Subj : Offline Mail Reader
To : Jon Watson
From : mark lewis
Date : Mon Oct 11 2004 11:53 pm
JW> The message ID's ARE generated locally by SMF (not PHPBB, but
JW> same idea) and those message IDs are what must be preserved in
JW> order to allow SMF to thread messages properly. Therefore, any
ahhh... you are talking about messages written on your system... i hadn't
gotten there yet... i was speaking of those coming in from other systems...
but, since we're on that topic, those SMF IDs don't need to go anywhere outside
your system... just create valid MSGID/REPLY lines and store them in a database
with their matching SMF IDs... when messages come in, you look in the database
for the MSGID that matched the inbound REPLY and pop in the SMF ID...
better yet would be to generate and use FTN style MSGID and REPLY lines through
out the system...
JW> message that originated here MUST come back here with the
JW> original SMF message ID intact or it won't thread (well...none
JW> of this is implemented yet, so actually nothing will thread
JW> right now regardless of what it comes in with). Because these
JW> message IDs must come back, I'm skeptical of the success of
JW> this method. It's somewhat unrealistic of me to expect every
JW> node through which my messages pass are going to preserve some
JW> proprietary headers I've added for my own system.
errrmmm... they are supposed to pass everything they get without
modification... only the SEENBY and PATH lines are to be modified...
JW> In response to your FWIW2 - you're missing the point of what
JW> I'm doing here.
no i'm not... i fully understand it and that's why i'm /not/ doing the same
with phpBB...
JW> I'm not interested in re-creating the wheel by
JW> coding yet another web forum software package to handle FTN
JW> messages.
that's not (really) what i was saying... afterall, it is only the UI that the
users see and know... what is done on the backside has no bearing on what they
see, know or even understand about the way it works...
JW> I'm interested in taking something that your average
JW> web user (read.."OMG..What's that BLACK SCREEN?!?!?") is used
JW> to and comfortable with and using it to provide FTN echoes.
JW> There are many projects out there, some more successful than
JW> others, that are putting Fido on the web via a complete
JW> recreation of a system as you recommend. I see no need to add
JW> another when with a little tweaking, existing systems can be
JW> integrated to provide the same, or nearly the same,
JW> functionality.
hummm... i wonder why there are so many DOS BBS packages? ;)
JW> I'm not creating an interface for current FTN users (although
JW> they are more than welcome to use it). Those users have
JW> already proven that they are willing and able, and maybe even
JW> prefer, telnetting around the internet. I'm going for the
JW> users that don't even know what Telnet is in an effort to get
JW> more users involved in various FTNs.
its nothing at all to do with the user's visual sight of the messages...
everything i'm speaking of would never bee seen by the users unless they were
on our side of the screen ;)
JW> WRT threading, I think I'll code to the subject matching thing
JW> for now....I don't see a healthy future for any other method
JW> at the moment.
<<shrug>> your choice... do with it what you will... ;)
