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AUS FAQ - Questions and Troubleshooting
QuestionsShould I use the AUS?Why not use my ISP's usenet service? Why can't I use a passphrase with spaces in it? Who to contact regarding the AUS
TroubleshootingError message: Invalid CalNet IDError message: Invalid CalNet passphrase Error message: CalNet Directory Auth Failed Error message: Unable to contact the CalNet KDC servers. Please try again later. Error message: Unable to contact the CalNet Directory servers. Please try again later. Error message: Test Account Access Denied Error message: You have no permission to talk. Goodbye.
Questions
Should I use the AUS?If you wish to access usenet from a computer connected to the Internet via the campus network (this includes ship and home-ip modem access), then you may use the campus usenet service which does not require authentication. If you would like to access usenet from a computer which is not connected to the campus network (such as your home computer connected to the Internet via a broadband connection or a dial-up ISP) then AUS is for you. Although your ISP may provide usenet access, there are some reasons why you might want to use the AUS as a supplement to, or as a replacement for that service; see the section Why not use my ISP's usenet service?
Why not use my ISP's usenet service?There are two reasons to use the AUS instead of your ISP's usenet service: posting to the ucb.* hierarchy and association with UC Berkeley. The ucb.* hierarchy, a collection of newsgroups covering topics related to the UC Berkeley campus, may only be posted to via AUS or the campus usenet service. Additionally, not all ISPs may carry this hierarchy. If you use your ISP's news server, your messages will originate from that server and will carry whatever identification your ISP adds (some services include advertisements at the end of your posts). When you use the AUS or the campus usenet service, your messages are tagged as originating from UC Berkeley and will not carry an addendum.
Why can't I use a passphrase with spaces in it?The short answer is the software which runs the AUS doesn't support passwords with spaces due to ambiguities in the protocol which defines the format of communications between usenet clients and servers. (Systems such as Kerberos call such identifiers passphrases to succinctly make clear the allowed inclusion of spaces.)The Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) is defined by RFC 977 which states that a command is constructed from a command word and parameters which are separated from each other by whitespace (spaces or tabs). Authentication using usernames and passwords is not part of the standard defined by RFC 977 but is discussed in RFC 2980 which attempts to document popular extensions to the standard protocol as defined in RFC 977. The AUTHINFO command is used to provide authentication support. Since RFC 2980 defines extensions to the protocol, it could be argued that such extensions inherit the same command structure as defined in RFC 977; that white space separates the command word (in this case AUTHINFO) from any parameters (such as the username or password). It could also be argued that since AUTHINFO is an extension, it would not be unreasonable to bend the standard to allow for passwords which contained spaces. The suggestion of such an extension of AUTHINFO sparked a long discussion of the semantics of both RFCs with respect to the use of white space. After this discussion, it was decided by the maintainers of the software which runs the AUS that this problem would be better solved by the use of SASL in place of the AUTHINFO command. Various SASL mechanisms support passwords with spaces. SASL support in NNTP is not currently part of any IETF standard or documented extension. SASL support in NNTP is being discussed by the NNTP working group. Once standardized, SASL support will most likely be included in many clients and servers which will allow for passwords with spaces.
Who to contact regarding the AUSIf you have a question about AUS, send an email message to usenet@agate.be rkeley.edu.
Troubleshooting
Error message: Invalid CalNet IDThe CalNet ID you have supplied is not valid. Check to make sure that you've entered it correctly. If you have typed in your CalNet ID correctly and are still having trouble, please verify your CalNet ID and passphrase here. If you are unable to verify your CalNet ID and passphrase, you will need to contact User and Account Services. If you are able to verify your CalNet ID and passphrase and receive the error message "Invalid CalNet ID" when connecting to the AUS, please contact us.
Error message: Invalid CalNet passphraseThe CalNet passphrase you have supplied is not valid. Check to make sure that you've entered it correctly.If your CalNet passphrase contains a space, it will not work with the AUS (this is due to a limitation in the NNTP protocol). If you wish to use the AUS, you will have to change your CalNet passphrase and choose a passphrase that does not include a space. If you have typed in your CalNet passphrase correctly, your passphrase does not contain a space, and are still having trouble, please verify your CalNet ID and passphrase here. If you are unable to verify your CalNet ID and passphrase, you will need to contact User and Account Services. If you are able to verify your CalNet ID and passphrase and receive the error message "Invalid CalNet passphrase" when connecting to the AUS, please contact us.
Error message: CalNet Directory Auth FailedThe CalNet Directory does not contain any records matching your CalNet ID. The CalNet Directory contains records for all current faculty, staff, registered students and affiliates at U.C. Berkeley. To resolve this problem, you will need to contact User and Account Services.
Error message: Unable to contact the CalNet KDC servers. Please try again later.The authentication system could not connect to a CalNet KDC server. This should be resolved quickly; please try to connect again in an hour or so.
Error message: Unable to contact the CalNet Directory servers. Please try again later.The authentication system could not connect to a CalNet Directory server. This should be resolved quickly; please try to connect again in an hour or so.
Error message: Test Account Access DeniedYour CalNet ID is identified as a test account in the CalNet Directory. To resolve this problem, you will need to contact User and Account Services.
Error message: You have no permission to talk. Goodbye.This error most likely resulted from your client attempting to connect to the AUS without using SSL. In order to transmit your CalNet ID and passphrase to the server safely for authentication, you client must connect to the server using SSL to encrypt all information exchanged. Any connections to the server not made via SSL are rejected to ensure encryption. To correct this problem, reconfigure your client to use SSL when connecting. This may involve changing the preferences of your client to indicate that you wish to connect via SSL, and/or changing the port your client uses to connect from 119 (or a different number) to 563.If you feel that your client is trying to connect using SSL and that you are receiving this message in error, please contact us. Send comments to usenet@agate.berkeley.edu. [Main | Pilot Status | MacOS | Un*x | Windows | AUS FAQ]
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