Manual page for 2.10.2 readnews(1)

Tue Feb 12 08:45:46 AEST 1985

From: bossert at dataio (John Bossert)

Some sites apparently didn't get this.  Hope it helps

#	This is a shell archive.
#	Remove everything above and including the cut line.
#	Then run the rest of the file through sh.
-----cut here-----cut here-----cut here-----cut here-----
#!/bin/sh
# shar:	Shell Archiver
#	Run the following text with /bin/sh to create:
#	readnews.1
# This archive created: Mon Feb 11 08:18:50 1985
# By:	John Bossert (Data I/O Corporation, Redmond WA)
sed 's/^X//' << \SHAR_EOF > readnews.1
X.TH READNEWS 1 "15 January 1985"
X.UC 4
X.SH NAME
X\fBreadnews\fR \- read news articles
X.SH SYNOPSIS
X\fBreadnews\fR
X[\fB\-a\fR \fR[\fIdate\fR]]
X[\fB\-n\fR \fInewsgroups\fR]
X[\fB\-t\fR \fItitles\fR]
X[\fB\-fhlMprux\fR]
X[\fB\-c\fR \fR[\fImailer\fR]]
X.br
X
X\fBreadnews\fR
X\fB\-s\fR
X.SH DESCRIPTION
X.B Readnews 
Xis a program for reading USENET news. 
XIt permits the use of several interfaces,
Xwith the \fImsgs\fR(1) interface as the default.
X.PP
X.B Readnews 
Xwithout any arguments prints unread articles in the default subscription list.
X.PP
XThe following flags determine the selection of articles.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-a\fR \fR[\fIdate\fR]\fP
XSelect articles posted after the given \fIdate\fR.
XThe strict format for \fIdate\fR is of the form:
X.nf
X.ta 15m 20m
X
XDay Month Day-of-Month HH:MM:SS Year
XSun Sep 16 12:00:00 1984
X
X.fi
XHowever, some coloquialisms are buried in the source.
XThe default value is sometime in 1970.
X.RE
X.TP 10
X\fB\-c\fR \fR[\fImailer\fR]\fP
XWrite all selected articles to a temporary file then invoke \fImailer\fR.
XThe name of the temporary file is referenced as ``%''.
XThus ``mail -f %'' will invoke "mail" on the temporary file 
Xcontaining copies of the selected articles.
XThe environment variable MAILER, 
X(usually /bin/mail) defines the default mailer.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-f\fR 
XDon't print followup articles.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-h\fR 
XPrint articles in a less verbose format.
XThis option is intended for use on terminals running at 300 baud.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-l\fR 
XList only the titles of the selected articles.
XThe \fI.newsrc\fR file is not updated.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-M\fR 
XUse a \fIMail\fR(1)-like interface.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-n\fR \fInewsgroups\fR
XSelect articles belonging to \fInewsgroups\fR.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-p\fR 
XSend all selected articles to the standard output.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-r\fR
XPrint the articles in reverse order.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-s\fR 
XPrint the newsgroup subscription list.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-t\fR \fItitles\fR
XSelect articles whose titles contain one of the strings specified by 
X\fItitles\fR.
X.TP 10
X\fB\-u\fR
XUpdate the 
X.B .newsrc
Xfile every 5 minutes,
Xas in the case of an unreliable system.
X(Note that if the .newsrc file is updated, the
X.B x
Xcommand will not restore it to its original contents.)
X.TP 10
X\fB\-x\fR
XIgnore \fI.newsrc\fR file.
XThat is, select articles that have already been read as well as new ones.
X.B Readnews
Xmaintains a \fI.newsrc\fR file in the your home directory that 
Xspecifies all news articles already read.  
XIt is updated at the end of each reading session unless the \fB\-x\fR
Xoption was specified.
XIf the environment variable NEWSRC is present,
Xit should be the path name of a file to be used in place of .newsrc.
X.PP
XIf you wish, an options line may be placed in your \fI.newsrc\fR file.
XThis line starts with the word
X.B options
X(left justified) followed by the list of standard options just as
Xthey would be typed on the command line.
XSuch a list may include:
Xthe
X\fB\-n\fR 
Xflag along with a newsgroup list and/or
Xthe
X\fB\-r\fR
Xor
X\fB\-t\fR
Xflag.  
