108970 - Support 'news' URIs identifying multiple groups, with or without a specified server

Status: NEW

(MailNews Core :: Networking: NNTP, enhancement)

Description

[[e-mail] (gone - use [e-mail] instead)]

Build ID:  2001-11-07, all OSs.

Summary: news:* should open the subscribe dialog for the default server

From the spec (http://www.w3.org/Addressing/rfc1738.txt):

3.6. NEWS

If <newsgroup-name> is "*" (as in <URL:news:*>), it is used to refer
   to "all available news groups".

Steps to Reproduce:

1.  Enter something like news:*

Expected Results:

This should get the default server and open the subscribe window for it.

Actual Results:

Currently, it just spins meteors and changes your typed URL (news:*) into 
(news://news:119/*).

I could be reading the spec wrong (it's old, and not very clear).

Comment 1

[Ben Bucksch (:BenB)]

Spam: I thought that the "*" in the summary were a placeholder. Clarifying that
indeed the char "*" is meant.

Comment 2

[David E. Ross]

Actually, news:foobar should open the subscribe dialog for the default server
specifically for newsgroup foobar.  Instead, a link with the URL
"news:comp.risks" (an actual newsgroup) attempts to subscribe to that newsgroup
on secnews.netscape.com, where the newsgroup does not exist.  This happens for
me, where I have aacounts for three different news servers: news.vcnet.com,
secnews.netscape.com, and msnews.microsoft.com.  comp.risks exists on
news.vcnet.com and many other ISP and commercial news servers.  

For a test, see <http://www.rossde.com/spam.html>; scroll about half-way down to
the link named "Risks newsgroup", which is coded as <a
href="news:comp.risks">Risks newsgroup</a>.  Note that the omission of a server
in this link is necessary because different individuals viewing the page will
subscribe to different news servers through their ISPs.  

Comment 3

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

sorry for the spam.  making bugzilla reflect reality as I'm not working on these bugs.  filter on FOOBARCHEESE to remove these in bulk.

Comment 4

[Serge Gautherie (:sgautherie)]

Filter on "Nobody_NScomTLD_20080620"