XPost: alt.comp.software.thunderbird, news.software.readers   
   From: mariasophia@comprehension.com   
      
   Carlos E.R. wrote:   
   >> While I had looked for alt.test.moderated, Marco suggests   
   >> misc.test.moderated since alt.test.moderated doesn't seem to exist.   
   >> Most moderated groups do not require a real or working email address.   
   >> Usenet has a long tradition of allowing obfuscated or nonfunctional   
   >> addresses because of spam concerns.   
   >>   
   >> Typical bogus examples:   
   >> nobody@example.invalid   
   >> user@nowhere.net   
   >> name@remove-this.example.com   
   >   
   > However, nowhere.net is not a bogus address. Nor is comprehension.com   
      
   The point of the non-working "comprehension" was the same as when I asked   
   Adam H. Kerman to look at the sig to see how I did respond to his tirades   
   against privacy.   
      
   I'm subtle that way about privacy.   
   Think about it.   
   (It's similar to why I never read from the same nntp server I post to.)   
   Privacy is a billion little subtle things, just like personal hygiene is.   
      
   Back to the topic, I think before we can figure out how to send email to a   
   moderated newsgroup, we need to understand the Usenet moderation process.   
      
   Here's another pass at trying to understand better how moderation works.   
      
   1. We post our article from our newsreader to our NNTP server. The   
      server receives it using the NNTP POST command. The server checks   
      the group flags and sees that misc.test.moderated is moderated, so   
      it does not inject the article directly into the group.   
      
   2. Our NNTP server forwards the post to the moderator. The server sends   
      the submission as email to the moderator's address for that group.   
      The address is normally formed by replacing periods with hyphens and   
      appending @moderators.isc.org. Note that a bogus or nonworking   
      "From" address is common on Usenet and is normally acceptable.   
      The domain can be real but the address is designed to not be real.   
      
   3. The moderator reviews the submission. They read the post in their   
      moderation queue and check that it is on topic, that it follows the   
      group's rules, and that it is not spam or abusive. A real email   
      address is usually not required. A bogus address only matters if the   
      moderator needs to contact us or if the group has rules requiring   
      real identities.   
      
   4. If the moderator approves the post, they reinject it into Usenet.   
      The moderator or their software adds an Approved header during this   
      reinjection, for example...   
         Approved: moderator@example.org   
      This header tells Usenet servers that the article is authorized for   
      the moderated group. The moderator's system posts from a trusted   
      host or authenticated account, so servers accept the Approved   
      article.   
      
   5. Usenet servers distribute the approved article. Because it contains   
      a valid Approved header and comes from a trusted injection point,   
      servers propagate it normally. Our original From header, even if it   
      is bogus, is usually preserved unless the moderator changes it.   
      
   For a direct email... as far as I can tell... (which may be wrong)...   
      
   1. We compose our article in our MUA. Instead of posting through NNTP,   
      we prepare to send it as email directly to the moderator or to the   
      ISC moderation relay. This method is allowed for moderated groups as   
      long as we supply the correct Usenet headers.   
      
   2. We set the To address to the group's submission address. For Big-8   
      groups the standard form is the group name with periods changed to   
      hyphens, plus @moderators.isc.org. Example:   
      misc.test.moderated  ->  misc-test-moderated@moderators.isc.org   
      
   3. We include all required Usenet headers in the email body. These   
      headers must appear exactly as they would in a normal Usenet post.   
      At minimum we include:   
      From:   
      Newsgroups:   
      Subject:   
      Date:   
      Message-ID:   
      References:   (optional)   
      Organization: (optional)   
      User-Agent:   (optional)   
      We do not include a spoofed Approved header.   
      That is frowned upon as it is added only by the moderator.   
      
   4. We place a blank line after the headers. After that blank line we   
      write the body of our article. The email now contains a complete   
      Usenet article wrapped inside an email envelope.   
      
   5. We send the email. Our MUA hands it to our SMTP server, which   
      delivers it to the ISC moderation relay or directly to the   
      moderator, depending on the address we used.   
      
   6. The moderator receives our submission in their moderation queue. The   
      moderator checks that the article is on topic, follows the group's   
      rules, and is not spam or abusive. A bogus From address is normally   
      acceptable unless the moderator needs to contact us.   
      
   7. If the moderator approves the article, they reinject it into Usenet.   
      Their system adds an Approved header and posts the article from a   
      trusted host. Example:   
      Approved: moderator@example.org   
      
   8. Usenet servers accept the Approved article and propagate it normally   
      across the network. Our original From header is usually preserved   
      unless the moderator edits it.   
      
   9. Our NNTP server eventually receives the approved article from its   
      peers. It appears in the moderated group as if we had posted it   
      through NNTP, even though we submitted it by email.   
   --   
   Had I known how it works, I would have written up a tutorial instead since   
   I'm a rare breed of person who delights in edifying everyone around me.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)