RE: Command line for news?

At 08:06 PM 11/5/99 -0800, you wrote:
>Al,
>Do you have the URL to the obsolete I-D which describes how to put the
>username/password in a "news" URL?  If no URL, could you please just give me
>a sample URL which shows the correct syntax?
>

Allow me to repeat the URL I gave in the message you replied to:

 <http://www.access.digex.net/~asgilman/uri/news/draft-gilman-news-url-02.txt>

The syntax is merely inherited from the generic URI syntax Proposed
Standard i.e.


news://user:pass@node.domain.path/etc.

It reads like what in RFC 1738 was called the nntp: URL scheme with only
the change
of nntp: to news: because the two cases are distinguishable already without
giving them separate names.

The association of a password with that username is a function of the node,
not the newsgroup.  So the form including authentication information
involves saying at what node the authentication is done.

HOWEVER, the client software should take a news: URL without the username
and password, pass it off to the NNTP client module and when the NNTP
server says that authorization is required, the client should then present
the user with a dialog for entering this.  The communication with the
remote server will be in NNTP, not in URI.

If the clients in use on your intranet will do this, that is the better way
to go.  You may even find that the OS has a friendly authentication
information safe that will remember this for you in a safer way than
leaving it lying around in URLs in web pages.  

>Note, the Newsgroup is in a Intranet, so security is not an issue...

I don't want to get into a discussion of why this does not follow.

Al

>
>Thanks,
>Carl Prothman, MVP, CCP
>http://www.able-consulting.com
>
>
>
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Al Gilman [mailto:asgilman@iamdigex.net]
>> Sent: Friday, November 05, 1999 10:16 AM
>> To: Larry Masinter; Carl Prothman, CCP

>> Cc: uri@w3.org
>> Subject: RE: Command line for news?
>>
>>
>> At 08:38 AM 11/5/99 -0800, Larry Masinter wrote:
>> >At the time RFC 1738 was written, there were no news servers that
>> >required a password. In any case, putting passwords in URLs is never
>> >a good idea, ever.
>> >
>> >It wouldn't be bad to dust off the "news" specification (as well
>> >as the others) so that we could obsolete RFC 1738 completely.
>> >
>>
>> There is an obsolete I-D which describes how to put username and password
>> in a 'news' URL and why not to.
>>
>> So far as I know there has been no further work beyond
>>
>> <http://www.access.digex.net/~asgilman/uri/news/draft-gilman-news-
>> url-02.txt>
>>
>> I will at least answer questions on why certain things were done as they
>> were in that draft and could perhaps do some further editing if there is a
>> need.
>>
>> Al
>>
>>
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: Carl Prothman, CCP [mailto:carlpr@able-consulting.com]
>> >> Sent: Friday, November 05, 1999 8:32 AM
>> >> To: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu; masinter@parc.xerox.com;
>> timbl@www.cern.ch
>> >> Subject: Fw: Command line for news?
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Given the spec at Uniform Resource Locators (URL)
>> >> http://info.internet.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc/files/rfc1738.txt
>> >>
>> >> Is there a way to specify the Username and Password for a News Server
>> (if it
>> >> requires one)? If not, why was this left out of the spec?
>> >>
>> >> Thanks,
>> >> Carl Prothman, MVP, CCP
>> >> http://www.able-consulting.com
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Steve Cochran <scochran@chattanooga.net> wrote in message
>> >> news:...
>> >> > Hi Carl,
>> >> >
>> >> > I did some more rfc hunting and the best specification I can find is
>> here:
>> >> >
>> >> > http://info.internet.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc/files/rfc1738.txt
>> >> >
>> >> > There is no provision for username and password in that spec.
>> >> >
>> >> > cheers,
>> >> >
>> >> > steve
>> >> >
>> >> > Carl Prothman <carlpr@able-consulting.com> wrote in message
>> >news:z18KwxYJ$GA.1252@CPMSBNEWSW01.betanews.com...
>> >> > > What would be the syntax if there was a Username and Password
>> required for
>> >> > > the server?
>> >> > >
>> >> > > --
>> >> > >
>> >> > > Thanks,
>> >> > > Carl Prothman, MVP, CCP
>> >> > > http://www.able-consulting.com
>> >> > >
>> >> > >
>> >> > > "Steve Cochran" <scochran@chattanooga.net> wrote in message
>> >> > > news:e95wN4QJ$GA.1444@CPMSBNEWSW02.betanews.com...
>> >> > > > Hi Jessie Louise:
>> >> > > >
>> >> > > > Try this
>> >> > > >
>> >> > > > news://newserver/messageid

>> >> > > >
>> >> > > > e.g.
>> >> > > >
>> >> > > >
>> news://msnews.microsoft.com/ecczni0E$GA.210@cppssbbsa02.microsoft.com
>> >> > > >
>> >> > > > cheers,
>> >> > > >
>> >> > > > steve
>> >> > > >
>> >> > > > "Jessie Louise" <jl_mcclennan@compuserve.com> wrote in message
>> >> > > > news:uKL1EGmI$GA.1504@CPMSBNEWSW02.betanews.com...
>> >> > > > > Hi,
>> >> > > > >
>> >> > > > > I can use a command line in the format
>> >> > > 'news:///
>> >> > > > to
>> >> > > > > open a newsreader to a specific group but how do I specify the
>> >> > > following?
>> >> > > > >
>> >> > > > > 1.  UserID/logon - I know how to do this with 'ftp://'
>> but all my
>> >> > > > > experiments with news:// have failed.
>> >> > > > >
>> >> > > > > 2.  How do I create a link that will send someone to
>> an particular
>> >message
>> >> > > > > in a group?
>> >> > > > >
>> >> > > > > Thanks.
>> >> > > > >
>> >> > > > > Jessie Louise
>> >> > > > >
>> >> > > > >
>> >> > > >
>> >> > >
>> >> > >
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>

Received on Saturday, 6 November 1999 11:44:02 UTC