creating the Message-ID on newly-posted messages. It would be reasonable for the news reader to create the Message-ID, but only if it can do it in a way which is GAURANTEED to not create any duplicates. In the ancient times when rn was written I suppose a scheme to do that hadn't been developed. In any case NNTP didn't exist in that eon, so it was much easier to just toss the article at `inews -h' and let the news system take care of it.. -- <- David Herron, an MMDF weenie, <- Formerly: David Herron -- NonResident E-Mail Hack <- <- Sign me up for one "I survived Jaka's Story" T-shirt!