JW>> Problem is that in fixing the ugly BBCode quote problem
 JW>> mentioned above - the original SMF message ID is gone -
 JW>> thus the child/parent link used for threading is also
 JW>> gone.

>>can't carry the MSGID/REPLY control lines over via X- header
>>lines and use them? should be able to...

 JW> I'm considering that but, and you may know more about this
 JW> than I, I'm concerned...well, skeptical actually, of the
 JW> liklihood of those X headers making it back to my system after
 JW> bouncing through every other node out there. Do you have any
 JW> thoughts on how likely that is?

why would X- headers bounce around any system other than yours? fido
messages come in with MSGID and/or REPLY control lines... in your
conversion process, convert them to X-FTN-MSGID and X-FTN-REPLY (or
whatever is already in use 'cause i know this is already being done) and
thread on them when you import into your sql database... on export, you
convert them back to standard FTN format and thus, there are no X- headers
bouncing around outside your system...

FWIW: the conversion of the control lines may be already being done
depending on the software you are using to convert from FTN to email...

FWIW2: i think it would be best to do FTN stuffs in the FTN way instead of
converting back and forth to fit some other format... why generate MSGID
numbers just to throw them away and use something else locally? pull the
messages out of the binary FTN PKT file and spit them into a properly
designed database that recognises and works properly with FTN tech... then
write or convert a "bbs" package to work with /that/... the
current methods remind me too much of the mess we have with QWK tech in the
FTN networks that breaks many things and causes many problems... "but
it is just a message!" fooey! it goes a lot deeper than just skin deep
;)

i like phpBB and use it on my site but i won't try shoving FTN into that
mainly due to the structural differences...

)\/(ark