Invoke posting message to newsgroup from html file

[Alex Vinokur]

To invoke posting email one can write
<a href="mailto:[email protected]"> Post a email message</a>

Is it possible to write something like to invoke posting message to newsgroup?
<a href=newsto:[email protected]> Post a news message</a>

 

[rf]

To invoke posting email one can write
<a href="mailto:[email protected]"> Post a email message</a>

Is it possible to write something like to invoke posting message to newsgroup?
<a href=newsto:[email protected]> Post a news message</a>

<checks the microsoft documentation/>

Oddly enough yes.

href=
but it it will of course be subject to even more limitations than the mailto
protocol, that is it will not work in a large number of cases.

The documentation also states that in only "opens" the clients default news
applicaion. It says nothing about sending anything.

It is also a microsoft only invention, not the subject AFAIK of any RFC.
Probably won't work in any other browser although I have not checked, mainly
through lack of interest

 

[Dylan Parry]

Probably won't work in any other browser although I have not checked, mainly
through lack of interest

It also appears to work in *my* FF/Thunderbird combination, but as you
say it isn't guaranteed to work anywhere.

 

[Steve Pugh]

[href=news: URLs]
It is also a microsoft only invention, not the subject AFAIK of any RFC.
Probably won't work in any other browser although I have not checked, mainly
through lack of interest

I remember writing some URLs back in the days before MS
discovered the web.

URLs are mentioned in RFC 1630, right between mailto and telnet.
Steve

 

[rf]

It also appears to work in *my* FF/Thunderbird combination, but as you
say it isn't guaranteed to work anywhere.

<checks/>

<aol>me too</aol>, although I never actually configured FF for this. It
probably stole the setting from my IE configuration when I installed it.

I can't seem to find anywhere in the FF confituration where one can set
these things although, once again, my interest is rapidly fading

 

[Alex Vinokur]

<checks the microsoft documentation/>

Oddly enough yes.

href=news:alt.html

href="mailto:[email protected] causes opening "email message window"

href=doesn't cause opening "news message window"; it causes (on Outlook Express) going to alt.html under default NNTP
servrer.
I wouls like to get "news message window" like "email message window".

 

[Barbara de Zoete]

To invoke posting email one can write
<a href="mailto:[email protected]"> Post a email message</a>

Is it possible to write something like to invoke posting message to newsgroup?
<a href=newsto:[email protected]> Post a news message</a>

Instead of starting up someones news client, you could of course try to pipe
someone through google-groups with
<http://posting.google.com/post?cmd=post&enc=ISO-8859-1&group=alt.html>.
Requires a Google account though, instead of a news client. Thus doesn't make it
much more reliable.

BTW: why would you want to do it? What is the use? Can you give an example of
what you intend to use it for?
Alternatively: Is referring to a thread or post not good enough? For example
with <http://groups.google.com/[email protected]> to
refer to this thread? If someone wants to respond to a thread or post thus made
available to them, they can. Just bluntly letting someone, anyone, post to a
newsgroup without telling them exactly what usenet is and what a post to a
newsgroup is, can be not very nice on the person and to the ng involved.

--
,-- --<--@ ---- PretLetters: 'woest wyf', met vele interesses: -----------.
| weblog | <http://home.wanadoo.nl/b.de.zoete/_private/weblog.html> |
| webontwerp | <http://home.wanadoo.nl/b.de.zoete/html/webontwerp.html> |
| zweefvliegen | <http://home.wanadoo.nl/b.de.zoete/html/vliegen.html> |
`----------------------------------------------------- --<--@ ------------'

 

[rf]

href="mailto:[email protected] causes opening "email message window"

href=news:alt.html doesn't cause opening "news message window"; it causes

(on Outlook Express) going to alt.html under default NNTP

servrer.
I wouls like to get "news message window" like "email message window".

You missed this bit of my post:

Opening a new news message window is simply not supported. It is not going
to happen.

You also missed this bit:

 

[Alex Vinokur]

Instead of starting up someones news client, you could of course try to pipe
someone through google-groups with
<http://posting.google.com/post?cmd=post&enc=ISO-8859-1&group=alt.html>.
Requires a Google account though, instead of a news client. Thus doesn't make it
much more reliable.

BTW: why would you want to do it? What is the use? Can you give an example of
what you intend to use it for?

Here is a box I have designed.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/test-av1/msg/2e59908c57532711
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/test-av1/attach/2e59908c57532711/gm_pfbox.htm?part=2

"Post a message" from the right opens an Outlook Express email message window.

"Post a message" from the left redirects to web news message site.
I would like "Post a message" from the left to open an _Outlook Express_ news message window.

Alternatively: Is referring to a thread or post not good enough? For example
with <http://groups.google.com/[email protected]> to
refer to this thread? If someone wants to respond to a thread or post thus made
available to them, they can. Just bluntly letting someone, anyone, post to a
newsgroup without telling them exactly what usenet is and what a post to a
newsgroup is, can be not very nice on the person and to the ng involved.

