NNTP/RRN help needed

[ellis at unix.sri.com]

|I previously posted this "Request for Assistance" in news.software.nntp
|and received a couple of replies which said: "It worked fine for me."  So
|I got new versions of nntp.1.5 and rrn.39 from Berkeley's anonymous ftp
|and tried again with the same results!  Does anyone have any idea why I am
|getting these results while others seem to be having no problem with the
|same code?
|
|..Trying to install NNTP.1.5 & RRN.39 on a Sun 3 under OS 4.0.1...

I had exactly the same problems as you did. The cure is easy, don't use
RRN.39. Go back to Berkeley and get RN.39, install the rrn patches. Even
then, after running "Configure" I had to modify config.h as below:

/*#define       TERMIO          /* is this a termio system? */
#undef  	TERMIO          /* Will not compile correctly */

Just why [r]rn code cannot correctly compile with TERMIO is beyond me, but
frankly I don't care, since it compiles and runs just fine without it.

Oh yes, two other suggestions. 

First, you may have to enter the default server by hand in config.h at the
same time:

#define SERVER_FILE     "<filename to contain default nntp server's hostname>"

Configure did not do this correctly for me.

Second, you may also want to turn off automatic new newsgroup checking at
this time, in common.h:

/*define FINDNEWNG      /* check for new newsgroups on startup */
#undef  FINDNEWNG       /* Turn this horrible "feature" off */


This annoying "feature" harrasses users with a long list of unavoidable
requests to add the same nonexistent groups every week or so, and leaves a
first time rn user in a particularly foul mood.

-michael