problem with 'news' url draft

I have got the following from Keith Moore, co-AD for Applications
concerning my Internet-Draft on the 'news' URL scheme (which
actually defines three scheme names: news, nntp, snews; all with
the same syntax outside of the scheme identifier).

> A separate port for news+ssl is unacceptable for standards-track;
> it introduces security holes and wastes ports.

The offending language in the draft is:

> When the scheme is news, the default port (in server) is 119.
> When the scheme is snews, the default port (in server) is 563.

So:

Are snews URLs used?  Is news+ssl offered with any regularity?
Is port 563 generally used for this?

Should this be discouraged?  Actively or passively, by failing to
bless this usage with a Proposed Standard?

Al Gilman

You can find the draft at

<http://www.access.digex.net/~asgilman/uri/news/draft-gilman-news-url-01.txt>

pending its arrival in the archives.

Received on Thursday, 5 March 1998 20:27:24 UTC