.TH tass "" "" "Command"
.PC "Visual threaded Usenet news reader"
\fBtass [\-f \fIfile\^\fB] [\-u] [\fInewsgroups\^\fB]\fR
.PP
.B tass
is a full-screen, threaded newsreader.
Although it does not have some of the more advanced
features that other news readers offer,
it is a solid program that is especially easy for beginners to use.
.PP
If you are new to news, some terminology will help.
News consists of groups, threads, and articles.
A
.I group
is a set of users who discuss a given topic; for example,
.B comp.os.coherent
is a group of computer users (``comp'') who discuss operating systems
(``os''), in particular \*(CO (``coherent'').
A
.I thread
is a conversation on a given subject, as indicated in a message's
.B Subject:
line.
Every time a user in a group post's a message with a new
.B Subject:
line, a new thread begins.
Some threads die with their initial posting; others triggers hundreds
of responses and continue for weeks.
Finally, an
.I article
is one message written by one user.
Each article is attached to a given thread within a given newsgroup.
It is not unusual for a user to participate in, or
.IR "subscribe to" ,
many different newsgroups; for a newsgroup to have many threads; and
for a thread to hold many articles.
.PP
.B tass
is designed to help you organize your news.
By using a hierarchy of screens, you can easily move among newsgroups,
threads, and articles.
It helps you to subscribe to \(em or unsubscribe from \(em a newsgroup,
follow threads, and select articles.
When you select an article,
.B tass
displays it for you; it then helps you to reply to it via mail or another
posting; and helps you to archive or dispose of the article.
.SH "The Group Screen"
When you invoke
.BR tass ,
it displays a screen that appears as follows:
.PH 1 1 \\*(XD/tass1.eps
.PP
This screen shows the newsgroups to which you subscribe,
as set in file
.BR $HOME/.newsrc .
As you can see, there are three columns.
The left column gives the sequential number of each group.
The middle column gives the group's name.
The right column gives the number of unread articles in this group.
An arrow points to the current newsgroup.
.PP
To move the arrow, use the arrow keys, or you can use
.BR vi -style
commands:
.IP \fBj\fR 0.75i
Move the arrow down one line.
.IS \fBk\fR
Move the arrow up.
.IS \fB<ctrl-D>\fR
Scroll down by half a screen-ful.
.IS \fB<ctrl-U>\fR
Scroll up by half a screen-ful.
.PP
While in this screen, you can also enter any of the following commands:
.IP \fB<return>\fR 0.75i
Display the unread articles in the newsgroup to which the arrow points.
.IS \fB<tab>\fR
Display the next (lower) newsgroup that contains unread articles.
.IS \fB<ctrl-K>\fR
Delete a newsgroup from your list.
.IS \fB<ctrl-R>\fR
Reset
.BR .newsrc .
.IS \fB<ctrl-Y>\fR
Un-delete a newsgroup.
.IS \fBc\fR
Mark every article in this group as having been read.
.IS \fBg\fR
Select a group by name.
.IS \fBh\fR
Display a help screen that summarizes these commands.
.IS \fBq\fR
Quit
.BR tass .
.IS \fBs\fR
Subscribe to the current group.
.IS \fBu\fR
Un-subscribe from the current group.
.IS \fBy\fR
``Yank'' in groups that are not named in
.BR $HOME/.newsrc .
.IS \fB$\fR
Re-read the list of groups from
.BR $HOME/.newsrc .
.SH "The Thread Screen"
When you select a newsgroup from the main screen,
.B tass
displays a screen that shows every thread in this newsgroup that contains
articles you have not yet read.
It appears as follows:
.PH 1 1 \\*(XD/tass2.eps
.PP
An arrow points to the current thread.
As with the main screen, you can move the arrow either by pressing the
arrow keys or by using the
.BR vi -style
cursor-movement commands.
You can also enter any of the following commands:
.IP \fB<return>\fR 0.75i
Display the article to which the arrow points.
.IS \fIN\fR
Display article number
.IR N .
.IS \fB<tab>\fR
View next unread article.
.IS \fBA\fR
Search backward for an article by a given author.
.B tass
prompts you to enter the name of the author whose work interests you.
.IS \fBa\fR
Search forward for an article by a given author.
.IS \fBc\fR
Mark all articles as read.
.IS \fBg\fR
Choose a new group by name.
.IS \fBh\fR
Display a help screen that summarizes these commands.
.IS \fBK\fR
Mark every article in this thread as read, and advance to the next
thread that contains unread articles.
.IS \fBN\fR
Jump to the next unread article in this thread.
.IS \fBn\fR
Jump to the next group that contains unread articles.
.IS \fBP\fR
Jump to the previous unread article in this thread.
.IS \fBp\fR
Jump to the previous group that contains unread articles.
.IS \fBq\fR
Quit
.BR tass .
.IS \fBs\fR
Subscribe to this group.
.IS \fBt\fR
Return to main screen.
.IS \fBu\fR
Un-subscribe from this group.
.IS \fBw\fR
Post an article to this thread.
.IS \fB/\fR
Search forwards for a given subject.
.IS \fB?\fR
Search backwards for a given subject.
.IS \fB\-\fR
Show the last article in this thread.
