Newsgroups: news.software.b
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ucla-cs!twinsun!eggert
From: eggert@twinsun.com (Paul Eggert)
Subject: Re: IMPORTANT: Users of Rodney's UUCP modules / GUS
Message-ID: <1991May14.194730.9164@twinsun.com>
Sender: usenet@twinsun.com
Nntp-Posting-Host: ata
Organization: Twin Sun, Inc
References: <g5No26w164w@mantis.co.uk> <RALPH.91May13185018@orion.laas.fr>
Date: Tue, 14 May 1991 19:47:30 GMT

ralph@laas.fr (Ralph P. Sobek) writes:

>In article <g5No26w164w@mantis.co.uk> mathew@mantis.co.uk (CNEWS MUST DIE!) writes:
>|  I has recently been drawn to my attention that said software is generating
>|  Usenet Date: headers with the year in full -- that is,  17 Jun 1991 instead
>|  of 17 Jun 91.
>| 
>|  THE NEW "IMPROVED" C-NEWS WILL SILENTLY DISCARD ALL SUCH ARTICLES, WITHOUT
>|  WARNING THE POSTER.
>| 
>|  mathew

>Is this true!!  C-News should be corrected if this is the case.


It's not true.  Perhaps this false report stemmed from a bug in old
versions of the NN news reader, which mishandled four-digit dates.
This bug was fixed starting with NN version 6.4.13, released in February.

I wouldn't be surprised if other news software has similar bugs,
because the RFC standards are a little disorganized here.  It's not
immediately obvious that RFC 1036, which specifies the format of Usenet
articles, is amended by RFC 1123, which adds (and recommends)
four-digit years.
