`
`Using UUCP and Usenet
`
`Grace Todino and Dale Dougherty
`
` O’Remy & Asseciates, Inc;
`- 103 Morris Street, Suite/X
`Sebastopol, CA 95472
`
`
`
`GOOG-1012
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`

`Using UUL‘P and Usenet
`by Grace Todino and Dale Dougherty
`
`(it. i“:
`‘2 {a . ”.3
`5 {fth a 3
`; ($43.:
`if
`
`Copyright © 1991 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
`Printed in the United States of America.
`
`Editor: Tim O’Reilly
`
`Printing History:
`
`February 1986:
`
`First edition; written by Grace Todino.
`
`November 1986: Usenet sections updated to NetneWs 2.11 by Tim
`O’Reilly, Linda Lamb, and Dale Dougherty.
`
`May 1987:
`
`Updated for Basic Networking Utilities
`(HoneyDanBer) UUCP, Xenix, and Berkeley.
`Sections reorganized and expanded by Dale
`Dougherty. New diagrams added by Laurel
`Erickson. Index added. Revised page design by
`Linda Lamb and Dale Dougherty.
`
`July 1987:
`
`Minor corrections.
`
`April 1989:
`
`Minor corrections.
`
`November 1989: Minor corrections.
`
`December 1989: Minor corrections.
`
`July 1990:
`
`Minor corrections.
`
`February 1991:
`
`Minor corrections.
`
`October 1991:
`
`Minor corrections.
`
`Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their
`products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this
`book, and O’Reilly and Associates, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the
`designations have been printed in caps or initial caps.
`
`While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the
`publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages
`resulting from the use of the information contained herein.»
`
`@9
`This book is printed on acid—free paper with 50% recycled content, 10—15%
`post—consumer waste. O’Reilly & Associates is committed to using paper with
`the highest recycled content available consistent with high quality.
`
`ISBN: 0-937175—10—2
`
`[7/92]
`
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`
`
`Table of Conienis «
`
`Table of Contents
`
`Page
`
`ficface
`
`.
`,
`..
`xx
`' Scope: ofThls Handbook
`Deve‘opmmtof UUCP ICUVOQV‘DIDod“D—IliottooolvfitlIOQC“I'v‘vvtvccvvu-(vvnlict-avvvv-aooocv,¢‘ XL!-
`- Which version Do X Have?
`.......inn
`.
`. m6 Nutsheli Farina: {vi-IIIOQOQIGOOQ'.ltytflltolliilttlltti'lIOVVCIO'QOQUivooll-ht'ltovvnat-o'lduno xiv
`7;
`Commands
`x1v
`Examples
`N016 to Our Readers
`
`............. xv
`
`Chapter 1 An Introductian to UUCP
`
`A Communications Network
`Overview of UUC? User Programs
`A Sampie. UUCF Ncmork
`Idantifying Remote Syswms
`And Maxi: It With .! (or \!)
`Sending Mai} to Remote Sysmms
`Sending a File Through the Mail
`Mail Forwarding
`fieUscnetNetwork
`
`Chapter 2 File Transfer
`
`Accessing Remote File Systems
`Using'lhe Public Directory
`- Using unto and nupick (System V)
`Using uucp
`
`1
`3
`5
`7
`8
`9
`10
`11
`12
`
`........
`
`15
`............ 17
`.............. 18
`..............
`23
`
`
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`idi
`
`
`Using UUCP and Usenet :fightxiittmswamhamsstrhsh‘;ttsézt
`
`There are a couple of simpic tricks that you can use to combine multi.
`pic flies into a single file for unnsmistion purposas
`
`l. First create; a list of the files to be included. You can do this either
`manually or with a pmgmm like 15 or find.
`2. Uteé hither of the backup programs cpio o: tar to create ah archivc
`on standard output rather than on a backup dcvica.
`3. Redirect standard output to a file,
`then use UUCP to sand the
`archivc.
`
`,
`
`4. Use the samc backup program on the target system to restore thc
`archive.
`
`For example. using (inc! anti epic:
`
`newton‘ find . ~print
`
`I epic ~00 > archiva.cpio
`
`or using a mauuaIIy-genemted fist of {iiehamesz'
`
`newtant epic ~oc ( filolint > archiva.cpio
`
`Them after transferring arcfuvc.cpio, the remote systcm, with uucp,
`restores the archive:
`
`waltham¥ epic ~1ed < archLVatcpiov
`
`(The 4: option of epic writes header information in ASCII far portabil»
`ity: ~d wits epic ta create dimctorics if needed when doihg the restore;
`-i and -o are used, respectively, to copy files in and out.)
