automatic crossposting

I participate in the newsgroup "alt.fan.cecil-adams". Since lots of
people (including me, unless I do something about it) are going to lose
access to alt.* in the next few weeks, we are going to move to
"misc.facts.straight-dope" (which was newgrouped with that purpose in
mind). One step in migration is consistent crossposting. So far I've
been manually adding ",misc.facts.straight-dope" to the Newsgroups line
with every post. But this is error-prone, and is a PITA. Is there a
way to get trn or leafnode to do this automatically?

--
-eben (E-Mail Removed)P
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1111001 1100001 1101100 1110100 1111001 0101110 1101101 1101001 1101110
1100101 0101110 1101110 1110101 0111010 0111000 0110001 0101111

In comp.os.linux.networking on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:08:50 GMT, Hactar
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I participate in the newsgroup "alt.fan.cecil-adams". Since lots of
> people (including me, unless I do something about it) are going to lose
> access to alt.* in the next few weeks, we are going to move to
> "misc.facts.straight-dope" (which was newgrouped with that purpose in
> mind). One step in migration is consistent crossposting. So far I've
> been manually adding ",misc.facts.straight-dope" to the Newsgroups line
> with every post. But this is error-prone, and is a PITA. Is there a
> way to get trn or leafnode to do this automatically?

I don't think trn can do what you want, but you should be able to get
the desired results if your text editor is sufficiently advanced to
support scripting.

Pseudocode:

if file is a news article
if Newsgroups line contains af-ca
if Newsgroups line does not contain mfs-d
add msf-d to Newsgroups line
endif
endif
endif

This isn't the best newsgroup in which to get such questions answered;
try news.software.readers or comp.editors.

--
PJR :-)

<http://pjr.lasnobberia.net/>

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
Peter J Ross <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> In comp.os.linux.networking on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:08:50 GMT, Hactar
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > I participate in the newsgroup "alt.fan.cecil-adams". Since lots of
> > people (including me, unless I do something about it) are going to lose
> > access to alt.* in the next few weeks, we are going to move to
> > "misc.facts.straight-dope" (which was newgrouped with that purpose in
> > mind). One step in migration is consistent crossposting. So far I've
> > been manually adding ",misc.facts.straight-dope" to the Newsgroups line
> > with every post. But this is error-prone, and is a PITA. Is there a
> > way to get trn or leafnode to do this automatically?
>
> I don't think trn can do what you want, but you should be able to get
> the desired results if your text editor is sufficiently advanced to
> support scripting.
>
> Pseudocode:
>
> if file is a news article
> if Newsgroups line contains af-ca
> if Newsgroups line does not contain mfs-d
> add msf-d to Newsgroups line
> endif
> endif
> endif

It's vim, so it probably is; but I have no idea how to do it.

> This isn't the best newsgroup in which to get such questions answered;
> try news.software.readers or comp.editors.

Noted, thanks.

--
-eben (E-Mail Removed)P http://royalty.mine.nu:81

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands,
hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -- H.L. Mencken

On Jun 19, 2:08*am, ebenZERO...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote:
> I participate in the newsgroup "alt.fan.cecil-adams". *Since lots of
> people (including me, unless I do something about it) are going to lose
> access to alt.* in the next few weeks, we are going to move to
> "misc.facts.straight-dope" (which was newgrouped with that purpose in
> mind). *One step in migration is consistent crossposting. *So far I've
> been manually adding ",misc.facts.straight-dope" to the Newsgroups line
> with every post. *But this is error-prone, and is a PITA. *Is there a
> way to get trn or leafnode to do this automatically?

Are you guys really going to change the rest of the world to work
around a broken provider? That doesn't seem right to me.

If everything these providers seek to filter moves, they'll just move
the filter. Everyone else will have gone through the inconvenience of
moving, and you'll be back where you started.

In any event, isn't it generally considered wrong to move content to
evade a filter? If the entity placing the filter doesn't want to
change it, then they *want* to filter the content.

DS

On 2008-06-19, Hactar <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I participate in the newsgroup "alt.fan.cecil-adams". Since lots of
> people (including me, unless I do something about it) are going to lose
> access to alt.* in the next few weeks, we are going to move to
> "misc.facts.straight-dope" (which was newgrouped with that purpose in
> mind). One step in migration is consistent crossposting. So far I've
> been manually adding ",misc.facts.straight-dope" to the Newsgroups line
> with every post. But this is error-prone, and is a PITA. Is there a
> way to get trn or leafnode to do this automatically?
>
If you use leafnode, you could write a script that modifies files in the
outgoing directory (usually /var/spool/news/out.going) before running
fetchnews.

In article <7ba8cc76-f828-45b3-85af-(E-Mail Removed)>,
David Schwartz <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> On Jun 19, 2:08 am, ebenZERO...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote:
> > I participate in the newsgroup "alt.fan.cecil-adams". Since lots of
> > people (including me, unless I do something about it) are going to lose
> > access to alt.* in the next few weeks, we are going to move to
> > "misc.facts.straight-dope" (which was newgrouped with that purpose in
> > mind). One step in migration is consistent crossposting. So far I've
> > been manually adding ",misc.facts.straight-dope" to the Newsgroups line
> > with every post. But this is error-prone, and is a PITA. Is there a
> > way to get trn or leafnode to do this automatically?
>
> Are you guys really going to change the rest of the world to work
> around a broken provider? That doesn't seem right to me.

