Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message that will
be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display the target article?
I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538 [1] and make news: or nntp:
links that will show up and work in the Thunderbird newsreader with no
luck so far. At best, I can get a link that simply opens a new, blank
Thunderbird window that has the menu bar at the top and the Get
Message(greyed out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the
window body area.

This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some reason I
can't get it to work at all. Here are some example URIs I tried to
create, that do not seem to work for me:

news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me

That news: format open the described blank window

nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965

That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink. RFC says this
article number format likely only works on the local news server as
remote news servers would not know the article number on a remote server.

Any help or guidance is appreciated!

[1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538

On 24/02/2024 20:29, headyprimes wrote:
> Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message that will
> be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display the target article?
> I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538 [1] and make news: or nntp:
> links that will show up and work in the Thunderbird newsreader with no
> luck so far.  At best, I can get a link that simply opens a new, blank
> Thunderbird window that has the menu bar at the top and the Get
> Message(greyed out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the
> window body area.
>
> This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some reason I
> can't get it to work at all.  Here are some example URIs I tried to
> create, that do not seem to work for me:
>
> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>
> That news: format open the described blank window
>
> nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965
>
> That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink.  RFC says this
> article number format likely only works on the local news server as
> remote news servers would not know the article number on a remote server.
>
> Any help or guidance is appreciated!
>
> [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538

Test to see what this does:
news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com

On 24/02/2024 21:42, MikeS wrote:
> On 24/02/2024 20:29, headyprimes wrote:
>> Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message that will
>> be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display the target article?
>> I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538 [1] and make news: or nntp:
>> links that will show up and work in the Thunderbird newsreader with no
>> luck so far.  At best, I can get a link that simply opens a new, blank
>> Thunderbird window that has the menu bar at the top and the Get
>> Message(greyed out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the
>> window body area.
>>
>> This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some reason I
>> can't get it to work at all.  Here are some example URIs I tried to
>> create, that do not seem to work for me:
>>
>> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>>
>> That news: format open the described blank window
>>
>> nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965
>>
>> That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink.  RFC says this
>> article number format likely only works on the local news server as
>> remote news servers would not know the article number on a remote server.
>>
>> Any help or guidance is appreciated!
>>
>> [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538
>
> Test to see what this does:
> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com
>
All I did was right click the header in TB and select "Copy message
location". The post gives a clickable link in TB. This is your post:
news://news.eternal-september.org:119/urdjiqchvn@dont-email.me

On 24/02/2024 21:47, MikeS wrote:
> On 24/02/2024 21:42, MikeS wrote:
>> On 24/02/2024 20:29, headyprimes wrote:
>>> Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message that will
>>> be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display the target article?
>>> I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538 [1] and make news: or nntp:
>>> links that will show up and work in the Thunderbird newsreader with no
>>> luck so far.  At best, I can get a link that simply opens a new, blank
>>> Thunderbird window that has the menu bar at the top and the Get
>>> Message(greyed out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the
>>> window body area.
>>>
>>> This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some reason I
>>> can't get it to work at all.  Here are some example URIs I tried to
>>> create, that do not seem to work for me:
>>>
>>> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>>>
>>> That news: format open the described blank window
>>>
>>> nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965
>>>
>>> That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink.  RFC says this
>>> article number format likely only works on the local news server as
>>> remote news servers would not know the article number on a remote
>>> server.
>>>
>>> Any help or guidance is appreciated!
>>>
>>> [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538
>>
>> Test to see what this does:
>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com
>>
> All I did was right click the header in TB and select "Copy message
> location". The post gives a clickable link in TB. This is your post:
> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/urdjiqchvn@dont-email.me
>
which opens in my browser to give a fully formatted, complete copy of
your post.