`
`A simflar example using tar might be:
`
`newton§ tgr of archivo.tar ‘cat filelist‘
`
`walthami cat Itchive.t1r ( thr'xf ~
`
`If you are not famifiar with the. use of find, cpio or tar you may want
`to consuit the appropriate. command pages in the W111” Programmer’s
`Manual before. {tying out these commands.
`
`98
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`

`Using Netnewsi
`Getting on the Not
`Net Articles and Newsgroups
`Gatling Started
`
`
`
`Usenet is a worldwide Homeric of computers that run (homomows soft—
`- ware. As described earlier. Usonot is a public forum for the exchange
`' of ideas in the form of news articles {hat are broadcast to member Sims.
`No: users can post articles, xeply by mail or send followup articles to
`previous ones. or simply rcadthe news using the ncmows programs.
`
`The news messages that one gets on the not are as diverse as the per-
`sons who send them. Tb bring some stmotme into this collection of
`uscxs and their ideas. news articles are classified into newsgroups.
`
`When your system administrator sets up nomews, he or she may have
`decided to limit the. number of newsgroups that. your site will resolve
`and broadcast. You can also define a personal list of nowsgmups that
`you want to road so that you don’t need to wade :hrough newsgroups
`that you aren‘t interostod in
`
`99
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`A {L’aé Using UUCP and Usenet mmzzxizmwvaa:t;i§&:fi:~gr:g 3
`
`E] Find out what newsgroups are available at your site.
`CI Draw up a fist of newsgroaps to which you woukl like to subscribe.
`
`
`
`The companion handbook, szagfng UUCP and Usenet, dwcribes
`instaliing‘ the nemews software to set up a link into the Usencl 11%
`work. Obviously, this must be done if your she is to receive news.
`
`Probably the easiest and best way to get on the net is to sign up with
`UUNBT. a nompmfit, commercial UUCP and Usenet hookup, origiv
`many funded by Usenix, the UNIX mchnica} ussr’s group. UUNET
`allows you to access the net via the 'I‘ymnct or CompuServe public data
`networks. which have meal amass phonc numbers in mosi major cities.
`The off-peak (evening and weekend) conncct charges for Tymnct am
`quite rcamnablMS/hour. CompuServc is $5/txour any time.
`Almmativeiy. you can arrange 10 (13111 up directly, which may be more
`cfficim; if ycu are using high-Ema Telebh Mlblm modems. (m
`wmm is dptimizw far‘ase vim: UUCP, and is in gamma! use a:
`mum.)
`-
`
`Uscnix estimates that the. monfixly cost of a fun news feed is about
`$256. in adéition to the UUNBTmcmbcrship fee of $3S/month. The
`advantage. is that you will be hooked in one hop from a backbone silo.
`UUNET also ofi‘crs an extensive colicction of freely redistxibutabie
`UNIX source archives.
`
`You don’t need to subscxibc to UUNE‘I’ to be able to use their archives
`via UUCP. By calling 130046811727 and using (ha login “uucp”
`with no password, anyone may uucp any of UUNET’S on tine source
`cciicction.
`(Start by copying uunet!/u5r/spooilftpfls-IR.Z. which is a
`compressed index of every file in the archives.) As of this wfifing, the
`cost is 40 ccms per minute. The charges will appear on you: next tele-
`phone bill.
`
`100
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`
`inurewwwzuw22‘;i‘z"“§2ihmw
`
`Using Nelnews
`
`For more infonnation, contact:
`
`i-
`
`UUNB’I‘ Communicatians Scwices
`
`3110 Fairvigw‘ Park Drivm 8011:3570
`' R0; Box £324
`Falls Cbm’ch. VA 22842
`+1 703 8765050
`
`info@imnat.uu.nct ‘
`uufietiinf‘o
`
`fig”{3:}[iffgfelid}$fi§5%?:3:
`
`The articles on the net am classified into ngwsgroups..according to
`subject maucr, You can think of a newsmup as a ballotin board or
`forum dcvowd to am: topic. There are hundreds of newsgroups an the .
`nu that cater to every need or mood: newsgroups on technical topics
`such as artificial inmlfigcncc, programming language standards. or par-
`u‘cuiar computer systems? as welt ‘as rmvsgroups for gardening. hugs
`(the, computer kind) or wine, A listing 6f the current newsgroups as of
`fafi 1989 is provided in Appendix D.
