
What is WinVN?
--------------

This is an NNTP newsreader for Microsoft Windows 3.1, Windows95, or
Windows/NT.  You can use it to read and post Usenet News, and send
email (via SMTP or MAPI)

Requirements:
-------------

 An NNTP News Server.  It *must* support one of the following
 NNTP extenstions:

	XHDR (most news servers can do this)
	or
	XOVER (InternetNetNews is an example of a news server that does XOVER)

   WinVN will use XOVER if your server supports it.

   A 'NEWSRC' file.  An example is provided.

   A 'WINVN.INI' file.  Edit this file to point to your news server,
   or you can later change parameters from within WinVN.

   An optional 'WINVN' environment variable, telling WinVN where to find
   its two configuration files: 'WINVN.INI' and 'NEWSRC'.  You have to
   set this variable BEFORE you start up windows.

   You can also tell WINVN where to find the two files by giving
   command-line options with the 'Properties' menu under the Program Manager
   - here are a couple of examples
	(specify a directory to look in)
	winvn.exe d:\winvn\myserver
	(specify each of the two files separately)
	winvn.exe e:\winvn\myserver\winvn.ini u:\users\rushing\newsrc
   [I use this to set up different icons for different news servers.]

For WINSOCK (v1.1 or higher) compliant TCP/IP stacks (called WINSOCK.DLL):
(using gwinsock.dll)
   A WINSOCK compliant TCP/IP product such as Trumpet, PC/TCP,
   NetManage TCP/IP, Microsoft LanManager 2.2, DEC Pathworks 5.1,
   Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows95 etc.  Make sure WINSOCK.DLL is 
   in your path before starting Windows.

[ SPECIAL NOTE: If you are using later versions of the Trumpet or
  NetManage (Chameleon) products, you will get better performance over a
  modem with 'genasync.dll' rather than 'gwinsock.dll'.  Change the
  entry in the 'Communications' section of your winvn.ini ]

   *or*

For NON-WINSOCK TCP/IP stacks:
(using pwksock.dll)
   A DEC Pathworks v4.1 or Microsoft LanManager 2.1a compatible
   WSOCKETS.DLL Dynamic Link Library.  Make sure Windows can find it.
   (set your PATH environment variable).
If you are not running WinVN on a WinSock compatible stack, before
starting WinVn, you may need specify which sockets DLL you want to use.
by changeing the WinVN.INI line in the [Communications] section of
your winvn.ini: GenSockDLL=gwinsock.dll

     NOTE:  There's no need to copy or move the DLL to any other
     directory.  Keep it with your winvn.exe

     NOTE: 'gwinsock.dll', 'genasync.dll', and 'pwksock.dll' are not _replacements_
     for your tcp/ip stack's own socket dlls... they _use_ them:
     i.e, 'gwinsock.dll' talks to 'winsock.dll', and
     'pwksock.dll' talks to 'wsockets.dll'.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to Mark Riordan for the original WinVN!

Many people have worked on WinVN - it's been a fun, international
project.

Here are a few of them: 

	Matt Bretherton		MBretherton@cmutual.com.au
	Harvey Brydon		brydon@tulsa.dowell.slb.com
        John S. Cooper          jcooper@netcom.com
	Michael Downs 		mdowns@eos.arc.nasa.gov
        Mike Downs              downsm@titan.ksc.nasa.gov
	Jim Dumoulin 		dumoulin@titan.ksc.nasa.gov
	Michael Finken		finken@conware.de
	Don Gardner		gardnerd@keystone.ksc.nasa.gov
	Jody Glasser		jglas@tdycont.com
	Masaki Ishido		ishidou@yhp.hp.com
        Jim Martin              jim@noc.rutgers.edu
        Tom Menshik             tmenshik@hpcvitlm.cv.hp.com
        Conor Nolan             cnolan@tcd.ie
        Roger Pearse            pearse_w_r@bt-web.bt.co.uk
        John Piraino            jpiraino@execpc.com
	Mark Riordan		mrr@scss3.cl.msu.edu
	Sam Rushing		rushing@titan.ksc.nasa.gov

	(countless others I don't really mean leave out)

You can send comments to the WinVN developers by sending mail to:

       winvn@titan.ksc.nasa.gov
    or winvn@news.ksc.nasa.gov

If you don't mind alot of traffic on WinVN, you can join the developers
mailing list by a mail message to: "majordomo@news.ksc.nasa.gov"
with the Subject line Blank and the contents of the message:
 "subscribe winvn".

An easy way to keep up on winvn developments is to point your
newsreader at 'news.ksc.nasa.gov' (currently 128.159.4.21 for those of
you with broken DNS's but soon to be changing to 163.205.1.3).  There
should be a single newsgroup, (mail.winvn) which is a gatewayed
version of the mailing list.  Announcements and discussions of common
problems can be found here.  It's very likely the best place to get
the scoop on _your_ problem.  If mail gets much worse, we may consider
starting an ALT group.

The official FTP site for WinVN is at
ftp://ftp.ksc.nasa.gov/pub/winvn/

Always use FTP.KSC.NASA.GOV instead to get only the IP number that is
outside the firewall.  Always check there for the latest binaries and
sources.  Other sites that keep fairly current with the main site are:
        ripem.msu.edu       (/pub/pc/win/winvn/titan.ksc.nasa.gov/)
  and   shannon.mee.tcd.ie  (/winvn)

Matching hardcopy documentation by Jim Dumoulin (dumoulin@titan.ksc.nasa.gov)
for this release is available on FTP.KSC.NASA.GOV.   A World Wide Web node
has been developed for WinVN by Mike Downs (downsm@titan.ksc.nasa.gov) and
will be available shortly.

-John Cooper, Sam Rushing & Jim Dumoulin

