Re: ISSUE 1583 status

"Charles Lindsey" <[email protected]> writes:
> Russ Allbery <[email protected]> writes:

>> The third issue is about what to do when a serial number is specified
>> for a hierarchy and then a subsequent control message arrives without a
>> serial number.  The current document is silent on what to do in this
>> situation.  I think it should state what should be done.  My sense of
>> the previous discussion was that most people felt that such a
>> checkgroups should be ignored, meaning that once an authorized control
>> message sender starts issuing checkgroups with serial numbers,
>> subsequent checkgroups for that hierarchy must always use serial
>> numbers, which must always be larger than the previous serial number.
>> I'm a little worried about this provision, since after long periods of
>> time and a change of hierarchy administration it can be potentially
>> difficult to uncover the previous serial number.  But I don't see a
>> good alternative that preserves the serial number semantics.

> I am slightly worried about being too specific here, for the reason you
> mention. Perhaps some wording to the effect that newsadmins should think
> carefully before accepting such a checkgroups (and in any case, blind
> automatic acceptance of checkgroups has never been a recommended
> practice). I wouldn't want to say anything stronger than that, and would
> be happy to leave it as it stands.

> So by all means suggest a wording if you like, or else let it be.

Here's proposed wording, which uses SHOULD rather than MUST for the
honoring side to leave wiggle room for things like a lost serial number.

--- usepro.xml  (revision 5620)
+++ usepro.xml  (working copy)
@@ -1953,12 +1953,14 @@
 
           <t>The &lt;chksernr> argument may be any positive integer.  If
           present, it MUST increase with every change to the newsgroup
-          list and MUST NOT ever decrease.  If provided, news servers
-          SHOULD remember the &lt;chksernr> value of the previous
-          checkgroups control message honored for a particular hierarchy
-          or sub-hierarchy and decline to honor any subsequent checkgroups
-          control message for the same hierarchy or sub-hierarchy with a
-          smaller &lt;chksernr> value.</t>
+          list, MUST NOT ever decrease, and MUST be included in all
+          subsequent checkgroups control messages with the same scope.
+          If provided, news servers SHOULD remember the &lt;chksernr>
+          value of the previous checkgroups control message honored for a
+          particular hierarchy or sub-hierarchy and decline to honor any
+          subsequent checkgroups control message for the same hierarchy
+          or sub-hierarchy with a smaller &lt;chksernr> value or with no
+          &lt;chksernr> value.</t>
 
           <figure>
             <preamble>For example, the following Control header

-- 
Russ Allbery ([email protected])             <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>