====== Join USENET ======

[[network:USENET|USENET]] is the original Internet message network: thousands of public newsgroups carrying decades of discussion.  Synchronet links to USENET (or any private [[service:NNTP|NNTP]] news server) via the **[[module:NewsLink|NewsLink]]** module, which mirrors newsgroups into local message sub-boards.  Articles posted on the BBS get pushed out to USENET; articles posted to USENET get pulled into the matching sub-boards on each timed-event run.

===== What you'll need =====

  * An account on a public or private USENET/NNTP news server.  A few are free for text-only hierarchies, most paid news services require a subscription.
  * The list of newsgroups you want to carry (Synchronet can fetch the server's full list for you, see step 2 below).

===== Setup =====

The complete step-by-step is on the [[module:NewsLink|NewsLink]] page.  Short version:

  - In [[util:SCFG]] → External Programs → Timed Events, add or confirm a ''NEWSLINK'' timed event (commonly set to run 48 times a day).
  - In SCFG → Message Areas, create a //USENET// message group, then add one sub-board per newsgroup you want to carry.  As a shortcut, ''[[dir:exec]]/getnewsgrouplist.js'' can fetch the server's full group list into a ''.lst'' file that SCFG can import.
  - For each linked sub-board, set Network Options → Internet (UUCP/NNTP) = Yes.
  - Edit ''[[dir:ctrl]]/[[config:newslink.cfg]]''.  Set the ''SERVER'' line to your news host; add ''PORT'' if non-standard; uncomment ''TLS'' for encrypted transport (default port becomes 563); set ''USER''/''PASS'' if the server requires authentication.  Add one ''AREA'' line per linked sub-board, or use ''AUTO_AREAS'' to pick up every NNTP-flagged sub-board automatically.
  - Force the first run: in [[monitor:sbbsctrl|sbbsctrl]] click //BBS → Force Timed Event → NEWSLINK//, or ''touch'' the file ''[[dir:data]]/newslink.now''.
  - Watch the events log for the first NewsLink pass.  By default NewsLink imports only newly-posted articles after the first scan; add ''FLAGS I'' to ''newslink.cfg'' if you want it to backfill every existing article on the linked groups (potentially many thousands).

===== Reading and posting =====

Once newslinked sub-boards are populated, your users read and post in them just like any other sub-board.  Synchronet also exposes those sub-boards via its built-in [[service:NNTP|NNTP service]], so callers can point a desktop newsreader at your BBS (port 119, or 563 with TLS) and read locally.

===== See Also =====
  * [[module:NewsLink]] (full reference for the gateway module)
  * [[config:newslink.cfg]] (config file syntax)
  * [[service:NNTP]] (exposing your sub-boards as a local NNTP server)
  * [[network:USENET]] (background on USENET itself)
  * [[:howto:|HowTo Index]]

{{tag>usenet nntp newslink}}