.PP
When you select a thread,
.B tass
scrolls through each unread article in the thread in turn.
When it displays an article,
.B tass
displays at the top of the screen the name of the newsgroup,
the name of poster, the name of the thread, the date it was posted,
and the number of responses that have been posted to this article.
After it displays a screen-ful of text, or whenever it comes to the end
of an article, press \*(RT to continue viewing.
.B tass
jumps to the next unread article in this thread, or jumps to the next
thread that contains an unread article.
You can also enter any of the following commands:
.IP \fIN\fR 0.u5i
Display article number
.I N
in this thread.
.IS \fB<return>\fR
Jump to the base article of the next thread in this newsgroup.
.IS \fB<tab>\fR
Jump to the next page or unread article.
.IS \fBA\fR
Search backwards for a given author.
.IS \fBa\fR
Search forward for a given author.
.IS \fBb\fR
Move back a page.
.IS \fBF\fR
Post a followup.
Include the text of the message to which you are replying.
.IS \fBf\fR
Post a followup.
Do not include the text of the message to which you are replying.
.IS \fBH\fR
Show the article's headers.
.IS \fBi\fR
Return to the thread screen.
.IS \fBK\fR
Mark this thread as read, and jump to the next thread that contains
unread articles.
.IS \fBk\fR
Mark this article as read, and jump to the next unread article.
.IS \fBm\fR
Mail this article to another person.
.B tass
prompts you for the name of the person to whom you wish to mail the article.
.IS \fBN\fR
Jump to the next unread article.
.IS \fBn\fR
Jump to the next article, read or unread.
.IS \fBP\fR
Jump to the previous unread article.
.IS \fBp\fR
Jump to the previous article, read or uread.
.IS \fBq\fR
Quit
.BR tass .
.IS \fBR\fR
Reply to this author via mail.
Include in your reply the text of the message to which you're replying.
.IS \fBr\fR
Reply to this author via mail.
Do not include in your reply the text of the message to which you're replying.
.IS \fBS\fR
Append this thread onto a file for storage.
.B tass
prompts you for the name of the file into which it stores the thread.
.IS \fBs\fR
Append this article onto a file for storage.
.B tass
prompts you for the name of the file into which it stores the article.
.IS \fBt\fR
Return to newsgroup-index page.
.IS \fBz\fR
Mark this article as unread.
.IS \fB<ctrl-R>\fR
Redisplay first page of this article.
.IS \fB%\fR
Toggle rot-13 decoding for this article.
.IS \fB<ctrl-X>\fR
Same as `%'.
.IS \fB\-\fR
Display the last article in this thread.
.IS \fB|\fIcommand\fR
Pipe this article into
.IR command .
.SH "Index Files"
To keep track of threads,
.B tass
maintains an index for each group.
If
.B tass
is made
.B setuid
to user
.BR news ,
it stores the indices in the news-spool directory (typically,
.BR /usr/spool/news ).
If
.B tass
is not
.BR setuid ,
it stores indices in directory
.BR $HOME/.tindx .
.PP
Entering a group the first time tends to be slow because
.B tass
must build that group's the index file from scratch.
Subsequent readings of a group cause
.B tass
to update the index file incrementally:
it adds or removes entries as new articles appear or as news expires.
.PP
You can run
.B tass
in update mode (the command-line option
.BR \-u ).
In this mode, it updates a series of groups at one time.
.B "tass -u"
usually is run from
.BR cron .
.SH Signatures
A
.I signature
is a bit of text that is appended onto the end of each message you write.
It usually contains your name, your e-mail address, and a message usually
intended to be witty.
.PP
You can prepare you signature with an ordinary text editor, and store it
in either of two files:
.B $HOME/.signature
or
.BR $HOME/.Sig .
.PP
.B tass
handles these files differently.
If file
.B .signature
exists,
.B tass
pulls it into the editor for its mail commands.
.B tass
does not pull a signature in
.B .signature
into the editor for posting commands, becaue the program
.B inews
appends the signature itself.
.PP
.B tass
pulls a signature in
.B .Sig
into the editor for both posting and mailing commands.
.SH "Command-line Options"
.B tass
recognizes the following command-line options:
.IP "\fB\-f \fIfile\fR 0.75i
Use
.I file
instead of the default, which isn
.BR $HOME/.newsrc .
.IP \fB-u\fR
Run
.B tass
in update mode.
In this mode,
.B tass
make indices current for every group in its
.BR newsrc .
.IP
A good way to keep
.BR tass 's
indices current is to run
.B "tass -u"
from
.BR cron .
For example, the command
.DM
	20 6 * * *	/usr/local/bin/tass -u -f /usr/lib/news/tass_groups
.DE
.IP
updates the indices for those groups named within file
.BR /usr/lib/news/tass_groups .
To index every group on the system, run
.B "tass -u"
with
.B \-f
indicating the active file.
For example:
.DM
	20 6 * * *	/usr/local/bin/tass -u -f /usr/lib/news/active
.DE
.SH "See Also"
.B
commands,
mail
.R
.SH Notes
.II "Skrenta, Rich"
.B tass
was written by Rich Skrenta (skrenta@blekko.commodore.com).
