Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!seismo!styx!mcb
From: mcb@styx.UUCP
Newsgroups: news.admin,news.software.b
Subject: Re: Interesting bad article header
Message-ID: <21404@styx.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 22-Apr-87 16:41:00 EST
Article-I.D.: styx.21404
Posted: Wed Apr 22 16:41:00 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 24-Apr-87 03:18:48 EST
References: <867@xanth.UUCP>
Reply-To: mcb@styx.UUCP (Michael C. Berch)
Followup-To: news.software.b
Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA
Lines: 93
Xref: utgpu news.admin:303 news.software.b:500
Summary: The gratuitous ".UUCP" in rn/Pnews-generated Reply-To: lines

In article <867@xanth.UUCP> john@xanth.UUCP (John Owens) writes:
> I'm sure many of you have seen old problem of the From: lines that
> don't end in .UUCP or .ARPA getting .UUCP added along the way, but
> this is an interesting twist that I've seen once or twice in the last
> few months:
> 
> [Other header lines deleted. . .]
> From: shaffer@operations.dccs.upenn.edu (Earl Shaffer)
> . . .
> Sender: root@super.upenn.edu.upenn.edu
> Reply-To: shaffer@operations.dccs.upenn.edu.UUCP (Earl Shaffer)
> 
> Here, the From: address is fine, but the Reply-To: field gets the
> .UUCP!  If people along the Path: of this message will let me know
> whether or not it is like this at their site, I'll collect the
> information and notify the appropriate news administrators (and also
> post here).
> -- 
> John Owens		Old Dominion University - Norfolk, Virginia, USA

This was not added along the way; it can be ascribed to rn and Pnews. 
When rn invokes Pnews to post a followup, the template file is based
on the content of the string NEWSHEADER, which is taken from the
environment if present; if not, the default is defined in common.h as
follows:

	/* $Header: common.h,v 4.3.1.4 86/10/31 15:46:09 lwall Exp $
	 [. . .]
	 * 
	 */
	[. . .]
	#ifndef NEWSHEADER		/* % */
	#   ifdef CONDSUB
	#	define NEWSHEADER 
	"Newsgroups: %(%F=^$?%C:%F)\n
	Subject: %(%S=^$?%\"\n\nSubject: \":Re: %S)\n
	Summary: \n
	Expires: \n%(%R=^$?:References: %R\n)
	Sender: \n
	Reply-To: %L@%H.UUCP (%N)\n
	Followup-To: \n
	Distribution: %(%i=^$?%\"Distribution: \":%D)\n
	Organization: %o\n
	Keywords: %[keywords]\n\n"
	#   else
	#	define NEWSHEADER 
	"Newsgroups: %F\n
	Subject: Re: %S\nSummary: \n
	Expires: \nReferences: %R\n
	Sender: \n
	Reply-To: %L@%H.UUCP (%N)\n
	Followup-To: \n
	Distribution: %D\n
	Organization: %o\n
	Keywords: %[keywords]\n\n"
	#   endif
	#endif

[I have reformatted the lines for readability.]

If you invoke Pnews from the shell, its template is based on
$(rnlib)/Pnews.header, which contains the following:

	[. . .]
	$cat > $tmpart <<EOHeader
	Newsgroups: $ng
	Subject: $title
	Expires: 
	References: 
	Sender: 
	Reply-To: $logname@$sitename.UUCP ($fullname)
	Followup-To: $follow
	Distribution: $dist
	Organization: $orgname
	Keywords: 

	EOHeader


In both cases there is a gratuitous ".UUCP" which will mess up the
Reply-To: lines for sites who are not in the .UUCP pseudo-domain.
The From: line will NOT be messed up, since it is added by inews
itself, over which you have lots of control via the HIDDENNET,
GENERICFROM, MYDOMAIN, etc. definitions in news 2.11.

The short-term solution is to modify rn/common.h and rn/Pnews.header
to suit yourself, and the long-term solution is to advise Larry Wall
of a better fix and prepare it for him so that it can go in the next
patch or release of rn.

Michael C. Berch
ARPA: mcb@lll-tis-b.arpa
UUCP: {ames,ihnp4,lll-crg,lll-lcc,mordor}!styx!mcb