On 2/24/24 4:49 PM, MikeS wrote:
> On 24/02/2024 21:47, MikeS wrote:
>> On 24/02/2024 21:42, MikeS wrote:
>>> On 24/02/2024 20:29, headyprimes wrote:
>>>> Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message
>>>> that will be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display
>>>> the target article? I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538
>>>> [1] and make news: or nntp: links that will show up and work in
>>>> the Thunderbird newsreader with no luck so far. At best, I can
>>>> get a link that simply opens a new, blank Thunderbird window
>>>> that has the menu bar at the top and the Get Message(greyed
>>>> out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the window
>>>> body area.
>>>>
>>>> This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some
>>>> reason I can't get it to work at all. Here are some example
>>>> URIs I tried to create, that do not seem to work for me:
>>>>
>>>> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>>>>
>>>> That news: format open the described blank window
>>>>
>>>> nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965
>>>>
>>>> That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink. RFC says
>>>> this article number format likely only works on the local news
>>>> server as remote news servers would not know the article
>>>> number on a remote server.
>>>>
>>>> Any help or guidance is appreciated!
>>>>
>>>> [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538
>>>
>>> Test to see what this does:
>>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
> All I did was right click the header in TB and select "Copy message
>> location". The post gives a clickable link in TB. This is your
>> post:
>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/urdjiqchvn@dont-email.me
>>
> which opens in my browser to give a fully formatted, complete copy of
> your post.
>
These links open that same, blank Thunderbird window on my system; I
think Thunderbird recognizes that it is the handler for the news: URI
type, but it doesn't seem to actually open them. I am using 115.6.0
(64-bit) provided by the apt package
thunderbird/jammy-security,jammy-updates,now
1:115.6.0+build2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1 amd64. The browser on my system
(Firefox 122.0.1 (64-bit)) does not have a URI handler for the news://
protocol, if I manually paste the link into the browser address bar, it
redirects to the default search provider as you'd expect. I am curious
how your web browser is opening this link type, which one is it if I
might ask? I can try this on another system, to see if it happens to be
something with this package or operating system causing the problem I
am experiencing.

On 2/24/2024 5:25 PM, headyprimes wrote:
> On 2/24/24 4:49 PM, MikeS wrote:
>> On 24/02/2024 21:47, MikeS wrote:
>>> On 24/02/2024 21:42, MikeS wrote:
>>>> On 24/02/2024 20:29, headyprimes wrote:
>>>>> Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message that
>>>>> will be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display the target
>>>>> article? I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538 [1] and make
>>>>> news: or nntp: links that will show up and work in
>>>>> the Thunderbird newsreader with no luck so far.  At best, I can
>>>>> get a link that simply opens a new, blank Thunderbird window
>>>>> that has the menu bar at the top and the Get Message(greyed
>>>>> out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the window
>>>>> body area.
>>>>>
>>>>> This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some reason I
>>>>> can't get it to work at all.  Here are some example URIs I tried to
>>>>> create, that do not seem to work for me:
>>>>>
>>>>> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>>>>>
>>>>> That news: format open the described blank window
>>>>>
>>>>> nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965
>>>>>
>>>>> That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink.  RFC says
>>>>>  this article number format likely only works on the local news
>>>>>  server as remote news servers would not know the article number on
>>>>> a remote server.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any help or guidance is appreciated!
>>>>>
>>>>> [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538
>>>>
>>>> Test to see what this does:
>>>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>> All I did was right click the header in TB and select "Copy message
>>> location". The post gives a clickable link in TB. This is your post:
>>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/urdjiqchvn@dont-email.me
>>>
>> which opens in my browser to give a fully formatted, complete copy of
>> your post.
>>
> These links open that same, blank Thunderbird window on my system; I
> think Thunderbird recognizes that it is the handler for the news: URI
> type, but it doesn't seem to actually open them.  I am using 115.6.0
> (64-bit) provided by the apt package
> thunderbird/jammy-security,jammy-updates,now
> 1:115.6.0+build2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1 amd64.  The browser on my system
> (Firefox 122.0.1 (64-bit)) does not have a URI handler for the news://
> protocol, if I manually paste the link into the browser address bar, it
> redirects to the default search provider as you'd expect.  I am curious
> how your web browser is opening this link type, which one is it if I
> might ask?  I can try this on another system, to see if it happens to be
> something with this package or operating system causing the problem I
> am experiencing.
I just confirmed the same behavior on 115.8.0 on a Windows 10 machine, a
blank Thunderbird window opens upon clicking any news:// links. (posting
from this machine now)

