Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!netsys!jsheese!jeffery
From: jeffery@jsheese.FIDONET.ORG (Jeff Sheese)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: References line (RFC1036)
Message-ID: <62.246A2DCC@jsheese.FIDONET.ORG>
Date: 12 May 89 00:32:17 GMT
Organization: JStek Enterprises - Frederick, MD
Lines: 40

In an article of <11 May 89 17:09:22 GMT>, brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes:

 >All I am pointing out is the non-obvious fact that once you write 
 >software to deal with the References line, you find out that it is all or
 >nothing, like the 'great renaming'.   If 5% of sites refused to do the 
 >great renaming, then they would have either had to leave the net or the 
 >great renaming would not have worked.

In that case I have a suggestion.

I'm reading and entering news on an IBM PC/AT compatible using the UFGATE  
version 1.03 software and MSGED.  UFGATE is a gateway between Fidonet and  
Usenet.  MSGED is a Fidonet (FTSC) compatible message editor.  Simply put,  
UFGATE converts my messages to news messages, and incoming news to FTSC  
messages.  Since I don't have the source code for UFGATE, I can't change it.   
Since it's shareware, I'm not gonna hound the authors to change it overnight.

However, the editor I use has the capability of putting message lines at the  
header of every message.  It's completely user configurable, and the source  
code is available for personal modification.

Now the kicker.  When I export an FTSC message from MSGED to usenet using  
UFGATE, the headers are automatically added.  Everything else is considered  
the body of the message, therefore a blank line is added between the header  
lines added from UFGATE.  Anything I add at the top of the message appears  
after this blank line.

If RFC1036 were changed to relax the restriction of all the header lines  
appearing before the blank line, I could be compatible by configuring my  
editor to place these lines in there automatically.

I'm not suggesting that everyone change to meet my specifications, but I'm  
sure that I'm not running the only message editor that's so user configurable.
 
--  
Jeff Sheese - via FidoNet node 1:109/116
UUCP: ...!netsys!jsheese!jeffery
ARPA: jeffery@jsheese.FIDONET.ORG
(I am sole owner.  My opinions represent my company.)
(Send all flames to null@jsheese.Fidonet.ORG)