`
`As of November 1986, newsgroups are. divided into seven major
`categories.* as indicated by the firsi part of their names:
`
`3 comp -
`
`sci -
`
`' news -
`
`rec -
`
`Groups Mating w some aspect of computer science (e.g.,
`compm‘).
`-
`
`Groups relating to seiences other that: computer. science
`(e.g., sci.physics or settiwmsymbatic).
`
`Groups relating :0 that nemews software (c.g..news.admin)
`or of general inwmst to all net users (c.g., news.announce).
`
`recreational
`to
`relating
`Groups
`rec.arts..g’—lovers or rec.gamcs.ch¢ss).
`
`activities
`
`(c.g.,
`
`'Bcfom {hit data, than: wary: only two camaon'os: a“, consisting of gmup: to which any
`one cock! post. and mad, cmsiuing of group: in which postings had first. to be nppmved
`by a modcmor. no mean: division of newsgroups inw seven categories was done for
`ma cxpmss purpose. of helping {has to cxcludc groups thcy don't want to any.
`
`107
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`

`553’: Using UUCP and Usenet lilfé‘fiil momma: {Massimiliano -
`
`“Jun
`
`soc -
`
`talk ‘
`
`misc -
`
`Groups for social interaction or discussion of social [epics
`(e.g.. socsingles or mac-allurejcwislz).
`
`to extended healed discussion (0.5,
`Groups prone
`talkxeligion or talk.politics).
`
`Groups that don’t fit into any of tho other categories (ogl,
`misojobsoffered for job poslings).
`
`'-
`
`.
`
`In addition, there may be one or mono local newsgroups that are avail
`able only in your local area. There. may also be groups found only at
`your "site. One of those, called general, is almost certain to exisL .
`
`In addition to the standard seven lilomrchios. and local or regional
`groups. mm are several aliomallve hierarchies. Those are created by
`‘_
`‘ groups of people who agree to catty and distribute those groups. indc».
`ponéonsly ofmc standard Ihicmmhlcs. Some of lemajor hicmmhlm 1
`are:
`’
`-
`
`at: ~
`
`'
`
`Show for“alzcmalivc." The original alternative Mommy.
`A major foam is that anyone may cream any group they
`please. Major groups include alt.gomnar1d, altaqnan‘a,
`and altsources.
`
`gnu -
`
`A set of groups devoted to the Free Software Foundations
`GNU project.
`
`pulmet —
`
`Groups devoted to the interests of public access UNIX
`silos.
`
`.bz‘one: —
`
`Groups devoted to the exchange of biological informatiom
`
`A brief description of each of the cmcntly available not-wide news.
`groups is usually lap: in lmrflib/Mwsinewsgroups.
`(Your systom
`administmior might have installed the nemews software in another
`directory than [usrflib/news, so inqulroif you don't find this file.)
`
`There are currently ova: 500 active newsgroups. However, you: sys-
`tem ndminislmtor may not have subsicsibod to every newsgroup, since
`keeping all nowsgroups can considerably increase telephone traffic and
`disk space usage. (In particular, sac and talk groups are not carried by _
`many silos.) However, all groups will be listed in tho newsgroups file.
`since it is a mirror imago of another file, the active file, that the system
`uses to keep track of which messages have already been received at
`this Site. and which should be rejected.
`
`102‘
`
`
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`
` 23333 33333333:33:331‘3‘33‘33"‘“333333133333:33-33233333333
`W333" looking over the. ncwcgmchs me. you may want to check wi3h
`;- yum system administrator to find out what groups are actually avail
`able It23 ralmivaly easy 30 pick up a newsgroup that R requested by
`; was. so don’ the afraid to ask for a group yOur system doesn’ Laminar-
`31y carry.
`
`Using Nemews
`
`there are also some local newsgroups whose
`' As mentioned above,
`. names begin with a distribution prefix that restricts the distribution nf
`=33): newsgroup to cermin geographicak areas or organizations. For
`f example, the prefix “as." in the newsgroup wewanted inziicmcs that it
`33613 oniy be distributed to 32335 in New England Some prefixes 31333
`an; mmmoniy used are given bciow Stage-wide distribution pmfixc-S
`imafiy 321330 (In: two-1mm abbreviation {at that state (for example.
