slrn is an NNTP based news reader.

VMS users:   READ VMSNOTES.TXT  !!!
OS/2 users:  Use the makefile called Makefile.os2

(See also INSTALL for more installation tips--- especially for a multiuser
system)

(Note: For VMS, use either VMSMAKE.COM or DESCRIPT.MMS.  In addition, names
like .jnewsrc should be read as jnews.rc, etc...)

To build slrn, build the S-Lang library first.  S-Lang is available from
space.mit.edu.  slrn uses S-Lang for most of the dirty work such as keymaps,
terminal i/o, and screen management. Once S-Lang has been compiled, compile
slrn.  Under Unix, this is accomplished by running the configure script via:

    ./configure
    make
    make install

It may be necessary to edit the Makefile in src/Makefile.  Also be sure to
look at src/sysconf.h after running the configure script but BEFORE running
make.  Note: the executable will be created in src/objs.

Once slrn has been created, you will need to creat a .jnewsrc file in your
$HOME directory.  The simplist way to do this is to simply do:

    cp $HOME/.newsrc $HOME/.jnewsrc

   [Actually, slrn will do this for you automatically.  If no newsrc file is
    specified, and .newsrc exists, it will create .jnewsrc from .newsrc]
    
slrn will use a different name for this file while it is under development.
Finally, make sure the environment variable NNTPSERVER is set to point to
your news server (e.g., setenv NNTPSERVER nntp.where-ever.com).

   [ If you do not already have a .newsrc file, it will be necessary to create
     one.  To do so, at the unix prompt, type:
     
        slrn -f .jnewsrc -create
	
     This starts the newsreader and retrieves all active newsgroups from the
     news server.  The act of retrieving all groups can be quite slow for
     slow connections.  Fortunately, this only happens when the create flag
     is used.
     
     From within the news reader, you may subscribe to
     desired groups.  Press the `L'  (capital-L!!) key to list all groups
     matching a specified pattern, e.g., comp.*unix*.
     
     Use the `s' key to subscribe.
   ]
    
Too change the keybindings, copy the file `slrn.rc' to your home directory
and rename it `.slrnrc'.  Edit this file to change the keybindings and to
associate different newsrc files with different servers.

To post articles, slrn will look for the following environment variables for
an editor:

    SLANG_EDITOR
    EDITOR
    VISUAL
    
If it fails, it will resort  to vi.  `SLANG_EDITOR' is the most versatile
since one can define it to include a command line.  For example, if JED is
your editor, use:

    setenv SLANG_EDITOR 'jed %s -g %d -tmp'
    
That's it, type: ./slrn

   [If you have a color terminal, use `./slrn -C'.  You may need to change
    the colors by setting them in your .slrnrc file.  If you run under
    X Windows, you may consider getting a good color Xterm such as rxvt.
    (color_xterm itself is somewhat buggy so I recommend rxvt.  I have made
    it available from space.mit.edu in pub/davis/color-xterm.]

After connecting to the server and getting news for the subscribed groups in
you .jnewsrc file, slrn will enter full screen mode listing the newsgroups
that you have subscribed to.  Use the UP/DOWN (^P/^N) arrow keys to move
from one group to another.  To read news from that group, press the SPACE
bar or simply hit RETURN.

slrn will display the headers for unread articles after getting the required
headers for the group from the server.  Use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to move
from one to the other.  To delete the current header (i.e., mark as read),
hit the `d' key.  `u' will undelete the article.  To read the article under
the cursor, press RETURN or SPACE.  The screen will split into two windows--
a small one for the headers and a large one for the article.  Press SPACE to
scroll through the article and `b' to page backwards.  The `t' key may be
used to toggle hiding of selected headers.

The `f' key may be used to followup on the article.  `q' will return to the
list of newsgroups.  Also, one may use the `n' key to go to thye next unread
article.  If there are no more unread articles, pressing `n' will also take
you to the next group.  Press the arrow keys to choose one.

At the group level, a new message may be posted by using the `p' key.

Enjoy.  However, since this slrn is still in its infancy and is still under
development, please send me your comments regarding the user interface.

I follow the news.software.readers newsgroup.  Feel free to post questions
there.

davis@space.mit.edu