[Pan-users] Re: Pan 0.132 - Problem with news.ecomstation.nl

[Duncan]

walt <address@hidden> posted
address@hidden, excerpted below, on  Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:51:23
+0000:

> Maybe someone (Duncan?) who knows the nntp protocol better than I do
> could comment.  Here is my telnet session with news.ecomstation.nl:
> 
> CAPABILITIES
> 500 Command not implemented.
> 
> HELP
> LIST [ACTIVE|NEWSGROUPS|DISTRIBUTIONS|SUBSCRIPTIONS|OVERVIEW.FMT|
> ACTIVE.TIMES] [wildmat]
> 
> LIST NEWSGROUPS
> 503 No list of newsgroup descriptions available.
> 
> Seems to me that the server is not in compliance with the nntp protocol.
> This is from RFC 3977:
> 5.2.  CAPABILITIES
> 5.2.1.  Usage
>    This command is mandatory.
>    Syntax
>      CAPABILITIES [keyword]

Not that this really pertains to the problem at hand, but since my name 
was mentioned...

Frankly, you know that aspect of the protocol better than I do.  True, I 
could look it up if actually needed, but I didn't know CAPABILITIES was 
even a command.  That's arbitrary knowledge that I don't tend to store, 
unless it's something I work with enough to know from pure repetitive 
practice, or just happen to have it fresh in my mind from working with it.

OTOH, it's possible I have a better gut level understanding of protocol 
basic functionality, such as why TCP/IP instead of UDP/IP was chosen as 
the underlying protocol to build upon and the nature of the TCP/IP 
connection, due simply to the way my long-term memory mapping 
functionality works.  Arbitray facts such as command names and command 
line switches aren't retained because the don't map, while I'm /forced/ 
to groke the underlying functionality in ordered to make the necessary 
for retention logical connections to previously mapped information.

I retrieve info the same way, the reason my posts (hmm, good case in 
point right here! =8^) tend toward the long and explanitory, since I 
can't retrieve one datum without dragging out all this stuff connected to 
it as well.  That's one negative.  The other is that since I /must/ 
create such a functional/causitive mapping in ordered to retain the 
concept, in the absence of correct information, I'll sometimes come to an 
incorrect conclusion and map that.  That has proven embarassing on 
occasion. =8^(

One positive, other than the obvious one of having what seems to be an 
"intuitive" (once mapped, it's often hard work attaining that so-called 
"intuition") grasp of the concepts, is that having retained the concepts, 
the rest is nearly always available in the manpage or with a google or 
etc.  I do seem to find myself referring to manpages and the like far 
more often than I believe most would, for "the arbitraries", so it's a 
very good thing for me such references are available! =8^)

Interesting thing, the mind, and how it works differently for different 
people! =8^)

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman