4 Setting Up News As An NNTP Client Only
4.8 Optional steps to assist users
In order to simplify use of News, especially for new users, you may wish to
provide any or all of the following aids.
4.8.1 Documentation
The News_Doc ZIP archive contains plain text, PostScript, RTF and TeX sources
for user documentation, as well as several useful or informative items for news
admins (some of which we hope you've already read :-)). The documentation
explains News concepts and commands. Further information on the current state
of Usenet and hints on netiquette can be found in the newsgroup
news.announce.newusers. We encourage new users to read the regular postings
to this group in order to acquaint themselves with Usenet culture.
4.8.2 System help library entry
The News_Dist ZIP archive includes a file named DCLNews.Hlp, which contains a
sample entry describing News for inclusion in a system help library. You may
wish to edit this file appropriately and add it to Sys$Help:Help.Hlb or a
site-specific help library.
4.8.3 NewsRC.Template file
When a user invokes News for the first time, he or she will not normally have
a NewsRC file in Sys$Login to provide information on profile settings and
newsgroup context. While News can fall back to default settings in the absence
of a NewsRC file, this often leads to intimidating lists of 'New newsgroup:'
messages at startup, or may make it harder for users to take advantage of
specific features of your setup. In order to help customize the environment for
new users, News will use the file News_Manager:NewsRC.Template as the NewsRC
file for their first session, if this file exists. The simplest way to create
such a file is to rename your NewsRC file, run News yourself, set up the user
profile and group registration appropriately, exit News, and copy the
resulting NewsRC file to News_Manager:NewsRC.Template. (Be careful not to use
your regular NewsRC for this, as you will be including in the template file a
record of items you have previously read, which may lead to confusion later.)
Alternatively, you may use a DCL procedure like this to create the template
file:
$!---------------Make_NewsRC_Template.Com-------------------
$ Run_News = "$News_Manager:News/NetServer/NoScreen"
$ Open/Write templ Sys$Login:NewsRC_Setup.
$! This is the first line from a valid NewsRC. file on your system -
$! any one will do -- to point News to the proper server.
$ Write templ "~netnews.upenn.edu 2~2B643CC8 news.announce.important_4#"
$ Write templ "PROFILE"
$ Write templ "UNSEENSTACK"
$ Write templ "NEWREGISTER=none"
$ Write templ "DISPLAY=(L1,P1)"
$ Write templ "FROMSIZE=15"
$ Close templ
$ Define/User NewsRC "Sys$Login:NewsRC_Setup."
$ Run_News
Set Profile/NewRegister="*/confirm"
Deregister/All
Register news.announce.newusers
Select news.announce.newusers
Exit
$ Copy Sys$Login:NewsRC_Setup. News_Manager:NewsRC.Template
$ Delete/Log/NoConfirm Sys$Login:NewsRC_Setup.;*
$ Purge/Log/NoConfirm News_Manager:NewsRC.Template
$ Exit
In either case, you will want to update your template file periodically, so
that it accurately reflects the current set of newsgroups available from your
server.
previous: 4.7 Moving News.Hlb
next: 5 Setting Up News as a Local Reader/Server
Table of Contents