From: Information Security (guy@panix.com)
Date: Fri Nov 21 1997 - 18:45:47 CST
Using the URL someone just gave:
# 4.7. LIST PRETTYNAMES command
#
# LIST PRETTYNAMES [wildmat]
#
# Returns a list of mappings between RFC1036 compliant newsgroup names and
# more readable synonyms, called prettynames. These mappings are intended
# to allow a client interface to provide more readable group names to
# users, which may be localized names. Data is returned one group per
# line. Each line consists of the newsgroup name, a tab, the prettyname
# and a linefeed ("LF"). The list is terminated by the character sequence
# "CRLF.CRLF". If a group matches the pattern but does not have a pret-
# tyname, nothing is returned for that group.
#
# The prettyname may contain any character except a linefeed ("LF"). If
# localized names require more than 8 bits per character, the strings may
# be encoded as a MIME2 encoded string [MIME-2].
> From sommar@algonet.se Fri Nov 21 18:56:55 1997
>
> Brad Templeton <brad@clari.net> writes:
>
> >So should I take it from this debate that nobody else is in favour
> >of just creating a second, higher level newsgroup namespace that is
> >more flexible, can use extended character sets (as well as spaces,
> >and long, natural language explanatory names) and can have its own
> >hierarchies (where a group need not be in just one hierarchy any more
> >than a file on a unix system has to.)
>
> One thing does not exclude another. Your idea has some merits,
> but I believe that the present-day namespace will continue to
> flourish for quite a few more years. It seems to me that your
> idea should supplement the present-day namespace, and gradually
> take over, as it surely would gain popularity.
It's "the description that wanted to be the handle"...
Sure, it would be nice, but there's also something unnatural about it.
When I beat back the Data Security department's insistence that all
UNIX usernames be in the format '<initial><initial><6-digit-employee#>
at a firm, ("IBM-style"), I did so by indicating it a) didn't gain us
anything (security-wise), and it was an attempt to put attributes into
the username that should be looked up, not embedded into the username.
There are many things one might want to put in the "pretty name".
Not only what was formerly called the "description", but whether it
is moderated, what human language is primarily used, the URL for the
group's charter, associated FAQs...
It would be nice to be able to list these for every group, but it
shouldn't be all embedded into the group's prettyname. Simply fix
the description? Is there an option for nntplist that cough's up
the description, an optionally sorts by it?
We could use a general group attribute query command.
I realize Mr. Templeton only suggested the name of the group change,
but, that is the road I see this heading down...
> From sommar@algonet.se Fri Nov 21 18:56:55 1997
>
> Brad Templeton <brad@clari.net> writes:
>
> >A group should not be called "news.software.b" it should be called
> >"USENET: Format and Transport Issues" If you want to type it in on
> >a keyboard, you should have a system that lets you type a pattern and/or
> >get completion, so you type less than "news.software.b" but get a
> >name everybody understands.
>
> When I made a posting to swnet.internet.news about 8-bit chars in
> newsgroup names, several people raised the concern about the diffi-
> culties of having to type the name on a non-Swedish keyboard. Not
> that I think that is a big issue, but apparently some people are
> typing newsgroups names every once in a while.
# sunshine:guy 42> touch "USENET: group pretty name A"
# sunshine:guy 43> ^A^B
# touch "USENET: group pretty name B"
# sunshine:guy 44> lt
# ... <=15 most recent files:
# total 61128
# drwxr-xr-x 31 guy 5632 Nov 21 19:13 .
# -rw-r--r-- 1 guy 0 Nov 21 19:13 USENET: group pretty name B
# -rw-r--r-- 1 guy 0 Nov 21 19:13 USENET: group pretty name A
# drwxr-xr-x 4 guy 512 Nov 21 12:24 .netscape
In the following file completion, using csh under SunOS 4.1.4,
I hit 'escape' after the 'U' and it expanded all the way
through 'USENET: group pretty name ', then I typed 'A'<cr>.
# sunshine:guy 45> ll USENET: group pretty name A
# USENET: not found
# group not found
# pretty not found
# name not found
# A not found
On the other hand, how does one upgrade the RFC to support a new
feature like this? Say that it is a new feature that should be
added?
---guy [munged Usenet address: The@NSA.sucks]