`“33f forCaEifomia (My)
`3
`
`fume7-3: Some 3033! Newsgroup Name Pfefixes
`
`Distribution
`
`AT&'I‘
`Canada
`North America
`Unitsd States
`
`
`
`New England
`Similar prefixes exist for other regions
`
`j A newsgroup name: begins with one. of the swan camgory names given
`Eabovc. or one of {he Iocai dfstribution names, renewed by a dot 0 and
`4333 name of the main group. Newsgroups can 9330 have subgroups.
`;_For
`exampic,
`newsxzmouncemewusers
`is
`a
`subgroup
`of
`Mewsflmmmce. While newsmmomzce contains general micics that
`might Inc-interesting for everyone on the net, news.amatmceJtewusers
`fhss a specific audience in mind.
`
`103
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`

`. Using UUCP and Usene! ifférx’é':iiéé-zéféifiliifi'fifififii‘fzfi{llflifiméSiflg’rifiléifil
`
`fccajeéffiogz‘Sl‘éoé’sf
`
`The volume of news is enormous. It is almost a certainty that you will
`not want to subscribe to every newsgroup—cor oven a significant from
`tion of thermal.
`You can specify which newsgroups you want to read by specifying
`command lino options to the program you nor; for reading news. You _
`can also save. moss options as a kind of potsonnl subscription list in the ._
`filo Jzewsm in your homo ilimciory. This filo is used by the ncws soft» ,-
`waro to keep one); of who: articles you have: read. as well as which ¥
`newsgroups you want to read.
`This filo is created automatically the first time you try to read news,
`although the procedure differs dopemling on which of the news inter‘
`face programs you use. (Thom are three programs for reading news in '
`common use: readnews and vnews are part of the nomows discribw
`Lion; to is an optional program available at many sites.)
`
`Creating .newsro With raadnows
`Dcmils of how to use the three programs for reading news are, gixfcn in
`{he next chapter. For the moment. let‘s assume you plan to use read~
`news. which is in many ways the most basic of the three programs.
`The first limo you invoke readoews, you should automatically bc
`shown the newsgroup general. If your ncmows administrator has fol
`, lowod the installation insxmctions, you should aeo something like this:
`% toadnows
`
`01:33.
`ArLiclc l of 4, Nov 16
`Subject: Rulefi for posting to Usenet
`Path:
`..!oro!tim (Tim o’nellly 8 O'Reilly & Associates]!
`(14 lines) More? [ynq)
`y
`This group contains soveral articles that you should
`read in Fol} before using the not.
`'
`
`104
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` Zéifiéfiééif;i.ifi¥§i§i
`.::?.\‘.££=éi‘:éfé>-‘
`
`Using Nemews 19:12
`
`Atticle 2 contains a papar by Hark Horton entitled "Row to
`Read the Network News.“ You’ll need this to get started.
`
`Article 3 contains a piece by Hatc Bishop entitled
`"Hog to Use Useaat Eftactivaly.“ This article answers
`frequencly gsked questions abauh the net. and even mare
`>importanhly. pravidas acme guidelines about posting to the
`net-
`Do nag usa postnews before reading this article!
`
`Article 4 cantainu a useful piece on copyright law by
`Jordan Breslcw‘A
`’
`
`You can go on and read me articles in general by typing 3/ at the
`~ “{ynq1" prompt each time if. is shown to you. After you have finished
`‘
`reading (or right away if you want to get on with setting up the .newsrc
`file), type q to quit readuews. ,(Rcacfing news is discnsscd in the next
`chapter.)
`
`,
`
`.
`
`If you get the message “no news". than general was empty. Your
`.newsrc file win not be set up either. Try againgthis time using the «:1
`option to specify the; newsgroups you want to read. The easiest fitting
`to do is to type:
`'
`t :aadnnww -n all
`
`Then type, (1 to quit without ranking news‘ .newm: shank! now contain
`acomptctc newsgroup fist. Les's sac what it might look iikc:
`% ed
`8 mote .nevsro
`camp.ai:
`comp-ai.digextz
`comp.arch:
`qomp.bugs.2bnd:
`comp.buqs.4bnd=
`
`vv
`
`3 Your .newsrc file contains the: entire list of active newsgroups“ Each
`'; newsgwup name is foliowcd by a colon. If you have actually read one
`: or more articles.
`the 001011 wit! be followed by {he numbers of the
`: amides in the newsgroup that you kwvoacmally read. (This is how the
`I software keeps from showing you the same article over again.)
`
`105
`
`M
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`Elihfiv’f’‘251%;33
`Using UUCP and Usenet 3‘;mm,3:-‘ai?’*“*’¥2‘§‘x'2“
`
`Modifying .newsrc
`
`Many of the. newsgroups listed in .newm: may not be of interest to
`you.
