How to read RSS feeds with slrn and gwene.org
=============================================

gwene.org
---------
gwene.org is a brilliant service. It's a RSS-feed to news gateway,
which converts RSS feeds to use-net messages.

* Each RSS feed becomes a newsgroup.
* Each item in a feed becomes a message in its newsgroup.

An account is not required to use gwene.org.

Benefits of gwene.org
---------------------
gwene.org benefits both the user, who reads the feeds, and the
websites that provide them.

During an update cycle, a typical RSS feed reader will contact a large
number of websites. To discover any new content, it must fetch and
parse each feed individually. When using gwene.org, the newsreader
merely needs to go there to find a list of groups (feeds) with new
content.

A website with an RSS feed receives requests from all feed readers.
gwene.org serves the feed to many users, significantly lowering
website traffic.

gmane.io
--------
A sister service is gmane.io. This is a mailing list to news gateway,
a service that converts mailing lists
to use-net messages.

* Each mailing list becomes a newsgroup.
* Each mailing list message becomes a a message in its newsgroup.

An account is not required to use gmane.io.

In the past, gmane.io was gmane.org, but because of a hiccup in the
domain name registration, it moved to gmane.io.

Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen initiated and runs both gwene.org and
gmane.io, the same Lars that rewrote Emacs Gnus in the nineties and
still works on Gnus.

Install and initialize slrn
---------------------------
slrn (S-Lang Read News) is a popular TUI Usenet client that dates back
to 1994.

Use your package manager, f.e., `apt-get install slrn', or `pkg
install slrn'.

Next, initialize slrn with the command:

  slrn -h news.gwene.org -f ~/.jnewsrc --create

slrn will create a config file ~/.jnewsrc, read the list of
available "newsgroups" on gwene.org as well as on gmane.io.

The TUI (text-based user interface) starts and shows the list of
available groups.

Create a small rc-file
----------------------
Create the file `~/.slrnrc' and add the following lines:

  set non_Xbrowser "lynx '%s'"
  set Xbrowser "firefox '%s' &"
  set use_metamail 0

Set your favorite browser, f.e.,

  set non_Xbrowser "links '%s'"
  
Omit the "Xbrowser"-line or comment it out with a `%' at the beginning
of the line when you don't want to use a graphical browser,

slrn comes with an example config file. Use your package to manager 
discover its location. For example:

  dpkg -L srln | grep gz
  
Subscribe to one or more feeds
------------------------------
To follow a mailing list or a RSS feed, go to the line and press the
`s' key (subscribe).

Search for a group (mailing list or RSS feed) with '/'.

Repeat the search by pressing '/'.

To revert the subscription, press the `u'-key (unsubscribe).

Select some groups, and hit the `q' key.

Reading the feeds
-----------------
Start slrn again, with the command:

  slrn -h news.gwene.org

slrn will refresh and show the groups you are subscribed to.

Select a group with the Enter key to get a list of unread items.

Select an item with the Enter key.

When you open a message, what you see depends on the mechanism used to
create the original feed. Some RSS feeds merely carry the title,
publishing data, and URL of the publication item, whereas others
include a brief introduction to the publication or even the whole
content of the publication item.

To open any URL in the message, hit 'U' (shift-u).
This opens the URL in the browser this is configured in ~/.slrnrc.

Set the group as read
---------------------
When you have read the interesting messages you can discard the
others, by hitting the `c'-key ("catch up").

Hit `q' to go back to the list of groups. Next, hit 'q' to end the
slrn session, or go to the next group to read the messages.

Discovering feeds
-----------------
gwene.org contains a large number of RSS feeds. To browse the list of
feeds use the command `L', and at the prompt insert a search argument,
for example `gwene.org*'.

Select a feed and hit the space bar to read the feed without
subscribing to it. When done, hit `q'. Use the `s' key to subscribe to
feeds that seem promising.

Adding RSS feeds to gwene.org
-----------------------------
Sometimes you find a website with an RSS feed that you want to follow. 
There are many feeds in gwene.org, so first in slrn search for the feed,
in the list of feeds (use the `L' command again). 

When the feed is not in gwene.org, you can add it. Open `gwene.org' in
your web browser and add the feed. Choose a name that help others to
find the feed. Wait a few minutes, restart slrn to refresh the
list of feeds, and subscribe to your new feed. It may take some time
before gwene.org shows the items in the feed.

Alternatives for slrn
---------------------
slrn is not the only option, you can choose from several newsreaders.

Personally I use Emacs Gnus as both news reader, email client and,
with gwene.org, as RSS feed reader. Emacs also comes with `eww',
a built-in web browser.

Just try a few newsreaders, and stick with the one you like most.




Last edited: $Date: 2024/02/23 11:00:18 $