FM>   It's a valid area line if you find AREA: at the start of any line
FM>   before you find a line which doesn't start with AREA:, excluding lines
FM>   which start with 0x01 and maybe blank lines ("lines" consisting of
FM>   0x0d or 0x0d0a only).

db> What about "empty" lines, those containing only
whitespace?  What about 
db> lines containing "AREA:" and nothing else?  Since looking
for "AREA:" is 
db> something only apps processing packets would bother doing:

I look for the very first line, don't skip anything.

FM> This fails in only one case which I can think of - a netmail message,
FM> which therefore doesn't have an area line, but in which the user has
FM> written AREA: at the start of the very first line in his text.

db> What about a test - if the "area" after "AREA:"
is not a known valid area 
db> name, then assume it's normal message text and therefore a netmail message.  

And if it was netmail from a user via Sydney PCUG, then it suddenly 
has the potential to get into ZONE3_SYSOP, something the user
otherwise didn't have access to.

db> Netmail messages don't have "SEEN-BY" lines, do they ..
there's another 
db> check that can be performed when trying to determine one way or another if 
db> it's netmail or echomail.

SEENBY is normal ASCII text, the user could conceivably just
type that in himself, accidentally or deliberately.  BFN.  Paul.
@EOT:

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