`In addition to keeping track of which articles you have already
`read, mewsrc can also be used as your personal subscription lisL
`
`As mentioned above, the programs for wading news take a number of
`options for specifying which articles you want to read You can spec—
`ify newsgroups titles, or tho date of articles. However, in most cases,
`you want to look a: a number of different newsgroups. and don’t want
`10 have to type a lot of command lino opuons
`
`You can add on “opuons” lino as the first line of .zxmvsrc, and the
`opnons on that [me will be executed just as if they had been typed on
`the command lino when you invoko a program to read naws.
`
`To select which newsgroups you want to read, scan tho first lino of the
`file with the word “options" and specify the -n ncimportam‘mup:
`option, just as you would when invoking the readanews or mews
`command.
`‘
`
`NOTE: As a new user, it is highly recommended am you
`subscribe to news.annozmcc.nmunsers and newnannouncc.
`importcmLoewsaanowwcflewusers contains articles relat-
`ing to proper conduct on the not 'I‘hcso am'clcs are akin to 7
`a beginner‘s primer on Usenet. navsannowwcjmpormnt
`is used for occasional. very imponant announcements.
`
`When using options, you can specify the newsgroups you want, or
`don’ L wantwwhichcvcx is easier. An exclamation point preceding the
`newsgroup name means you don'1 wont to see it. To specify all 3111}
`groups within a group, you can await“)! “all" following the name of the
`newsgroup (For example, compo!!! means all comp groups. all by
`itself means all groups)
`'
`
`If the list goes over more than one line, begin subsequent lines with
`spaces or labs, and they will be treated as continuation lines.
`
`For example, you might include an options lino likc this:
`
`Options 4:1 novs.a11 comp.sourcos.unix comp.text
`
`”fills lino will subscribe to all groups in the new category plus the two
`specific groups comp.sources.unix (public domain UNIX softsvaro) and
`«mom! (text processing).
`
`106
`
`&WM..,W...7........“.
`
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`i
`
`'1‘- ; f-‘E‘lfz’lt’if'3 '6'?"'1 ‘5:{323313391‘<".‘$§f§§‘;?)5 EA:ll 1 l 53% 1‘s 53? f3 $33!! 3 £ :12.
`
`Using Nelnows “3‘."
`
`Or you could specify an Options line like this:
`
`options “:1 all ltalk.all lsoc.a11 Itemall \
`lsc1.axxl‘.ro lcump.bugs.2b'sd Laomp‘bugsAbsd
`
`o «
`
`a
`
`This line will subscribe to all groups cxoept ma groups listed with
`" exclamation points. Noto that you cannot simply specify a list of
`groups that you don‘t want without specifying some that you do wanL
`' The exclamation point is. generally used in this case to specify sub-
`groups that you don't want; within a general group that you do want to
`see.
`
`If you are planning to specify a long list of groups that you do or don't
`want, there is another way of doing this that may be. easier in the long
`mm
`.
`‘
`
`1. Specify the options lino options «:1 all at the start of flewsrc.
`2. Start reading Rows. Just read cocogh of each newsgroup to soc if it
`interests you (otherwise you’ll be there forever).
`If you want to
`subscribe, typo N to jump to the next newsgroop. If yoo ocvcr want
`to soc the newsgroup again. more is a command to unsubscribe.
`Unfortunately, it. differs for each of the three nowsrcoding pro-
`grams. In readocws. typo U, in mews, typo ug, and in to, type as.
`3‘ Alternatively, you can go down the list of newsgroup names in
`.newsrc, and insert an exclamation point instead of a colon immo—
`dintoly following oach newsgroup name that you don’t want to soc.
`For example:
`m£3o.wantodl
`
`means that you have unsobscribod to misowauted. Changing the
`“l” character book to a “1" renews your subscription to this group.
`
`Order of Newsgroups
`
`On many sysrems, newsgroups are presented in the order in which they
`appear in .newsrc. You may want to sort .newsrc so that the news
`groups you are most interested in are at the front of the file.
`
`
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`t
`
`r,- Using UUCF' and Usenet ;2§i§i§%§i2~f§§i.{iw%€§5iiiétiéiiifiifi E'E’éiiiiiéififémg
`
`The newsgroups are initiafly listed in the order in which they appear in
`your sysmm's active file. Your system administrator may have already
`ordered this file to put important groups first; however, by default, they
`are listed in alphabetical order.
