[batv-tech] deployment issues

[Dave Crocker]

sounds like the spec might benefit from a bit of text warning implementors. 
it's one of those Programming 101 issues that is sometimes worth repeating.

d/

Arvel Hathcock wrote:
> How funny.  We just noticed this in our own code today and addressed it.  :)
> 
> Nate Leon wrote:
>> Thanks for the real-world insight.
>>
>> Speaking of mod 1000, we are about to roll the last 3 digits of the
>> number of days since Epoch.  i.e. today is 13994 days past Jan 1, 1970,
>> which becomes "001" for new outgoing sigs.
>>
>> So if anybody has deployed code that looks something like this:
>> if (todaysDate > expirationDateInsig)
>> 	// this sig is expired!
>>
>> it will be incorrectly marking sigs as expired for the next week or so,
>> until today's date also rolls over.
>>
>> Or more likely, if your code is checking the difference between the two
>> dates:
>> if (expirationDateInSig - todaysDate > 7)
>> 	// this sig is expired!
>>
>> then the code may be incorrectly identifying expired sigs.
>>
>> Just thought I would mention it, since I might not have considered this
>> case if I hadn't been implementing this right as the time is rolling
>> over. :)
>>
>> n8
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: John Levine [mailto:batv at johnlevine.com] 
>> Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 4:53 PM
>> To: batv-tech at mipassoc.org
>> Cc: Nate Leon
>> Subject: Re: [batv-tech] deployment issues / grace period?
>>
>>> Has anybody deployed BATV, and if so, have you found any issues?
>>>
>>> (e.g. a mailing list server acting on the reverse path (MAIL FROM)
>>> causing postings to fail for the end-user)
>> Yeah.  The only list manager I've seen key on the bounce address is
>> ezmlm.  If we can agree on a standard BATV format, I think I can give
>> them a patch to ignore the signature.
>>
>> I also get a certain amount of annoying C/R from poorly written spam
>> filters that re-challenge every new bounce address.  They must be
>> really popular with list managers who use VERP.
>>
>>> Also, has anybody bothered with some kind of grace period?
>> Yes, my prototype has always had a grace period.  The signature
>> includes a mod 1000 day number, and I accept bounces that have day
>> numbers less than a week old.
>>
>> Also, when I first set up BATV, I just tagged bad bounces for a few
>> weeks until I was confident that it was doing the right thing.  Now I
>> hard reject with very few false positives.
>>
>> R's,
>> John
>>
>>
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> 
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-- 

   Dave Crocker
   Brandenburg InternetWorking
   bbiw.net