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Network News is a very active world-wide bulletin board system. It is organized by topics, called newsgroups, covering a wide range of subjects. You can read and respond to news articles by using the ANU NEWS newsreader available on the VAX.
To enter NEWS, type news at the $ prompt. NEWS functions are invoked by typing commands at the NEWS> prompt. Many of these commands can also be issued by pressing keys on the numeric keypad to the right of the main keyboard. See the diagram for a list of these keypad shortcuts.
NEWS> dir/all
NEWSGROUPS [ALL, 1432 Newsgroups]
Newsgroup Count Unread
854 news.groups.questions 7 7
855 news.groups.reviews 3 3
856 news.lists 30 30
857 news.lists.ps-maps 0 0
858 news.misc 56 56
859 news.newsites 15 15
-> 860 news.newusers.questions 407 407
861 news.software.anu-news 21 21
862 news.software.b 91 91
863 news.software.nn 23 23
864 news.software.nntp 90 90
865 news.software.notes 0 0
866 news.software.readers 87 87
867 rec.answers 276 276
868 rec.antiques 145 145
869 rec.aquaria 437 437
870 rec.arts.animation 184 184
871 rec.arts.anime 1028 1028
NEWS>
To move through the display a page at a time, press the [NEXT SCREEN] or [PAGEDOWN] key. Pressing the down arrow key will scroll through the directory one line at a time. Note that newsgroups are organized into hierarchies, as shown below:
bit BITNET listserv discussion groups
comp Computer-related topics
gnu Free Software Foundation and its GNU project
misc Newsgroups that don't fit anywhere else
news Groups related to USENET News adminstration
rec Recreational topics
sci Scientific research and applications
soc Social issues
talk Long debates on controversial subjects (like politics)
tntech Of interest to the Tennessee Tech community
vmsnet VMS operating system topics
Within a given hierarchy, groups are further subdivided by interest; for example, you will find groups such as sci.chem, sci.geo.meteorology, and sci.med.nutrition in the sci hierarchy.
NEWS> dir/reg
NEWSGROUPS [REGISTERED, 7 Newsgroups]
Newsgroup Count Unread
-> 1 bit.listserv.edtech 113 113
2 bit.listserv.history 58 58
3 comp.sys.powerpc 859 859
4 rec.folk-dancing 93 93
5 rec.food.cooking 676 586
6 soc.culture.czecho-slovak 98 98
7 soc.culture.german 412 412
We recommend that you set up NEWS so that your registered groups (rather
than all newsgroups) are displayed when you enter NEWS. To do so,
type the following command at the NEWS> prompt:
set profile/directory=register
To get the entire list of available newsgroups, remember that you can type dir/all at the NEWS> prompt. To unregister from a newsgroup, use the deregister command (e.g. deregister comp.sys.powerpc).
To read an article in one of your registered groups, select the group in one of two ways: either move the screen pointer to that newsgroup and press [RETURN], or use the select command. A list of articles posted to that newsgroup will appear:
NEWS> select rec.food.cooking
rec.food.cooking: 676 Items (#1035 - #1711) Prot:RW
-<Food, cooking, cookbooks, and recipes.>-
Title From Lines Date
->1035 Re: Childhood Food Memories Charlie Schachter <14 8-Mar 1036 oatmeal orange tennis bread perry@unixg.ubc.ca 6 8-Mar 1037 Re: recipe for fish njs@scifi.uucp (Nic 59 8-Mar 1038 RE: Hot Peppers thacker@rhea.arc.ab 10 8-Mar 1039 Re: Where can I find Pectin? epsteine@spot.Color 14 8-Mar 1040 Re: Childhood Food Memories judy.anderson@stpau 25 8-Mar 1041 Re: What is CILANTRO? jdfine@husc9.harvar 25 8-Mar 1042 Soft Pretzel Recipe Recently Posted, P idprd@unix1.circ.gw 12 8-Mar 1043 Re: Your Favorite Cookbooks: Summary thariq@teaching.phy 19 8-Mar 1044 REQUEST Armadillo Eggs severn@mintaka.sdsu 12 8-Mar 1045 REQUEST: Putenesca jenifer@cwa.com (Je 8 8-Mar 1046 Re: Splitting rec.food.cooking?! SFEGUS@ubvm.cc.buff 10 8-Mar 1047 Re: turnovers, dumplings rwieler@ee.umanitob 22 8-Mar 1048 Re: Kids in the Kitchen dmcmenam@mtholyoke. 35 8-Mar 1049 Re: what to put on french fries meeks@mailhub.scf.l 16 8-Mar 1050 Re: REQUEST: Yogurt lahurd@augsburg.edu 36 8-Mar 1051 Re: Public Service Announcement ackee@esri.com (Ric 12 8-Mar 1052 SEASONING FRYING PANS chuck.rippel@exchan 24 8-Mar NEWS>
To read an article, position the screen pointer on that item and press [RETURN]. Continue pressing [RETURN] until you are at the bottom of the article. To read followup articles to the current article, type read/followup/new or press the . on the keypad. This will allow you to read all articles with the same subject line (called a thread). Once there are no more articles in that thread, the next unseen article will be presented.
By default, all read articles will continue to show up whenever you run NEWS, although they will no longer be highlighted. If you wish only unseen articles to appear, you can change NEWS behavior by typing the following at the NEWS> prompt: set profile/display=unreaditems
To get back to the list of registered groups, you can type dir/reg or press the 6 on the keypad.
Currently, all articles are deleted from the system after seven days. If there are articles you wish to keep, you will need to either print them, save them in a file, or mail them to yourself.
To print a copy of the current article (without saving it) on the system line printer, use the print command.