`'
`
`Creating .newsrc With m
`
`If you plan to use m to read news (see me next chapter for details),
`you can Iet m prompt you for a list of newsmups you want to sub-
`scribe. to. It automatically runs the newsetup program and creates the
`.newsrc file if it docsn’t exist the first timc you invoke m. If JLEWSI‘C
`airway exists, it makes a backup copy sailed .oldncwsrc.
`‘ rn
`‘
`Trying to set up a .uewsrc fila-—running newsecup‘..
`
`Creating .nowsrc in Ivar/john to be used by newa programs.
`Done-
`V
`
`If you have naver used the naws system before, you may
`find the articles in news.announ¢e.newusers to be
`helpful. There is also a manual entry for ru.
`
`To get rid of newsgroups you aren‘t interested in, use
`the 'u' command.
`Type h for help at any time while
`running tn.
`'
`
`% T
`
`he 1: command in m will automatically append an exclamation point
`after the name of each newsgroixp you select for “unsubscription”.
`rn
`alsn includes a command to reorder the .newsrc for you.
`
`1
`
`08
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`

`ReadEng News
`Programs for Reading News
`, Reading News With m
`
`Finding Out Where You Am
`
`Once you have set up your personal subscription list. you can start
`wading some of the news in you: newsgroups; Let’s assume (has your
`.ncwsrc fits has been set up as described in the previous chapter.
`
`There we first: commands used so read news: mews, readnews and
`:2}. (rs: may not be; a‘vaflablc at your site. Currently, ma standarddis~
`Hibution has readnews and meats. but not m.)
`
`In this cfmptcr, you Wm loam how to:
`£21 Read news using mews, readnews and m.
`
`E1 Display a listing of articles in a newsgroup.
`
`[I Choose a newsgroup or article to read.
`[I Save an article in a file.
`
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`z. .a Using UUCP and Usenet 2.1mm:muou‘ouNd@qul.
`
`Note: that this chapter is dcsiguod to introduce you to the topic of read-
`ing ncmcws, and does no: proscnt all of the options available with each
`of these programs. After you have used the ncmcws software for a
`while. youshouldgoz u copyol‘ the man pages for rendnews and :11.
`which present'uddlfioual domils. These. pages may be available on~lino
`will: the. mancommuud, or you can ask your system administrator for a
`CODY.
`
`
`
`'
`
`’Ilao mews, readnews and rn programs differ in the number of options
`they allow. They also differ in style and speed.
`(readnews is not
`screen oriented. mews is faster than rn for some things, slower for
`others.) This affects their case of use and flexibility in moving through ‘
`newsgroups and articles. But more are some basic similarities among
`them, and they are summarizod hero:
`- When you invoke any of those: programs, the first unread article of
`the first newsgroup in your .nzwsrc file will be displayed. so, it is
`good practice to reorder ypur newsgroups so that the more impor-
`tant oncsfum listed first.
`A? news article, is s‘aicl to be mad if you go uuough'mo entire article.
`I-lowcvcr. am an: gummzmus mat-allow you to mark an article as
`roadwiumur actually going through it, or to mark it as unread
`when you have actually finished reading in Once an arilclo’is read.
`you normally canoe; go back and reread it the next time you
`invoke any of mosey programs.
`These. programs use a paging program to break the article into
`pages. You can uSo some of the pagor's commands to control your
`movement through the filo.
`
`-
`
`~
`
`‘ A news article always consists of two pans: the. header and the body of
`tho news. The header lists some or all of the following information:
`— Article number in {he newsgroup. Each article received at your silo
`is amomau'cally assigned a number.
`« Network address of the sender.
`
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`2'“Ammo“n“331:;“may: htiiitittlet:at.ié‘sxtatxoi
`
`Reading News 1;;‘2
`
`'
`:
`5
`
`-
`
`;
`
`- Newsgroup(s) to which it belongs.
`- Subject.
`-, Usenet message ID.
`
`- Date sent byttto author.
`
`- Dalo- received at your site.
`- Name of the organization from which it was soot.
`~ Number of lines in the body of magma
`
`A Word About Options
`
`_ The three news-hondling programs take quite a few different command
`tine. options As suggested above, you will oventualty want to read the
`. man pages for each program since mom may be options you want to
`experiment with
`~
`
`' However. more is one useful so: of options. that readnews and mews
`3 have in common These options give; you more control over what you
`= want to read than is given bymwsrc. They include:
`
`;
`‘
`
`'
`
`-n newsgroup:
`
`~tltlies
`
`aware}
`
`-x
`
`-
`
`'K
`
`'
`
`Only Show articles in newsgroups. If you specify
`more than one newsgroup, groups in tho fist shoutd
`be separated by spaces; not commas.
