Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!oliveb!intelca!mipos3!nate
From: nate@mipos2.intel.com (Nate Hess)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: vn verses vnews  (Actually, rn man page)
Message-ID: <3071@mipos3.intel.com>
Date: 21 Oct 88 19:52:53 GMT
References: <632@convex.UUCP> <2743@uvacs.cs.Virginia.EDU> <2486@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> <4866@b-tech.ann-arbor.mi.us> <4369@bsu-cs.UUCP> <654@convex.UUCP> <4398@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Sender: news@mipos3.intel.com
Reply-To: woodstock@sc.intel.com (Nate Hess)
Organization: Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA
Lines: 39
In-reply-to: neubauer@bsu-cs.UUCP (Paul Neubauer)

In article <4398@bsu-cs.UUCP>, neubauer@bsu-cs (Paul Neubauer) writes:
>As I mentioned, I *have* RTFM, and if you have a nice handy spot in the FM
>to point to, please do so.  You may expect everyone to have understood
>everything in the FM, but I (who am normally comparatively adept at figuring
>out such things) am not at all surprised that this particular complaint is
>one of the most common.  See below.


The problem you're referring to (needing to say 'y' to the "0 unread
articles in foo.bar -- what now?" question) is actually addressed in the
first page of the man page:

     Rn operates on three levels: the newsgroup selection level,
     the article selection level, and the paging level.  Each
     level has its own set of commands, and its own help menu.
     At the paging level (the bottom level), rn behaves much like
     the more(1) program.  At the article selection level, you
     may specify which article you want next, or read them in the
     default order, which is either in order of arrival on your
     system, or by subject threads.  At the newsgroup selection
     level (the top level), you may specify which newsgroup you
     want next, or read them in the default order, which is the
     order that the newsgroups occur in your .newsrc file.

You were trying to type article selection commands at the newsgroup
selection level, something that, in general, won't get you very far.  I
can understand how you were confused, though.  The man page simply
contains a *lot* of dense information with an almost mind-boggling
number of customizations available.

Of course, if you think that gives you enough rope to hang yourself,
browse through the Gnews manual someday...  :-)#

Happy reading,
--woodstock
-- 
	   "What I like is when you're looking and thinking and looking
	   and thinking...and suddenly you wake up."   - Hobbes

woodstock@sc.intel.com    ...!{decwrl|hplabs!oliveb|amd}!intelca!mipos3!nate