ietf-nntp DEBUG command (9xx)

[Russ Allbery]

Clive D W Feather <clive at demon.net> writes:

> If it is reasonable to add a DEBUG command to solve this issue, why is
> it not reasonable to add 9xx codes to the same end ?

For the record, I'm opposed to the addition of a DEBUG command on the
grounds that no one is currently using anything like that to my knowledge
and even if they wanted to, there's no real reason for them not to just
make it XDEBUG since we can't guarantee in the standard what happens after
the issuing of that command anyway.

> (1) x8x codes are for private use and x9x codes for debugging. This is
> what is in 977.

This has been made untenable by existing practice; some x8x codes are in
widespread use for authentication and it's pretty much completely
infeasible to change all of that software.

> (2) x8x codes are for authentication and x9x codes for private use. The
> former roughly matches current practice and the latter is harmless
> (nobody has reported seeing x9x codes used in practice). Don't talk
> about debugging codes at all.

This is my strong preference.

> (3) A new number space (I suggested 19x, but 9xx seems to be more
> popular and is probably more sensible) is allocated for debugging codes
> that are issued before the true response to a command.

> (4) A new DEBUG ACK command is defined to mean "the previous response
> was a debugging code; now give me the real response".

> (5) A new DEBUG ON|OFF command is defined to activate debugging codes.

I'm opposed to all three of these on exactly the grounds listed in point
two, namely that no one has reported seeing the debugging codes in the
wild anyway.  There seems to be a lot of evidence to indicate that people
don't use the debugging responses and never found them useful, and very
little (no) evidence to the contrary.

> I think that covers all the cases.

> Can I suggest that we hold a straw vote on those 5 suggestions and any
> others that I've missed. Something along the lines of, for each one:
> (a) would like to see it included
> (b) don't want it, but could live with it
> (c) seriously dislike the idea
> (d) don't care one way or the other

> I'm willing to do the tallying if it would help.

> [My own view is 1b, 2a, 3b, 4c, 5c.]

1c, 2a, 3b, 4b, 5b.

-- 
Russ Allbery (rra at stanford.edu)             <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>