`
`Onty show {artistes with tides. You don't stood to
`remember the exact title.
`titles is any string that is
`committed in the titic, so you can search for a key-
`word or two, if you iikc.
`
`than date. date
`
`Outy Show articles more recent
`Should be in mde/yy format.
`Ignore the list of already-road articles in .newsrc.
`That is, Show all news; even if it has previously
`been read. This option is generality used together
`with one of the other options.
`
`Mark on articles as read. whether they’ve been seen
`or not. This option is sometimes usoftfl when you’re
`starting out, sincc it aflows ytm to ignore the. nocu»
`mutation of old news and read what comes in on a
`
`_ day‘to-dzty basis.
`
`11?
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`

`Using UUCP and Usenet neat-am;tasté‘etzttststészm
`
`
`
`titttttmzttttr? ;
`
`You can also use these options (except ~K) with checknews, aprogmm
`that simpiy reports whether or not there is news. For example:
`i chocknown ~n comp.lung.pascal
`Thcrc 1:: news .
`
`If there is no news, checknews wit} return without printing any mcs~
`sage.
`‘
`
`mews
`
`Once .newm: has been set up, vnews can be invoked without any argu-
`moms:
`
`% vnowa
`
`Newsgroup new!) . announce
`
`Article <5028cbosgd.UUCP> Nov 16 06:36
`Subject: rcsulta of callfifor-papers poll
`Path:
`. . lcbosgdlmark
`(49 lines)
`
`more?
`
`news.ammunce 69/112
`
`Nov 16 1:33
`
`In the first 22 lines of the first page, mews displays the name of the
`newsgroup, than the header of the first unread articic‘
`It then prompts
`you (“more?“) 'for what to do next. Press
`to see the next
`page, or the next unread article when you have read the current one.
`Press “n" if you want to go to the non article without reading the cur-
`rent article. The Inst line aiso toits you that the current mick: is num-
`ber 69 out of 1:2 articles in this newsgroup. It 3130 prints today’s date
`and time. When you reach tltc end of the articic, mews wit! prompt
`you with “next?”.
`“1110 other commonIy-uscd commands of mews are givcn below. Note
`that yen do not have to prom REFURN after entering a command. Enter
`.\
`"" at any time to get a complete mom] of vnews commands oolinc.
`
`11;?
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`Reading News ism 15% %~={<~i£fiiii§fifi§§§ §§'§i§¥§.§§€i?fi3§§f§?
`
` ' Description
`
`6
`
`+x
`
`~
`Mt
`
`p
`
`‘
`
`1‘8
`{N
`
`x‘P
`
`sfiz‘e
`
`r or R
`
`<csc>R
`
`N new
`
`ug
`
`Mark current news as unread
`
`Go ferward x article.
`
`Q
`
`Go to previous article.
`Select article by number #
`
`Go back to parent article (the inst article this is a fab
`lo‘wup to). Toggte: between parent and amen: article
`with -.
`'
`
`(30 backward x pages.
`Go femard x fines.
`
`Go backward x lines.
`
`‘
`
`Save article infiie.
`
`‘
`
`Post a reply to the article you just read.
`(See: Chapter 8 first.)
`
`Rcyly by mail to an article.
`
`Go to named newsgroup.
`
`Unsubscriba to this newsgroup.
`
`T9 get out of mews. press “(1". mews automatically goes to the next
`‘ newsgroup when you've read an previousiy unmad wicks in {he can
`' rent newsgroup.
`
`readn-ews
`
`rcadncwa is similar to mews. After the header is- displayed. you get
`the prompt “[yuql". The main difference is that readnews is line ori-
`ented, while mews is screen oriented.
`l raadnews
`
`~-_-—._—-—__..._—.~.
`
`/
`
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`Using UUCP and Usenet
`
`‘ij.1...;
`
`.. '
`
`' y
`
`5......""" ‘.
`
`01:33.
`Article 69 of 112, Nov 16
`Subject: results of call—for—papers poll
`Path:
`..lcbosgd!mark (Mark Horton @ Bell Labs, Columbus)
`(49 lines) More? [ynq]
`y
`[First, I’d like to correct the previous article. Due to
`
`——MORE—— (87%)
`
`After displaying the header, readnews gives a more prompt and three
`command options that have the same meaning as in vnews. In the
`above example, we entered “y” (for “yes”) so vnews displayed the first
`page of the article. At the bottom of the first age, you get another
`more prompt for your next action. Press
`to see the rest of the
`article.
