Incorrect "References:" fields in news items

[Michael Rourke]

I have implemented my own news software, and thought it would
be nice to be able to unsubscribe from particular followups
using the "References:" fields. Mark Horton's article "Standard
for Interchange of USENET Messages" defines how the "References:"
field should be generated. Trouble is most news software around
gets it wrong!

This is most annoying.

To illustrate I have collected some headers from a particular discussion:

The first two seem OK (I don't have the original article):

  From: merlyn at sequent.UUCP
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing (and destroying dollar bills)
  Message-ID: <515 at sequent.UUCP>
  References: <1329 at uvacs.UUCP> <1429 at cbosgd.UUCP>
  
  From: faunt at saturn.UUCP
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing
  Message-ID: <2138 at saturn.UUCP>
  References: <1329 at uvacs.UUCP> <1429 at cbosgd.UUCP>
  
This is wrong:

  From: dgary at ecsvax.UUCP
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing (and destroying dollar bills)
  Message-ID: <2678 at ecsvax.UUCP>
  References: sequent.515

Not only is the reference field the wrong format, but the software
didn't copy the previous references field from the message.
  
This is interesting too:

  From: jaap at haring.UUCP
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing
  Message-ID: <260 at haring.UUCP>
  References: <999 at hao.UUCP>
  
Wrong again (at least the field format is correct):

  From: ed at mtxinu.UUCP
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing (and destroying dollar bills)
  Message-ID: <128 at mtxinu.UUCP>
  References: <515 at sequent.UUCP>
  
And now we have a comma in there: (again non-standard)

  From: karn at mouton.UUCP
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing (and destroying dollar bills)
  Message-ID: <76 at mouton.UUCP>
  References: sequent.515, <2678 at ecsvax.UUCP> <651 at pyuxhh.UUCP>
  
And so on....

  From: kurt at pyuxhh.UUCP
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing (and destroying dollar bills)
  Message-ID: <651 at pyuxhh.UUCP>
  References: sequent.515, <2678 at ecsvax.UUCP>
  
  From: rpw3 at fortune.UUCP
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing - (nf)
  Message-ID: <3564 at fortune.UUCP>
  
This one is correct - we generated it here:

  From: dave at elecvax.SUN (Dave Horsfall)
  Subject: Re: Ethernet addressing
  Message-ID: <232 at elecvax.SUN>
  References: <1329 at uvacs.UUCP> <1429 at cbosgd.UUCP> <2138 at saturn.UUCP>

I don't expect everybody to rush out and fix their source(s),
but it would be nice if further releases of the news software:

	1. provided an "unsubscribe from followups" command
	2. generated the References: field as per the standard

Ways of filtering large volumes of news are useful.


Michael Rourke
Department of Computer Science
University of New South Wales, Australia

..(decvax,vax135,sfjec)!mulga!michaelr:elecvax