XContinuation lines begin with a space or tab character.
X.SH ENVIRONMENT
XOptions can be specified in the
X.B NEWSOPTS
Xenvironment parameter.  
XWhere conflicts exist, options on the command line take precedence, 
Xfollowed by the \fI.newsrc\fR,
X.B options
Xline, and lastly the
X.B NEWSOPTS
Xparameter.
X.PP
XIf
X.B EDITOR
Xis set, it will be used in place of the default editor on your system to
Xedit replies and follow-ups.
X.PP
XWhen the user uses the reply command,
Xthe environment parameter
X.B MAILER
Xwill be used to determine which mailer to use. 
XThe default is usually /bin/mail.
X.PP
XIf
X.B NAME
Xis set, it will be used as your full name when posting news or
Xsubmitting a follow-up. 
XIf it is not set, the name will be taken from the file
X.B .name
Xin your home directory. 
XIf this file is not present, the name will be taken from /etc/passwd.
X.PP
XIf
X.B NEWSARCHIVE
Xis set, a copy of any articles you post or follow-up to, 
Xwill be saved in the specified file. 
XIf it is the null string, they will be copied in 
X.I author_copy
Xin your home directory.
X.PP
XIf
X.B NEWSBOX
Xis present and equal to "directory", a request to save an article as
X"filename" will cause the article to be saved as "directory/filename".
XIf 
X.B NEWSBOX
Xis set to "directory/%s", a request to save an article in newsgroup
X"newsgroup" as "filename" will save it in the pathname
X"directory/newsgroup/filename".
XThe portion of the pathname defined as $NEWSBOX must already exist.
XThe subdirectories corresponding to news groups will be created as necessary.
X.PP
XIf
X.B NEWSRC
Xis set, it will be used in place of the .newsrc file in your home directory.
X.PP
XIf
X.B ORGANIZATION
Xis set, it will be used as the name of your organization whenever you
Xpost an article. 
XThe default is compiled in and is usually correct.
XTypically, you would only use this if you were reading news at a
Xsite other than normal. 
X(Or if you are trying to be cute.)
X.PP
XIf the user so desires, he may specify a specific paging program for articles.
XThe environment parameter
X.B PAGER
Xshould be set to the paging program.  
XThe name of the article is referenced with a `%', as in the
X\fB\-c\fR
Xoption.  
XIf no `%' is present, the article will be piped to the program.
XPaging may be disabled by setting
X.B PAGER
Xto a null value.
X.SH COMMANDS
X.PP
XThis section lists the commands you can type to the msgs and /bin/mail
Xinterface prompts.
XThe msgs interface will suggest some common commands in brackets.
XTyping a carriage return is the same as typing the first command.
XFor example, ``[ynq]'' means that the commands ``y'' (yes), ``n'' (no),
Xand ``q'' (quit) are common responses, and that ``y'' is the default.
X.sp
X.ta 2.5i
XCommand		Meaning
X.IP y
XYes.  Print current article.
X.IP n
XNo.  Skip this article.
X.IP q
XQuit.  The .newsrc file will be updated if 
X\fB\-l\fR or \fB\-x\fR were not on the command line.
X.IP c
XCancel the article.  Only the author or the super user can do this.
X.IP r
XReply.  
XReply to article's author via mail.
XYou are placed in your EDITOR with a header specifying the
XTo, Subject, and References lines derived from the original message.
XYou may change or add headers, as appropriate.
XEnter the text of the reply after the blank line, 
Xand then exit the editor.  
XThe resulting message is mailed to the author of the article.
X.IP rd
XReply directly.
XYou are placed in MAILER (``mail'' by default) in reply to the author.
XEnter the text of the reply and then control-D.
X.IP f [\fItitle\fP]
XSubmit a follow up article.
XNormally you should leave off the title, 
Xsince the system will generate one for you.
XYou will be placed in your EDITOR to compose the text of the followup.
X.IP fd
XFollowup directly, without edited headers.  
XThis is like \fBf\fR,
Xbut the headers of the article are not included in the editor buffer.
X.IP N [\fInewsgroup\fP]
XGo to the next newsgroup or named newsgroup.
X.IP s [\fIfile\fP]
XSave.  
XThe article is appended to the named file.
XThe default is ``Articles''.