Who's this world of which you speak? We only aim to change AFCA.
Besides, the newsgroup was created when AOL dumped their screaming
masses on the net back in 93 or so, but has lain fallow since that
time.

> If everything these providers seek to filter moves, they'll just move
> the filter. Everyone else will have gone through the inconvenience of
> moving, and you'll be back where you started.
>
> In any event, isn't it generally considered wrong to move content to
> evade a filter? If the entity placing the filter doesn't want to
> change it, then they *want* to filter the content.

I haven't heard anything about them wanting to quash a text-only
newsgroup. Besides, just because they use a tacnuke to kill a
mosquito doesn't mean we have to sit by and become collateral damage.

--
-eben (E-Mail Removed)P royalty.mine.nu:81
If you need someone to blame
Throw a rock in the air
You'll hit someone guilty -- U2, _Zooropa_, "Dirty Day"

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
Bill Marcum <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> On 2008-06-19, Hactar <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > I participate in the newsgroup "alt.fan.cecil-adams". Since lots of
> > people (including me, unless I do something about it) are going to lose
> > access to alt.* in the next few weeks, we are going to move to
> > "misc.facts.straight-dope" (which was newgrouped with that purpose in
> > mind). One step in migration is consistent crossposting. So far I've
> > been manually adding ",misc.facts.straight-dope" to the Newsgroups line
> > with every post. But this is error-prone, and is a PITA. Is there a
> > way to get trn or leafnode to do this automatically?
> >
> If you use leafnode, you could write a script that modifies files in the
> outgoing directory (usually /var/spool/news/out.going) before running
> fetchnews.

Does leafnode have hooks for such a script?

--
-eben (E-Mail Removed)P royalty.mine.nu:81
Answer: two spoonfuls in my cup, please.
Question: how much should I use? (why top-posting is bad)
http://www.fscked.co.uk/writing/top-posting-cuss.html

On 2008-06-22, Hactar <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>
> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
> Bill Marcum <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> On 2008-06-19, Hactar <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> > I participate in the newsgroup "alt.fan.cecil-adams". Since lots of
>> > people (including me, unless I do something about it) are going to lose
>> > access to alt.* in the next few weeks, we are going to move to
>> > "misc.facts.straight-dope" (which was newgrouped with that purpose in
>> > mind). One step in migration is consistent crossposting. So far I've
>> > been manually adding ",misc.facts.straight-dope" to the Newsgroups line
>> > with every post. But this is error-prone, and is a PITA. Is there a
>> > way to get trn or leafnode to do this automatically?
>> >
>> If you use leafnode, you could write a script that modifies files in the
>> outgoing directory (usually /var/spool/news/out.going) before running
>> fetchnews.
>
> Does leafnode have hooks for such a script?
>
Fetchnews is invoked by a script, either by cron or, for those who
still use dial-up, one of the if-up scripts. On aioe.org they recommend
a script to remove the Date: line so the server can add its own. (posts
with an incorrect date are assumed to be spam).

Hactar wrote:

> In article <7ba8cc76-f828-45b3-85af-(E-Mail Removed)>,
> David Schwartz <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > On Jun 19, 2:08 am, ebenZERO...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote:

> Who's this world of which you speak? We only aim to change AFCA.
> Besides, the newsgroup was created when AOL dumped their screaming
> masses on the net back in 93 or so, but has lain fallow since that
> time.

By "the world" I mean every single person and server that handles that
newsgroup.

Note that I think moving newsgroups off 'alt' if appropriate is
generally a good idea. The 'alt' hierarchy is kind of chaotic for many
reasons and newsgroups often "graduate" out of the hierarchy. I'm just
saying that working around a provider that has opted not to carry a
group by moving the group, thereby circumventing the provider's
decision, is a broken justification.

> > If everything these providers seek to filter moves, they'll just move
> > the filter. Everyone else will have gone through the inconvenience of
> > moving, and you'll be back where you started.
> >
> > In any event, isn't it generally considered wrong to move content to
> > evade a filter? If the entity placing the filter doesn't want to
> > change it, then they *want* to filter the content.

> I haven't heard anything about them wanting to quash a text-only
> newsgroup.

The fact that they placed a filter blocking the group proves they
wanted to block the group. If their filter erroneously blocks the
group, ask them to fix it.

> Besides, just because they use a tacnuke to kill a
> mosquito doesn't mean we have to sit by and become collateral damage.

It doesn't mean you have to make everyone else collateral damage too
either. Changing the world to work around a broken provider is
considered rude. It inconveniences everyone except the people who
should be inconvenienced, the customers of the provider. A provider's
bad decisions should inconvenience their customers, since that's the
only way to discourage bad decisions. However, when providers can
shift the cost of their stupidity onto the rest of the world, they
have no incentive not to be stupid.

DS