slrn on windows quickstart

Slrn is an excellent command-line newsreader. To use slrn on windows you need to make a few adjustments. One is to make sure that your nntpserver is set as an environmental variable on your system. If you are using powershell you can do this in your profile ($env:nntpserver="news.server.net")

The first thing you will need is a proper slrn.rc file. This is basically the configuration file for the program. The only deviation I have from the standard config is the inclusion of the Date and User-Agent in the visible headers and the use of Vim as my editor (view a sample slrn.rc file).

The first time you start slrn you'll need create your jnewsrc file: slrn -f .jnewsrc --create

You will also need to select the newsgroups you want to subscribe to. Use the L command to List groups (for example, if you wanted to find alt.test you would use alt*test or alt.test). Once the group is listed navigate to the group and use the s command to subscribe to the group. Some security groups that I keep an eye on are:

  • alt.comp.anti-virus
  • alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++
  • alt.comp.virus
  • alt.computer.security
  • alt.linux
  • comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32
  • comp.risks
  • comp.security
  • comp.security.firewalls
  • comp.security.misc
  • comp.security.pgp
  • comp.security.pgp.discuss
  • microsoft.public.access.security
  • microsoft.public.security.virus

navigating through slrn is pretty intuitive; use the arrows, Page Up / Down to navigate and the spacebar and Enter key to select. If you want to post to a newsgroup use the P command (post), if you want to reply to a message use the f command (follow-up). To either return to the previous menu or quit entirely press use the q command and finally, you can get help by using the ? command.

have fun and don't forget to visit the slrn website.