To save the current article to a file, type extract followed by the filename you want to use (for example, extract bread.txt). Once you have exited NEWS, you can print the file to a local printer (by using the rprint command) or edit the file with a text editor.
To mail a copy of the current article to yourself or another person, use the mail command. Note that Internet-style addresses (such as dwm3387@some where.com) should not be preceeded by in%" as in VMS Mail. By default, NEWS will invoke the EVE editor so you can edit the message before sending it. For more information about using EVE, consult documentation available in Clement Hall computer labs.
NEWS> MAIL
To: jqu1234, dwm3387@somewhere.com
Subject: oatmeal orange tennis bread
The header and text of the article will appear. Edit the file, if desired, using EVE commands. When you are ready to send, press [CTRL-Z]. If you wish to cancel without sending, instead press the PF4 key (the key on the numeric keypad labelled as - on PCs and * on Macintoshes) and type quit.
Since messages you send may be read by thousands of people, and reflect on both you and Tennessee Tech University, please adhere to the following guidelines when posting to NEWS:
Before you post your first article, send a practice message to the group tntech.test, and read news.announce.newusers for the following articles: Rules for Posting to Usenet, Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette, and A Primer on How to Work With the USENET Community.
When you post an article, the EVE text editor will be automatically invoked. For help using EVE, consult documentation available in Clement Hall computer labs.
To respond to the entire group regarding the current article, use the followup command:
NEWS> followup Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
The header and text of the article will appear. Notice that each line of the original text is preceeded by >. Edit the file, if desired, and type your response, using EVE commands.
In article <1994Mar29.094312.101@vm1.usnd.edu>, pdqbach@usnd.edu writes:
> I don't have much luck baking bread - it always turns out too dry.
> Can anyone help?
My secret for success is including potatoes in the dough (mash the
potatoes, of course, and include the cooking water). You'll find
recipes for potato-based breads in many bread cookbooks - try one!
- J. S.
When you are ready to send, press [CTRL-Z]. If you wish to cancel without sending, instead press the PF4 key (the key on the numeric keypad labelled as - on PCs and * on Macintoshes) and type quit.
Subject: Re: Bread Woes
Post to rec.food.cooking [y]:
To respond to the author of the article privately, use the reply command:
NEWS> reply
To: pdqbach@usnd.edu
Subject: RE: Bread Woes
The header and text of the article will appear. Notice that each line of the original text is preceeded by >. Edit the file, if desired, and type your response, using EVE commands.
In article <1994mar29.094312.101@vm1.usnd.edu>, pdqbach@usnd.edu writes:
> I don't have much luck baking bread - it always turns out too dry.
> Can anyone help?
My secret for success is including potatoes(!) in the dough (mash the
potatoes, of course, and include the cooking water). You'll find
recipes for potato-based breads in many bread cookbooks - try one!
- J. S.
When you are ready to send, press [CTRL-Z]. If you wish to cancel without sending, instead press the PF4 key (the key on the numeric key pad labelled as - on PCs and * on Macintoshes) and type quit.
Mail <in%"pdqbach@usnd.edu">? [y]:
(invoking mailer)
NEWS>
To start a new conversation topic (a new thread), use the post command:
NEWS> post
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Enter your message using the EVE editor.
Does anyone have a good recipe for tabouli?
Thanks!
John Doe
jed1234@tntech.edu
When you are ready to send, press [ctrl-z]. If you wish to cancel without sending, instead press the PF4 key (the key on the numeric key pad labelled as - on PCs and * on Macintoshes) and type quit.
Subject: REQUEST: Tabouli Recipe
Post to rec.food.cooking [y]:
To use Emacs as your default editor instead of EVE, type the following command at the NEWS> prompt: set profile/edit="@ttu_manager:mailedit_emacs"
Exit from NEWS by typing exit at the NEWS> prompt.
Help is available by typing help at the NEWS> prompt. For additional information, contact Academic Computing Support.
Command: Description:
news Invoke NEWS at the $ prompt
dir/all List all available newsgroups
dir/reg List registered newsgroups
[return] Select the current group or article to read
read/followup Read the current article and followups
read/followup/new Read the current article and followups, and then
present the next unseen article
set seen Mark all items in the current newsgroup as read
set seen/pointer Mark all items up to and including the current
article as read
print Print the current article on the system printer
extract filename Save the current article to a file
mail Mail the current article
register groupname Register to a newsgroup
deregister groupname Deregister from a newsgroup
followup Post a response to the current article to the
newsgroup
reply Send an e-mail reply to the author of the
current article
post Post an article to the current newsgroup
help Get help on NEWS
exit Leave the NEWS program
The diagram below represents NEWS keypad functions available on VT100-compatible keyboards. If you experience problems, contact Academic Computing Support for help with your terminal emulation package.
_____________________________________
| pf1 | pf2 | pf3 | pf4 |
gold-| | | |SKIP/FOLLOWUP
|GOLD |HELP |SKIP |SKIP/NEWSGROUP
|________|________|________|________|
| 7 | 8 | 9 | - |
gold-|PRINT |EXTRACT |EXTR/ALL|EXTR/APPEND
|DIR |DIR/NEW |DIR/REG |DIR/ALL |
|________|________|________|________|
| 4 | 5 | 6 | , |
gold-| |TOP | | |
|DIR | UP |DIR/REG |DIR/ALL |
|________|________|________|________|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | enter |
gold-|READ/HEA|BOTTOM |READ/NEX/HEAD |
|READ | DOWN |READ/NEXT |
|________|________|________| |
| 0 | . | |
gold-|READ/NEW/HEADER |READ/NEW/FOLLOWUP/HEADER
|READ/NEW |READ/NEW/FOLLOWUP|
|_________________|________|________|