[NNTP] draft-ietf-nntpext-base-25 comments

[Clive D.W. Feather]

David Magda said:
> 2.  Notation
>     [...]
>    A "keyword" MUST consist only of US-ASCII letters, digits, and the
>    characters dot (".") and dash ("-"), and must begin with a letter.
> 
> Should this be:
> 
>     ... and MUST begin with a letter.

Fixed, thanks.

> 3.1  Commands and Responses
>     [...]
>     NNTP operates over any reliable data stream 8-bit-wide
>     channel. Initially, the server host starts the NNTP service by
>     listening on a TCP port.  When a client host wishes to make use
>     of the service, it MUST establish a TCP connection with the
>     server host by connecting to that host on the same port on which
>     the server is listening.
> 
> The first sentence says "any ... channel", but then there's a MUST
> for using TCP. A bit contradictory? This would explicitly disallowd
> using Unix sockets or pipes for connections. 

I should have spotted that before. This text changed to:

    NNTP operates over any reliable bidirectional 8-bit-wide data stream
    channel.  When the connection is established, the NNTP server host
    MUST send a greeting.  The client host and server host then exchange
    commands and responses (respectively) until the connection is closed
    or aborted.  If the connection used is TCP, then the server host
    starts the NNTP service by listening on a TCP port.  When a client
    host wishes to make use of the service, it MUST establish a TCP
    connection with the server host by connecting to that host on the
    same port on which the server is listening.

All references to TCP audited; in most cases, "TCP connection" has been
changed to "connection".

> 7.3.1  Usage
>       NEWGROUPS date time [GMT]
>     [...]
>     The token "GMT" specifies that the date and time are given in
>     Coordinated Universal Time [TF.686-1]; if it is omitted then the
>     date and time are specified in the server's local timezone
> 
> Just curious: if you mean UTC, why not have "UTC". I know it's
> probably for backwards compatibility, but perhaps a SHOULD for "UTC"
> and MAY accept "GMT"?

Backwards compatibility. If we're going to change it at all, it should
become a MUST for both. But I really don't see the benefit in changing it;
clients need to use "GMT" with old servers, and new servers will still
accept it, so who's going to use "UTC"? Even if you hook this on
CAPABILITIES, it's *still* overkill for the sake of it.

And in any case, UTC isn't necessarily correct. I'd rather the text said:

    ... are given in a timezone approximately equal to Universal Time
    or Coordinated Universal Time [TF.686-1];

Very few computers actually follow UTC properly. Many approximate to UT by
an approach such as UTS (adjusting the length of the "second") in the
neighbourhood of a leap second or by ad-hoc adjustment.

-- 
Clive D.W. Feather  | Work:  <clive at demon.net>   | Tel:    +44 20 8495 6138
Internet Expert     | Home:  <clive at davros.org>  | Fax:    +44 870 051 9937
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