% Linux Installation and Getting Started    -*- TeX -*-
% news.tex
% Copyright (c) 1992, 1993 by Matt Welsh <mdw@sunsite.unc.edu>
%
% This file is freely redistributable, but you must preserve this copyright 
% notice on all copies, and it must be distributed only as part of "Linux 
% Installation and Getting Started". This file's use is covered by the 
% copyright for the entire document, in the file "copyright.tex".

\section{News and USENET}\label{sec-news}
\index{news|(}
\index{USENET|(}
\index{networking!news|(}
Linux also provides a number of facilities for managing electronic news.
You may choose to set up a local news server on your system, which
will allow users to post ``articles'' to various
``newsgroups'' on the system\ldots a lively form of discussion. However,
if you have access to a TCP/IP or UUCP network, then you will be able to
participate in USENET---a worldwide network news service. 

\index{news!server!defined}
\index{news!client!defined}
\index{news!news readers!defined}
\index{client!news!defined}
\index{news readers!defined}
There are two parts to the news software---the {\em server} and the
{\em client}. The news server is the software which controls the newsgroups
and handles delivering articles to other machines (if you are on a network).
The news client, or {\em newsreader}, is the software which connects to the 
server to allow users to read and post news. 

\index{news!server!C News}
\index{C News}
\index{news!server!INN}
\index{INN}
\index{news!news readers!rn@{\tt rn}}
\index{news!news readers!tin@{\tt rn}}
\index{rn@{\tt rn}}
\index{tin@{\tt tin}}
There are several forms of news servers available for Linux. They all
follow the same basic protocols and design. The two primary versions are
``C News'' and ``INN''. There are many types of newsreaders, as well, such
as {\tt rn} and {\tt tin}. The choice
of newsreader is more or less a matter of taste; all newsreaders should
work equally well with different versions of the server software. That is,
the newsreader is independent of the server software, and vice versa.

If you only want to run news locally (that is, not as part of USENET),
then you will need to run a server on your system, as well as install a
newsreader for the users. The news server will store the articles in
a directory such as {\tt /usr/spool/news}, and the newsreader will be
compiled to look in this directory for news articles.

However, if you wish to run news over the network, there are several options
open to you. TCP/IP network-based news uses a protocol known as NNTP (Network
News Transmission Protocol). NNTP allows a newsreader to read news over
the network, on a remote machine. NNTP also allows news servers to 
send articles to each other over the network---this is the software upon
which USENET is based. Most businesses and universities have one or
more NNTP servers set up to handle all of the USENET news for that site.
Every other machine at the site runs an NNTP-based newsreader to read
and post news over the network via the NNTP server. This means that only
the NNTP server actually stores the news articles on disk.

Here are some possible scenarios for news configuration.
\begin{itemize}
\item You run news locally. That is, you have no network connection, or
no desire to run news over the network. In this case, you need to run
C News or INN on your machine, and install a newsreader to read
the news locally.

\item You have access to a TCP/IP network and an NNTP server.
If your organization has an NNTP news server set up, you can read and
post news from your Linux machine by simply installing an NNTP-based
newsreader. (Most newsreaders available can be configured to run locally
or use NNTP). In this case, you do not need to install a news server
or store news articles on your system. The newsreader will take care
of reading and posting news over the network. Of course, you will need
to have TCP/IP configured and have access to the network (see 
Section~\ref{sec-tcpip}). 

\item You have access to a TCP/IP network but have no NNTP server.
In this case, you can run an NNTP news server on your Linux system. 
You can install either a local or an NNTP-based newsreader, and the
server will store news articles on your system. In addition, you can
configure the server to communicate with other NNTP news servers to
transfer news articles. 

\item You want to transfer news using UUCP. If you have UUCP access
(see Section~\ref{sec-uucp}), you can participate in USENET as well.
You will need to install a (local) news server and a news reader. 
In addition, you will need to configure your UUCP software to periodically
transfer news articles to another nearby UUCP machine (known as your
``news feed''). UUCP does not use NNTP to transfer news; simply, UUCP
provides its own mechanism for transferring news articles.

\end{itemize}

The one downside of most news server and newsreader software is that
it must be compiled by hand. Most of the news software does not use
configuration files; instead, configuration options are determined at
compile time. 

Most of the ``standard'' news software (available via anonymous FTP from
{\tt ftp.uu.net} in the directory {\tt /news}) will compile out-of-the
box on Linux. Necessary patches can be found on {\tt sunsite.unc.edu}
in {\tt /pub/Linux/system/Mail} (which is, incidentally, also where
mail software for Linux is found). Other news binaries for Linux
may be found in this directory as well.

For more information, refer to the Linux News HOWTO from 
{\tt sunsite.unc.edu} in {\tt /pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO}. Also, the LDP's
{\em Linux Network Administrator's Guide} contains complete information on
configuring news software for Linux. The book {\em Managing UUCP and
Usenet}, by Tim O'Reilly and Grace Todino, is an excellent guide to
setting up UUCP and news software. Also of interest is the
USENET document ``How to become a USENET site,'' available from 
{\tt ftp.uu.net}, in the directory {\tt /usenet/news.announce.newusers}.

\index{news|)}
\index{USENET|)}
\index{networking!news|)}
