Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pacbell!well!fico2!everexn!karen
From: karen@everexn.uucp (Karen Valentino)
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions
Subject: Re: Why doesn't someone create and easy to use rn?
Message-ID: <1989Oct10.004115.21317@everexn.uucp>
Date: 10 Oct 89 00:41:15 GMT
References: <1083@venus.misemi>
Distribution: na
Organization: Everex Systems, Inc.
Lines: 110

chiprout@venus.misemi ( test) writes:

>Is there no better alternative to rn?  Seeing that network news is so
>vital to communication, why doesn't some good programmer out there
>create a news interface that is easy to use, easy to understand (with --
>God forgive me -- a good help facility) and clear instructions.  man rn is
>almost useless because you have to understand the term that are used
>before you read it.

>I am not a programmer but a frustrated user.  I have better things to
>do with my time.  This posting shouldn't even exist.

>Am I alone in my feelings?

I understand your complaint.  It takes a while to become conversant using
any newsreader, though.  Several of the people here where I work (I among
them) have switched to using nn ("no news" is good news).  I find that it
is much easier to deal with; the material presents itself in a more
screen-oriented format, with subject headers grouped together in 
alphabetical order.  I find that I also have more control with nn; I can
change the way that the subject lines present themselves (sorted by
order of arrival instead of alphabetically, for instance), and there are
many options that can be used when entering nn.  I, like you, am not a
programmer, but I've learned enough during the past few months that I've
been logging on that I'm not sure whether you would consider the written 
documentation to be "user friendly" or not!  I know enough of the syntax
to construct commands and get around.  I think the docs for nn are pretty
good, but I may have lost my neophyte perspective.

*But* I must agree that
no matter what reader you use, if you're not a programmer, and I think
especially if you're not familiar with Unix, you have some work to do
in order to become conversant.  It's not impossible, though, and I've
found that all the wrestling I've done has made me appreciate the power
of the computer all the more.  And I'm actually threatening to become a Unix
fan!  (And this is from the person who, logged on to Unix for the first
time, tried to take a directory by typing "dir"--when it came back at
me with "command not found" I *knew* this wasn't Kansas anymore!)

Anyway, rather than just commiserate with you, I'm going to make some
suggestions based on my limited experience.  These may or may not work
for you.  You may not be able to make the time to follow them, you may
not secretly love to wrestle like I do, and you may not have some of
the resources available that I did. 

1) Find the documentation for your operating system, and start
reading.  I was totally intimidated when I first saw the row of binders
that consists of the documentation that we use (Everex version of Unix)--
five fat binders all lined up in a row!  It turns out that I only use
two of them, the User's Guide and the User's Reference.  I may be the 
only person in the universe whose ability to get around on the net has been
enhanced in a big way by making friends with my os, but I seriously
doubt it.  

2) I get the impression that you have *found* your FM; you just don't
understand what it has to say!  (I wish every person on the net who has
written a RTFM article would read yours!--what good does it do to read
TFM when it might as well be written in Esperanto?)  If you haven't located 
your FM, find out where it is.  I had no idea that there was a manual for
rn (my late, unlamented news reader) when I first got started.  Anyway,
read your manual as best as you can.  As you go along, getting more
experience on the net, you can refer back to the manual and all the 
gobbledeegook will make more and more sense to you.

Part of the problem is, of course, that most programmers don't write
documentation for users.  (From what I understand, trying to get them to
write documentation for each other can be a pretty trying endeavor,
too!)  We users are at a giant disadvantage--we don't speak the language! 
(It gives me an idea of how immigrants must feel when they first get here
and are met by people whom they don't understand!--people who, when
the immigrants are so bold as to try to get some information so that 
they can function in the culture, are told to RTFM!)

3) ...and this is the biggie--find mentors.  I work with programmers.  I
have found the ones who know about Unix and Usenet.  I ask lots of
questions.  Our system administrator has been very helpful to
me.  But I am careful to try to figure out stuff by myself if I'm able
to.  If I can't find it in the FM (which is usually the Unix docs these
days for me), then I ask *where* to find it, and look it up myself.  I
still need to ask questions, regularly.  There are wonderful people in
my office who have really helped.  I am a person who likes understanding
the big picture, above and beyond being able to make my computer do A or B or
C.  People who have experience are wonderful for helping me to expand
my horizons.

4) Lastly--read news.  All learning is somewhat cyclical--you kind of
take in as much infomation as you can until you go into system overload,
and then you sort of process what you've managed to take in and 
synthesize it with what you already know.  When that's done, you have
some more room to take in more stuff and continue the process.  Reading
news on the net, you'll find that you understand more and more.  Someone
will write something really useful and you'll have one of those great
Aha! experiences where something clicks, and you'll be that much farther
along in the game.

I hope that this is useful.  If you are interested in nn, I know that we
got the sources off of the net.  There are probably others out there who
are nn afficionados.  If you want to, you can email me and I'll try to find
out more information about how we got nn up and running.  If I remember
right, nn is a "work in progress" and it may be that there will be a new
release coming up.  I don't know the name of the fellow who is designing
it, but wish I did; he certainly deserves credit.  Anybody out there who
can supply his name/location?  

Best of luck to you! 

Cheers--Karen

-- 
Karen Valentino  <>  Everex North (Everex Systems)  <>  Sebastopol, CA