Re: [Pan-users] Attn Andrew, Steve - report on your versions of 0.140

[Duncan]

Dick Baker posted on Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:48:42 -0800 as excerpted:

> Is the Pan newsgroup working properly?  I keep getting error messages
> and/or failed sends when trying to respond to this note within Pan.  I'm
> sending this instead via the email/listserv interface.

I don't know the context in which that question and comments are made, 
but...

* This is technically a pan "mailing list", not a newsgroup.  In native/
normal usage, you'd use your mail client (or browser with a web-hosted 
email service) to send post to it.

* There does, however, exist the gmane list-to-news-and-back-again 
gateway service and archive (also available via a web interface, see 
http://gmane.org ), which gateways the mailing list into a newsgroup, 
which is hosted on the news.gmane.org news server as the 
gmane.comp.gnome.apps.pan.user "newsgroup".  And since pan users tend to 
be newsgroup oriented already (doh, pan considers its goal to be a "pimp-
ass news" client, thus the "PAN" name! =:^), many list regulars 
(including me) interface to the /list/ via the gmane /newsgroup/ 
interface, such that in this context the difference between the two is 
somewhat blurred.

* There may be other services gating this /list/ as a newsgroup in other 
contexts.  I know for sure there are a number of web gateways to the 
list, but NNTP being a less common and more geekish protocol as practiced 
by ordinary users, presumably such news/list gateways are less common 
than web/list gateways and I don't personally know of any other than 
gmane.


That being the case, a reference to this pan "newsgroup" could be seen in 
the context of the gmane list2news gateway service and more specifically 
the newsgroup gated from the mailing list as described above.

It is in that context that I too participate on this list/group, and...

As far as I can see, there's no gmane or gateway-process mechanism 
problem occurring at the moment.  Everything appears normal.  List 
messages both for the pan-user list/group and various other lists/groups 
I read/post-to via gmane are continuing to appear on the gmane news 
server as could be expected, so if there's a problem, it was either 
temporary or I'm otherwise not seeing/aware of it.

That said...

* The behind the scenes mechanisms by which gmane functions /are/ 
somewhat complicated, and it isn't uncommon for posts to be delayed for a 
few hours at one step or another of the process.

* Additionally, first-time posters to a particular group/list on gmane go 
thru at least a gmane verification step (gmane mails the given "from" 
email address a confirmation which they must reply to before the message 
is forwarded, this is once per "group" so once you've confirmed to gmane 
for that group/list and email address, gmane automatically forwards 
further messages posted from that address to that list without further 
confirmation needed), and often a separate listserv verification.  It's 
not uncommon for first-time gmane posters to fail to understand that the 
gmane and possible list confirmations are separate, and to be confused, 
thinking they've already confirmed when they get the separate 
confirmation from the mailing list.

Meanwhile...

* It's entirely possible you had some other context in mind with your 
"newsgroup" reference, and weren't referring to this list as it appears 
as a newsgroup on gmane, at all.  In that case, some clarification of 
context may be in order...

-- 
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