NNTP Sucker will suck all newsgroups selected by a Groups file from the NNTP server selected. Every time you run it it will suck only the NEW messages. It is much like MacSlurp, except it doesn't crash as often, and is automatic. It also can be quit at ANY time without losing any messages. NNTP Sucker will also post any new messages it finds. If it fails it will move them to the "Failed" folder in the spool folder. You can fix the error and put the file back in the spool folder and NS will try again.
Interactive operation is by default checked. It makes those alerts come up whenever there is any problems. As soon as you get the kinks out, and start running NS in the background make sure to turn it off. If there are any errors, the "NNTP Sucker Errors" file will record any problems. Make sure to check it periodically. If you want to just setup something in NNTP Sucker, holding down the command key stops NNTP Sucker from trying to get new news, so you can easily setup something.
If NS is running under Sys 7 it will use temporary memory whenever the internal memory runs out, so you can keep the partion at the measly 300k. And even if it can't get temporary memory it will gracefully quit, and next time you load it up, it will start at the message it left off on in that newsgroup. I've also designed NS to flush the disk, and message pointers at the same time, so any crash will result in not too many duplicate messages.
For all new groups you can configure what percent NNTP Sucker will get. It's useful for getting only a little of a new group. 100% will get all messages, 0% will get none. You can also configure NNTP Sucker to get a maximum percent or number of messages from any group. This is useful if you don't get news for a while, and don't want to have to suck all of it.
You can also configure what NS will do when it's finished, it can Quit, Restart, or Shutdown. It will only restart or shutdown if the user doesn't manually quit (why restart when the user is oviously there?) It will also launch (if not running) the selected parser every time it spits out a rnews.* file into the spool dir. It's also smart enough to delay restarting until the parser quits.
The groups selected to suck are specified by a text file called "Groups" located in the same folder as NS. Every group you want to suck is specified by a line in the file. A line can be ignored by putting a ; or a # in front. A example Groups file should be included with this.
The files NNTP Sucker creates (rnews.*) are for use with Toadnews or Pancake's Parse News unbatching software. A D.news* format will be implemented for a commerical version of this program, contact the author if interested.
There are some features specific to Pancake, but this program will work FINE without Pancake. If you turn on the "Use Pancake Groups" and set the System path correctly, NS will automatically suck all Usenet groups in your Pancake configuration.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions feel free to e-mail me at ferrari@netaxs.com. I also am working on the Pancake bbs system, and info can be got from: http://www.netaxs.com/~ferrari
ftp://ftp.winternet.com/pub/shadowmac/bbs/pancake
NNTP Sucker is NOT free. It is shareware. Please send 5 dollars to:
Darrell Turner
510 Lindsey Dr.
Wayne, PA 19087
If I get sufficent registrations, I may write a NNTP Server, so please support this program! Five bucks is not asking much!
