[Pan-users] Re: An "alias" feature for group names

[Frank Tabor]

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 04:56:01 -0400, Rinaldi J. Montessi wrote:

> Matej Cepl wrote:
>> On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 13:35:05 -0400, Rinaldi J. Montessi scripst:
>>> Older versions of Netscape Communicator news client (up to 4.xx) had a
>>> feature similar to this.  I believe it involved manipulation of the
>>> newsrc file either at the server end or the user end.  Those
>>> manipulations added by the user would be overwritten if the newsrc
>>> file was updated.  For instance, the newsrc contained the entry:
>>> 
>>> netscape.communicator "Netscape Communicator"
>> 
>> It's quite nice idea, except if it doesn't break compliance with
>> .newsrc format (could somebody point me to some description of its
>> format?) -- I am working on the same .newsrc with pan and slrn (when
>> connecting through ssh) and I would be really pissed off, it it breaks.
> 
> I just went back into my archives.  This is the format Netscape's server
> used:
> 
> netscape.communicator,Netscape%20Communicator,1,3babd37f,1fd
> netscape.communicator.mac,Communicator%20for%20Macintosh,d,3babd37f,1fe
> netscape.communicator.unix,Communicator%20for%20Unix,1,3babd37f,1ff
> 
> The data between the first and second comma is the pretty name.
> (%20=space)
> 
> This was in the hostinfo.dat file which contains the complete list of
> groups available.  It appears Pan does not follow this convention.  Nor
> does slrn.

You did better than I did.  I wasn't able to narrow it down.  I also 
didn't work with the groups on secnews, I used another server, so I 
wouldn't have been able to find it.

-- 
Frank Tabor
Falling in love makes smoking pot all day look like the ultimate in 
restraint.
                -- Dave Sim, author of "Cerebus".