Special notes:

    For Offline reading, see the slrnpull subdirectory.

    VMS users:   Read doc/VMSNOTES.TXT.  Also use VMSMAKE.COM and note
                 that  names like .jnewsrc should be read as jnews.rc, 
		 etc...

    OS/2 users:  Read doc/README.os2 and use the makefile 
                 called Makefile.os2 (in src/)
    
    The man page is rather old.  Be sure to read the sample slrn.rc
    file as well as changes.txt since these are kept current.

    See also doc/INSTALL for more installation tips--- especially for
    a multiuser system.

==========================================================================

To build slrn, build the S-Lang library first.  S-Lang is available
from space.mit.edu in pub/davis/slang.  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
    [edit src/slrnfeat.h and src/Makefile]
    make
    make install

Notes:

   *  It may be necessary to edit the Makefile in src/Makefile.  
   *  Be sure to look at src/sysconf.h after running the configure script 
       but BEFORE running make.
   *  If you want support for a local news spool or for inews, edit 
       src/slrnfeat.h. 
   *  The executable will be created in src/objs.
   *  To build slrnpull for offline reading, read the documents in the
      slrnpull subdirectory first.  You will also need to edit
      src/slrnfeat.h.  Then do `make slrnpull'.

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).  This is
only necessary when using NNTP.

   [ 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.
   ]

For run-time configuration of slrn such as new keybindings, change in
location of local spool directories, etc. copy the file `slrn.rc' to your
home directory and rename it `.slrnrc' (Unix-- VMS and OS/2 use a different
name).  Edit this file to change the keybindings and to associate different
newsrc files with different servers, etc...

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
Also, try: slrn --help

   [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.  See
    http://space.mit.edu/~davis for pointers to rxvt.]

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.  Before posting, read the files FAQ, KILL_FAQ, score.txt.  Finally
look at the sample slrn.rc file.

davis@space.mit.edu