XIf the first character of the file name is `|',
Xthe rest of the file name is taken as the name of a program,
Xwhich is executed with the text of the article as standard input.
XIf the first character of the file name is `/', it is
Xtaken as a full path name of a file.
XIf $NEWSBOX (in the environment) is set to a full path name,
Xand the file contains no `/', the file is saved in $NEWSBOX.
XOtherwise, it is saved relative to $HOME.
X.IP #
XReport the name and size of the newsgroup.
X.IP e
XErase.  
XForget that this article was read.
X.IP h
XPrint a more verbose header.
X.IP H
XPrint a very verbose header, 
Xcontaining all known information about the article.
X.IP U
XUnsubscribe from this newsgroup and go on to the next newsgroup.
X.IP d
XRead a digest.  
XBreaks up a digest into separate articles
Xand permits you to read and reply to each piece.
X.IP D [\fInumber\fP]
XDecrypt.  
XInvokes a Caesar decoding program on the body of the message.
XThis is used to decrypt rotated jokes posted to net.jokes.
XSuch jokes are usually obscene or otherwise offensive to some groups of people,
Xand so are rotated to avoid accidental decryption by 
Xpeople who would be offended.
XThe title of the joke should indicate the nature of the problem,
Xenabling people to decide whether to decrypt it or not.
X.PP
XNormally the Caesar program does a character frequency count on
Xeach line of the article separately, 
Xso that lines which are not rotated will be shown in plain text.
XThis works well unless the line is short, 
Xin which case it sometimes gets the wrong rotation.
XAn explicit /fInumber/fR rotation (usually 13) may be 
Xgiven to force a particular shift.
X.IP v
XPrint the current version of the news software.
X.IP !
XShell escape.
X.IP \fInumber\fP
XGo to \fInumber\fP.
X.IP +[\fIn\fP]
XSkip \fIn\fR articles.
XThe articles skipped are recorded as ``unread'' and will be
Xoffered to you again the next time you read news.
X.IP \-
XGo back to last article.
XThis is a toggle, typing it twice returns you to the original article.
X.IP x
XExit.  
XLike quit except that .newsrc is not updated.
X.IP X \fIsystem\fP
XTransmit article to the named system.
X.PP
XThe commands
Xc, f, fd, r, rd, e, h, H, and s
Xcan be followed by \-'s to refer to the previous article.
XThus, when replying to an article using the msgs interface,
Xyou should normally type ``r\-'' (or ``re-'') since by the time you enter
Xa command, you are being offerred the next article.
X.SH EXAMPLES
X.TP 10
X.B readnews
XRead all unread articles using the
X.IR msgs (1)
Xinterface.  The
X.I .newsrc
Xfile is updated at the end of the session.
X.TP 10
X.B readnews \-c ``ed %'' \-l
XInvoke the
X.IR ed (1)
Xtext editor on a file containing the titles of all unread articles.  The
X.I .newsrc
Xfile is
X.B not
Xupdated at the end of the session.
X.TP 10
X.B readnews \-n all !fa.all \-M \-r
XRead all unread articles except articles whose newsgroups begin with
X"fa." via
X.IR Mail (1)
Xin reverse order.  The
X.I .newsrc
Xfile is updated at the end of the session.
X.TP 10
X.B "readnews \-p \-n all \-a last thursday"
XPrint every unread article since last Thursday.  The
X.I .newsrc
Xfile is
Xupdated at the end of the session.
X.TP 10
X.B "readnews \-p > /dev/null &"
XDiscard all unread news.
XThis is useful after returning from a long trip.
X.SH FILES
X.PD 0
X.TP 40
X.RI /usr/spool/news/ newsgroup / number
XNews articles
X.TP 40
X/usr/lib/news/active
XActive newsgroups
X.TP 40
X/usr/lib/news/help
XHelp file
X.TP 40
X~/.newsrc
XOptions and list of previously read articles
X.PD
X.SH SEE ALSO
X.BR checknews (1),
X.BR inews (1),
X.BR mail (1),
X.BR news (5),
X.BR newsrc (5),
X.BR postnews (1),
X.BR recnews (8),
X.BR sendnews (8),
X.BR uurec (8)
X.SH AUTHORS
XMatt Glickman
X.br
XMark Horton
X.br
XStephen Daniel
X.br
XTom R. Truscott
SHAR_EOF
#	End of shell archive
exit 0