[snip]

 

[Barbara de Zoete]

Here is a box I have designed.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/test-av1/msg/2e59908c57532711
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/test-av1/attach/2e59908c57532711/gm_pfbox.htm?part=2

"Post a message" from the right opens an Outlook Express email message window.

"Post a message" from the left redirects to web news message site.
I would like "Post a message" from the left to open an _Outlook Express_ news
message window.

You can want all you want. This is not going to happen. Especially since so many
of us do not use OE at all. Also in many an occasion a news client (what ever
news client) is not going to be available (schools, libraries, office). Good
luck with what you want. Maybe it is time to switch to what can be done in stead.


--
,-- --<--@ ---- PretLetters: 'woest wyf', met vele interesses: -----------.
| weblog | <http://home.wanadoo.nl/b.de.zoete/_private/weblog.html> |
| webontwerp | <http://home.wanadoo.nl/b.de.zoete/html/webontwerp.html> |
| zweefvliegen | <http://home.wanadoo.nl/b.de.zoete/html/vliegen.html> |
`----------------------------------------------------- --<--@ ------------'

 

[Richard]

Here is a box I have designed.

"Post a message" from the right opens an Outlook Express email message
window.

"Post a message" from the left redirects to web news message site.
I would like "Post a message" from the left to open an _Outlook
Express_ news message window.

The visitor would have to have a news service that carried the group.

href=This method only opens the group.
If the visitor is subscribed to it or the service he has, has it.
It will not open a new message window.
To do that, you may need a php or javascript thing.

 

[rf]

href=It will not open a new message window.
To do that, you may need a php or javascript thing.

Please provide an example where javascript can achieve what the OP wants.

More importantly please provide an example where PHP can achieve what the OP
wants, or at the least cite a source (other than your own) that hints that
it even *possible* with PHP.

 

[Toby Inkster]

href=It is also a microsoft only invention, not the subject AFAIK of any RFC.

"URLs are not an MS invention. You can use:

-OR-

There are also "nntp:" URLs, like this:

nntp://news.server:119/news.group.name/12345

Where ":119" is the port (optional) and 12345 is the article reference
number within that group. (This reference number is server-specific, so
not globally useful. You can probably see it by consulting the "Xref"
header in your newsreader.)

"URLs are generally more useful. Opera, strangely implements them
in an odd way, wanting a non-standard syntax:

news://news.server/news.group.name

It's silly -- I'm not sure if they've changed it in recent releases, but
that was certainly the case in 5.x/6.x. "nntp:" seems to work well(-ish)
in Opera though.

In general, "is fairly well supported, but the
others less so.

 

[paul]

Please provide an example where javascript can achieve what the OP wants.

More importantly please provide an example where PHP can achieve what the OP
wants, or at the least cite a source (other than your own) that hints that
it even *possible* with PHP.

I think PHP should be able to send a message to a news server, it's just
like sending email except the headers are a little different & the
server needs news account access.

Here's a bunch of functions for basically writing your own google
groups: http://us4.php.net/manual/en/ref.imap.php but I think you ought
to be able to do what the OP asks with http://us4.php.net/mail Ah here,
the second to last comment on the bottom of this page:
http://us2.php.net/manual/en/function.imap-mail.php

 

[rf]

I think PHP should be able to send a message to a news server, it's just
like sending email except the headers are a little different & the
server needs news account access.

You miss the point. The OP asked how to cause the mail clients new message
window to appear as a result of some action in a browser, much like mailto:
does (sometimes) for an email client.

RtS said this could be done with PHP which we both know is bogus advice. PHP
runs on the server, mailto: and protocols run on the client.

I was taking him to task. Don't expect to hear anything though, I suspect he
has me in his killfile

 

[rf]

"news:" URLs are not an MS invention.

I came to that conclusion because the MS documentation specifically refers
to an RFC for mailto: but says nothing at all for This usually
indicates MS is smugly inventing things without considering public standards
or recommendations.

Now that this thread is jogging my memory I do actually recall seeing before, several years ago. In fact IIRC somebody posted an HTML page here
that managed to open a news client (IE coupled to OE), create a "folder" and
add to a specific newsgroup to that folder. I can't remember why though

In general, "is fairly well supported, but the
others less so.

OK.

So, *is* it possible to cause a new post window to appear?

 

[paul]

You miss the point. The OP asked how to cause the mail clients new message
window to appear as a result of some action in a browser, much like mailto:
does (sometimes) for an email client.

RtS said this could be done with PHP which we both know is bogus advice. PHP
runs on the server, mailto: and news: protocols run on the client.

I guess I read the OP differently. Certainly it wouldn't work that way.

 

[Disco Octopus]

Toby Inkster wrote :

"URLs are not an MS invention. You can use:

-OR-

There are also "nntp:" URLs, like this:

nntp://news.server:119/news.group.name/12345

FWIW....
I am using MesNews and when I read this post, it recognises the "urls as a clickable link.

However, it did not recognise the "nntp:" url as a clickable link
*until* I hit the /_reply_to_group_/ button.