[plug] Setting up PLUG groups in addition to this e-mail list

[Cameron Patrick]

James Devenish wrote:

>  - Set up a leafnode2 NTTP server on PLUG's xbox (which currently acts
>    as the PLUG web server).

Hmm.  I'm ignorant about NNTP servers in general, but I have some
reservations about leafnode 2:

(1) The Debian package description says "Leafnode is a news server
    suitable for small, limited-bandwidth sites with only a few
    users. Leafnode keeps track of which groups are being read, and
    downloads only articles in those groups."  The name itself has
    similar connotations.  This, to me, sounds different from what
    we're after for a PLUG news server.

(2) Leafnode 2.x is still in beta.

Also, Bernd Felsche has offered to give us a machine significantly
more powerful than spark /and/ xbox.  I don't know quite what's
involved in setting up the news server, but would it make sense to
delay implementing this until the existing mail and web services are
moved onto a new machine?

>  - People will be able to use their "news" client to connect to the
>    leafnode server, and will have to enter their Mailman address and
>    password to gain posting privileges. (We cannot have an 'anonymous'
>    service because random spammers and robots could infiltrate it.)

If I parse that correctly, anonymous read-only access is still allowed?

>  - I propose that Mailman, and its archives, remain completely unchanged
>    (will not be replacing the Mailman web archives with one based on the
>    newsspool).

Yes...  That also means that e.g. we can expire articles on the news
server and not have to be too fussed about things.  I'd half like to
see the Mailman archives replaced/augmented by Lurker-based ones, but
that's really a separate issue.

> Personally, I would like to be able to connect to the leafnode server
> and see a variety of local groups. For a start, we should also gate the
> Off-topic list (by the way: is it still a SmartList?).

Yes, the OT list is running Smartlist (and has no official archives
either).  The plug at plug and committee at plug lists are run on Mailman.

> I would also be interested in whether PLUG web articles could be
> "injected" into a read-only group. That is, our news clients would
> show a few local groups like:

> plug
> plug.ot
> plug.news

It may also make sense to have plug.news correspond to a new mailing
list, e.g. announce at plug.

Cameron.