Re: lynx-dev ftp mgetting with lynx

[David Woolley]

> I would hope that if the site supports mget, permission to use it
> is implicit.

mget is implemented in the client, not the server.  The client asks for
a list of file names (NLST?), then issues normal gets for each in turn.
It's a core part of the ftp protocol and I don't know of any standard
ftp server that would allow one to detect a client mget (some clients
use NLST for their ls function).  There is a similar situation on http;
you actually have to analyze logs to detect mirroring, even when your
terms of service forbid it.  However, for web sites, there are conventions
for telling well behaved bulk transfer agents (e.g. wget, but *not* Lynx)
that certain parts of the site are off limits.  With custom servers,
you can also block certain user agents, which is why Lynx users should
be particularly careful about using Lynx for automated fetches.

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