Re: SLRN vs SLRNPULL

On 2005-08-23, Alan Connor <zzzzzz@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On news.software.readers, in
> <57drt2-egf.ln1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Whiskers" wrote:
>
>> On 2005-08-22, Alan Connor <zzzzzz@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> snip
>>
>>> In reference to Whisker's and Hammerhead's :-) suggestion
>>> about automating slrnpull with a script/cronjob, I prefer to
>>> do it manually and use two other aliases:
>>
>> snip
>>
>> I use leafnode in a similar way. Whenever I feel like it, I
>> click on a 'launcher' in gkrellm, that runs
>>
>> rxvt -title fetchnews -geometry 93x45 -e sudo
>> /usr/sbin/fetchnews -vv
>
> Got it. Open a new 'xterm' that looks to be full screen, and run
> an app I don't know that (let me guess) uploads and fetches news
> and probably opens slrn when it's finished.

'Fetchnews' is the part of 'leafnode' that does the posting to the upstream
servers and fetches the incoming 'headers', then applies its own 'killfile'
before pulling the 'bodies'. The geometry parameter in there makes the
terminal 45 lines 'tall' by 93 characters 'wide', which is less than half
the screen area on my X display. I chose that width simply to avoid
'wrapping' too many of the lines output by fetchnews (verbosity level vv is
more informative about what fetchnews is doing than verbosity level v, but
less overwhelmingly detailed than vvv). When fetchnews completes
succesfully, its 'terminal' vanishes - thus telling me that I can safely
disconnect.

> Or do you just keep slrn up in another 'xterm' and hit "G" to
> update?

I keep slrn running in a seperate 'terminal'. 'Rxvt' is one of many
alternatives to 'xterm'.

> (I really like the name "leafnode".)

Leafnode is a 'local caching NNTP proxy server' that is a little more
sophisticated than slrn-pull - and works with any usenet client, not only
slrn. (Several at once, if you want - this is Linux, after all).

>> As I'm on an erratic dial-up, I don't want to rely on
>> automation. If/when I get broadband I may well see how I get
>> on with fetchnews being run automatically on an 'always on
>> server' machine.
>>
>
> I like my 56K (dream on) dialup.
>
> I was going to download knoppix, but it would have taken about
> 38 hours.....

I have managed to download 'Puppy Linux' and 'Damn small Linux'.
'SourceMage' took over ten hours. Magazine covers and commercial
disc-burning mail-order services are useful for us dial-up users.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~
.

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