[NNTP] [2501] Reader commands in transit servers and vice-versa

[Ken Murchison]

Clive D.W. Feather wrote:

> Richard Clayton said:
> 
>>I suspect that a "reader only" configuration will allow POST (but may
>>not allow IHAVE).
>>
>>This is confusing because POST is "writing" ... so I think its a dumb
>>name (based on old concepts) to put into a new spec :(
> 
> 
> So you think that we shouldn't use the term "reader", but don't actually
> think we should change the specification other than by changing this word?
> 
> Other opinions? I don't like "customer", but can we find a perhaps-less
> confusing name?

I really don't see a problem with READER and TRANSIT, since the are just 
protocol tokens which only the client software (and developer) ever sees.

I suppose I could live with something like USER" and TRANSIT or USER and 
PEER or USER_MODE and PEER_MODE, but I really don't see the point. 
Everyone already knows that POST is a reader (user-agent) command and 
READER gives us symmetry with MODE READER.

> 
>>A new point (which I hope I can express clearly): "end-user" systems (as
>>opposed to transit servers run by ISPs) usually use POST, but sometimes
>>use IHAVE...  making servers fully implement everything in order to
>>accommodate legacy users of IHAVE doesn't seem likely -- so I expect one
>>will see "reader only" systems with extensions to cope with IHAVE.
> 
> 
> At present IHAVE is the *only* transit command, so that would actually be a
> general-purpose server.
> 
> In case we ever have more transit commands in the core specification, do we
> want a separate capability for IHAVE? Or do we see this (IHAVE but not
> other transit commands) as an unlikely enough case to ignore?

This seems like a bridge we only need to cross if we ever come to it. 
In order for a new transit command to be added to the core spec, the new 
document, with presumably a new VERSION 3 token, could handle this.

-- 
Kenneth Murchison     Oceana Matrix Ltd.
Software Engineer     21 Princeton Place
716-662-8973 x26      Orchard Park, NY 14127
--PGP Public Key--    http://www.oceana.com/~ken/ksm.pgp