On 24-2-2024 23:41, headyprimes wrote:
> On 2/24/2024 5:25 PM, headyprimes wrote:
>> On 2/24/24 4:49 PM, MikeS wrote:
>>> On 24/02/2024 21:47, MikeS wrote:
>>>> On 24/02/2024 21:42, MikeS wrote:
>>>>> On 24/02/2024 20:29, headyprimes wrote:
>>>>>> Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message that
>>>>>> will be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display the target
>>>>>> article? I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538 [1] and make
>>>>>> news: or nntp: links that will show up and work in
>>>>>> the Thunderbird newsreader with no luck so far.  At best, I can
>>>>>> get a link that simply opens a new, blank Thunderbird window
>>>>>> that has the menu bar at the top and the Get Message(greyed
>>>>>> out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the window
>>>>>> body area.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some reason
>>>>>> I can't get it to work at all.  Here are some example URIs I tried
>>>>>> to create, that do not seem to work for me:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That news: format open the described blank window
>>>>>>
>>>>>> nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink.  RFC says
>>>>>>  this article number format likely only works on the local news
>>>>>>  server as remote news servers would not know the article number
>>>>>> on a remote server.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Any help or guidance is appreciated!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538
>>>>>
>>>>> Test to see what this does:
>>>>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>> All I did was right click the header in TB and select "Copy message
>>>> location". The post gives a clickable link in TB. This is your post:
>>>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/urdjiqchvn@dont-email.me
>>>>
>>> which opens in my browser to give a fully formatted, complete copy of
>>> your post.
>>>
>> These links open that same, blank Thunderbird window on my system; I
>> think Thunderbird recognizes that it is the handler for the news: URI
>> type, but it doesn't seem to actually open them.  I am using 115.6.0
>> (64-bit) provided by the apt package
>> thunderbird/jammy-security,jammy-updates,now
>> 1:115.6.0+build2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1 amd64.  The browser on my system
>> (Firefox 122.0.1 (64-bit)) does not have a URI handler for the news://
>> protocol, if I manually paste the link into the browser address bar, it
>> redirects to the default search provider as you'd expect.  I am curious
>> how your web browser is opening this link type, which one is it if I
>> might ask?  I can try this on another system, to see if it happens to be
>> something with this package or operating system causing the problem I
>> am experiencing.
> I just confirmed the same behavior on 115.8.0 on a Windows 10 machine, a
> blank Thunderbird window opens upon clicking any news:// links. (posting
> from this machine now)

"a blank Thunderbird window opens"
Yep!

--
With kind regards,
Henk de Jong

On 24 Feb 2024 21:29, headyprimes wrote:
> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me

<mid:urdjiq$1chvn$1@dont-email.me> works.

In Betterbird, you can also right-click on <urdjiq$1chvn$1@dont-email.me> and open
the message from the ID.

--
Viele Grüße, Jörg
Sent with Betterbird. Simply better.
www.betterbird.eu - www.betterbird.eu/#featuretable
Es ist immer wieder erstaunlich: Kaum macht man's richtig, schon funktioniert's!

O 24/02/24 ás 23:25, headyprimes escribiu:
> On 2/24/24 4:49 PM, MikeS wrote:
>> On 24/02/2024 21:47, MikeS wrote:
>>> On 24/02/2024 21:42, MikeS wrote:
>>>> Test to see what this does:
>>>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com
>>>
>> All I did was right click the header in TB and select "Copy message
>> location". The post gives a clickable link in TB. This is your post:
>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/urdjiqchvn@dont-email.me
>>
>> which opens in my browser to give a fully formatted, complete copy of
>> your post.
>>
> These links open that same, blank Thunderbird window on my system; I
> think Thunderbird recognizes that it is the handler for the news: URI
> type, but it doesn't seem to actually open them.  I am using 115.6.0
> (64-bit) provided by the apt package
> thunderbird/jammy-security,jammy-updates,now
> 1:115.6.0+build2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1 amd64.  The browser on my system
> (Firefox 122.0.1 (64-bit)) does not have a URI handler for the news://
> protocol, if I manually paste the link into the browser address bar, it
> redirects to the default search provider as you'd expect.  I am curious
> how your web browser is opening this link type, which one is it if I
> might ask?  I can try this on another system, to see if it happens to be
> something with this package or operating system causing the problem I
> am experiencing.

It does work on 102.15.1, so it's probably a regression.