`
`Some of the commands of readnews are listed below. The “?” key
`gives a menu of the readnews commands online.
`’
`‘
`'
`
`Table 8-2: Some readnews Commands
`
`
`
` Description Command
`
`No. Go to next article.
`
`to
`
`#
`
`q
`
`U
`
`N [news]
`
`s [file]
`
`r
`
`C
`
`~
`
`b
`
`K
`pv
`
`1 14
`
`’Go to article number # in the current newsgroup.
`
`Quit this newsgroup.
`
`Unsubscribe from this newsgroup.
`
`Go to named newsgroup. Default is next newsgroup.
`
`
`
`Append article to file. Default is "Articles".
`
`Reply by mail to the author of the article.
`(See Chapter 8 first.)
`
`Mark this article as unread.
`
`Go back to last article.
`
`Back up one article in current newsgroup.
`
`Mark remaining articles in this group as read.
`Print current news version number.
`
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`

`Heading News a?“
`
`'
`
`m
`
`rn is a more complex program that Claims to reduce the “dead” time
`you spend in deciding whether to read an article or not. It is not a part
`of the standard netnews distribution, but may be available on some sys—
`terns.
`It gives you the flexibility to move in and out of articles and
`newsgroups and perform other tasks such as pattern-matching using
`regular expressions. The syntax is:
`
`m [option] [newsgroups]
`
`You can enter m alone or with a named newsgroup.
`
`the newsgroup selection
`rn lets you enter commands at three levels:
`level, the article selection level (within the newsgroup), and the pager
`level (within the article). All three levels have their own prompts,
`commands and a menu of these commands. We will describe only
`some of these commands since you can press “11” at any time in order
`to get a menu of the commands at each level.
`
`When you invoke rn, it first looks for your .newsrc file, performs some
`. consistency checks on it, and then checks whether new newsgroups
`have been created that are not in your file. It then'prompts you if you
`want to add these newsgroups to your .newsrc file.
`
`% rn
`
`***RN NEWS***
`
`Checking out your .newsrc——hang on a second...
`
`Checking active list for new newsgroups...
`
`Newsgroup‘talk.rumors not
`
`in .newsrc —— add?
`
`[yn] n
`
`Put newsgroup where?
`
`h
`
`Newsgroup comp.mac.sources not
`
`in .newsrc —— add? [yn]
`
`TURN) implies that you want to ignore this-
`Typingn“n” (without a
`newsgroup. rn then o-romts ou for the next unlisted new newsgroup.
`Typing “y” or a SPACE BAR indicates that the newsgroup is to’be
`added to .newsre. (Whenever ou are _iven the option in brackets, the
`
`default is given first. Typing“ means to use the default.)
`
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`1“»? Using UUCP and Usenet mizsmsz. mo;24%
`
`
`
`The new newsgroup is simply appended to the end of the existing
`.newm: filo. Type “h". as we have done above, to get a menu of com-
`mands if you want to change the order of the newsgroups. m‘win go
`on pmmpting you unfii it mus out of new newsgroups. ‘
`
`““waug'
`3?“?
`
`If there are no newsgroups, m goes directly to the newsgroixp selection
`level. It displays the number of unread articles in your newsgroups.
`and then asks you if you wont to smart reading the artistesin the first
`newsgroup.
`% rn
`Unread new» in neus.announco
`Unread news in naws.m£sc
`
`5 articles
`9 articles
`
`~v v
`
`**’* 5 unread articles in news.announcc«~road how? Iynq};
`
`The last line is the prompt at the newsgroup selection lcvcla The dues
`command options have the following meaning.
`'
`
`Tabie 8—3; Prompts at (he Newsgroup Love!
`
` Prom 1
`
`3’
`
`n“
`(1
`
`Description
`
`Read this newsgroup now. Also
`
`Go to the next newsgroup.
`Quit the rn progxmn.
`
`
`
`,
`
`~
`
`Note that you do not press
`prompt.
`
`'
`
`after entering {he options at (his
`
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`
`Ei§'zic¥si<";<f.it§§:£§§zufi’grgaeisvfiimam!i
`
`Readfng News 5.2:?
`
`Listing the Articies
`
`It is sometimes useful to list (ha subject headings in the newsgroup and
`then decide if you actua