ietf-nntp HDR parameter proposal

[Charles Lindsey]

In <ylu1dgkbrv.fsf at windlord.stanford.edu> Russ Allbery <rra at stanford.edu> writes:

>I really don't understand what you're saying.  The sentences all make
>sense individually, but the point is escaping me entirely.  Let me try
>again:

>The client has no idea what headers the server considers to be "found in
>the overview."  That information may vary from message to message stored
>on the server, and at best the client can only obtain a snapshot of what
>is going into the overview for new articles at a particular point.

>So how, exactly, is the statement "all headers found in overview can also
>be retrieved by HDR" useful to the client?  What useful thing could the
>client do with that information?  Why is that not semantically equivalent
>to saying "some unspecified set of additional headers are also available
>via HDR"?

Well, in practical cases, it is likely that the OVERVIEW.FMT file changes
but rarely, so it would be reasonable for the client to work on the basis
that it would see HDR output consistent with the current overview policy
on that server. So it might miss a few headers on old articles, or see a
few extra, but that is inevitable given the possibility that the list
changes periodically. It is still a useful facility to have, in spite of
those glitches, and in that case it is still useful to know, via
EXTENSIONS, that the facility is provided.

-- 
Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
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