On 24/02/2024 23:08, Henk de Jong wrote:
> On 24-2-2024 23:41, headyprimes wrote:
>> On 2/24/2024 5:25 PM, headyprimes wrote:
>>> On 2/24/24 4:49 PM, MikeS wrote:
>>>> On 24/02/2024 21:47, MikeS wrote:
>>>>> On 24/02/2024 21:42, MikeS wrote:
>>>>>> On 24/02/2024 20:29, headyprimes wrote:
>>>>>>> Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message
>>>>>>> that will be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display the
>>>>>>> target article? I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538 [1] and
>>>>>>> make news: or nntp: links that will show up and work in
>>>>>>> the Thunderbird newsreader with no luck so far.  At best, I can
>>>>>>> get a link that simply opens a new, blank Thunderbird window
>>>>>>> that has the menu bar at the top and the Get Message(greyed
>>>>>>> out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the window
>>>>>>> body area.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some reason
>>>>>>> I can't get it to work at all.  Here are some example URIs I
>>>>>>> tried to create, that do not seem to work for me:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That news: format open the described blank window
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink.  RFC says
>>>>>>>  this article number format likely only works on the local news
>>>>>>>  server as remote news servers would not know the article number
>>>>>>> on a remote server.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Any help or guidance is appreciated!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Test to see what this does:
>>>>>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>> All I did was right click the header in TB and select "Copy message
>>>>> location". The post gives a clickable link in TB. This is your
>>>>> post:
>>>>> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/urdjiqchvn@dont-email.me
>>>>>
>>>> which opens in my browser to give a fully formatted, complete copy of
>>>> your post.
>>>>
>>> These links open that same, blank Thunderbird window on my system; I
>>> think Thunderbird recognizes that it is the handler for the news: URI
>>> type, but it doesn't seem to actually open them.  I am using 115.6.0
>>> (64-bit) provided by the apt package
>>> thunderbird/jammy-security,jammy-updates,now
>>> 1:115.6.0+build2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1 amd64.  The browser on my system
>>> (Firefox 122.0.1 (64-bit)) does not have a URI handler for the news://
>>> protocol, if I manually paste the link into the browser address bar, it
>>> redirects to the default search provider as you'd expect.  I am curious
>>> how your web browser is opening this link type, which one is it if I
>>> might ask?  I can try this on another system, to see if it happens to be
>>> something with this package or operating system causing the problem I
>>> am experiencing.
>> I just confirmed the same behavior on 115.8.0 on a Windows 10 machine,
>> a blank Thunderbird window opens upon clicking any news:// links.
>> (posting from this machine now)
>
> "a blank Thunderbird window opens"
> Yep!
>
I don't know if it is still relevant but long ago, on a different PC
with a different version of TB I found a registry fix to do what the OP
wants. It is not on my current PC but you could try this:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/80650/how-do-i-register-a-custom-url-protocol-in-windows
As far as I recall it worked and I used it for several years.

On 2/25/24 6:03 AM, Parodper wrote:

> It does work on 102.15.1, so it's probably a regression.

I think there's enough feedback here, I can probably take this over to
bugzilla. I've also seen some older issues tracked over there in a
similar vein after taking a look, that it's probably worth reporting at
this stage. Thanks everyone for the input so far!

On 2024-02-24 22:42, MikeS wrote:
> On 24/02/2024 20:29, headyprimes wrote:
>> Is it possible to format a link or URI in a newsgroup message that will
>> be able to be followed by Thunderbird, and display the target article?
>> I have been attempting to follow RFC 5538 [1] and make news: or nntp:
>> links that will show up and work in the Thunderbird newsreader with no
>> luck so far.  At best, I can get a link that simply opens a new, blank
>> Thunderbird window that has the menu bar at the top and the Get
>> Message(greyed out), Write, and Tag toolbar buttons, nothing in the
>> window body area.
>>
>> This seems like it would be a basic function, but for some reason I
>> can't get it to work at all.  Here are some example URIs I tried to
>> create, that do not seem to work for me:
>>
>> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>>
>> That news: format open the described blank window
>>
>> nntp://news.eternal-september.org/de.alt.dateien.misc/49965
>>
>> That nntp: URI is ignored entirely, not a hyperlink.  RFC says this
>> article number format likely only works on the local news server as
>> remote news servers would not know the article number on a remote server.
>>
>> Any help or guidance is appreciated!
>>
>> [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5538
>
> Test to see what this does:
> news://news.eternal-september.org:119/_OKdnWS5hqhxxEv4nZ2dnZfqn_udnZ2d@earthlink.com

Empty window.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 2024-02-25 00:47, Jörg Knobloch wrote:
> On 24 Feb 2024 21:29, headyprimes wrote:
>> news:uramh2$lvgb$1@dont-email.me
>
> <mid:urdjiq$1chvn$1@dont-email.me> works.

Opens a "follow up" window, totally blank, except that the To: header
points to "urdjiq$1chvn$1@dont-email.me". Newsgroup and subject are also
blank.

The body is in html mode. Ah, it is in email mode.

>
> In Betterbird, you can also right-click on
> <urdjiq$1chvn$1@dont-email.me> and open the message from the ID.

Here it offers to compose a message to that address.

--
Cheers, Carlos.