Hi,

>>>>> Stefan Monnier wrote:

>>| 2008-03-12  Stefan Monnier  <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>
>>|
>>| 	* nntp.el: Use with-current-buffer.
>>|         [...]
>>| 	(nntp-open-telnet-stream, nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet): Recommend
>>| 	the use of the netcat alternatives.

>> Could you add this recommendation to the manual, too?
>> (info "(gnus)Direct Functions"), (info "(gnus)Indirect Functions")

The function name `nntp-open-via-netcat' found in the doc string
of `nntp-open-telnet-stream' is not proper for it.  Because the
word `via' has been being used for the function names and the
variable names that are used for the nntp connection established
via the intemediate host.  Moreover, there is no function
definition for it in nntp.el.  I'd suggest the function name
`nntp-open-netcat-stream'.

In relation to this, some inconsistent descriptions are found in
the Gnus Info manual.

,---- (info "(gnus)Indirect Functions") ----
| `nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet'
| [...]
|      `nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet'-specific variables:
|
|     `nntp-telnet-command'
|           Command used to connect to the real NNTP server from the
|           intermediate host.  The default is `nc'.  You can also use
|           other programs like connect
|           (http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html) instead.
`----

Though the default value of `nntp-telnet-command' has not actually
been changed from "telnet", please note that changing the default
values of such defvoo'd variables will trouble users who haven't
set it in the select method.  Changing those names or removing
them will harm users who have customized those values, too.

The web site for `connect' is now:

http://www.meadowy.org/~gotoh/projects/connect

But it is an alternate of netcat, not telnet.

And, netcat doesn't seem to work with a socks wrapper.

,---- (info "(gnus)Example Methods") ----
|    If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside
| world through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a
| socksified netcat connection to the news server as follows:
|
|      (nntp "outside"
|            (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
|            (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-netcat)
|            (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
`----

Have you verified it?  Isn't specifying of some arguments passed
to netcat the proper way of letting netcat pass through the socks
server?  For example:

(nntp "outside"
      (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
      (nntp-netcat-switches ("-x" "the.socks.server:port" "-X" "5"))
      (nntp-address "the.news.server"))

Though I have chance of success in neither of the ways, because
the use of the 119 port is not permitted in the socks server.

In addition, the arguments ("-e" "none") passed to ssh seems to
be necessary:

,---- SSH(1) ----
| -e escape_char
|         Sets the escape character for sessions with a pty (default: ‘~’).
|         The escape character is only recognized at the beginning of a
|         line.  The escape character followed by a dot (‘.’) closes the
|         connection; followed by control-Z suspends the connection; and
|         followed by itself sends the escape character once.  Setting the
|         character to “none” disables any escapes and makes the session
|         fully transparent.
`----

Here is a patch for the Emacs trunk: