If you want nntp_xover_cache, grab the Source Distribution [.tar.gz] (~8 KB). The MD5 checksum is d0f5054a14adced59d6ebabfa59021d1. The source is also available digitally signed [.tar.gz.gpg]. You can get my public key from my public key page.

For your convenience, the README file is reproduced below.

License: Nntp_xover_cache is in the public domain.

Nntp_xover_cache is a simple proxy/cache for NNTP.  It caches XOVER data,
which can make news reading quite a bit faster, and save quite a bit of
bandwidth.  If you have heavy-duty NNTP caching needs, or multiple
people reading news...go take a look at www.nntpcache.org. Their cache is
way more sophisticated than mine.  Theirs caches articles, can merge feeds
from multiple sites, supports filtering, and has many other cool features.

However, that comes with a price...it fetches the active file and the
active.times file.  On a relatively slow link, that can take a while.  With
nntpcache, I found that I'd start a newsreader, and it would take 5 or 10
minutes before I could actually read news.  Since I work in a lot of my
newsreading during short breaks, that was annoying.  Nntp_xover_cache does
not fetch the active file or the active.times file, unless the newsreader
asks for them, and slrn can be configured to not ask ("set read_active 0" in
your .slrnrc).

If what you want is a simple xover cache, for use by one person at a time,
that is very simple to install and maintain, then nntp_xover_cache may be
for you.  If you need something sofphisticated, nntpcache is what you need.

If nntp_xover_cache is what you need, read on for installation and usage
instructions.

1. Type "make".

2. Move nntp_xover_cache to wherever you keep your programs (e.g., ~/bin).

3. Make an empty config directory:

    mkdir ~/.nntp_xover_cache

4. In the .nntp_xover_cache directory, make a file named "server.txt" that
contains the name of your news server.  E.g., mine is:

    sea.news.speakeasy.net

You can include a port number:

    sea.news.speakeasy.net:119

5. In the .nntp_xover_cache directory, make a file named "command.txt" that
contains the command to invoke your newsreader.  It should invoke your
newsreader to read from localhost or 127.0.0.1, port $NNTP_XOVER_PORT.
E.g., I use this:

    slrn -h localhost:$NNTP_XOVER_PORT

6. To read news, run nntp_xover_cache.  Nntp_xover_cache will start your
newsreader.

(Note: this doesn't work well with GUI newsreaders, because they tend to
 fork and exec, and nntp_xover_cache thinks they have left and exits.  GUI
 newsreaders are covered later).

7. When you are done, exit your newsreader, and nntp_xover_cache will exit,
too.

8. If you want to trim down the amount of disk space used, throw a "-t N" on
the command line.  This will trim down the cache for each newsgroup to only
have overview data for the last N articles.

9. If you run it with "-d" it won't launch your newsreader.  You can then
launch the newsreader yourself.  You can use GUI newsreaders this way.  Run
nntp_xover_cache in an xterm with -d, and configure your GUI newsreader to
talk to it.  You might find the "-p N" option useful--that makes
nntp_xover_cache listen on local port N, instead of picking a random port.

E.g., you could use "nntp_xover_cache -p 9999 -d", and then tell your GUI
newsreader to read news from localhost:9999.

10. You can specify the server on the command line instead of or to override
server.txt: "-s server" or "-s server:port".

11. You can specify the config directory on the command line: "-c dir".

12. You can put the newsreader command at the end of the command line
instead of or to override the command.txt file.

13. In -d mode, things will be printed to the screen that you might find
interesting.

    "?[cmd]" when the newsreader sends a command that nntp_xover_cache does
    not care about.

    "X" when xover data for an article is fetched from the news server.

    "." when xover data for an article is sent from the cache.

    "!" when xover data for a missing article is sent from the cache.

    "M" when xover data from the server indicates a missing article.

    "{X+Y}" when an xover command is issued to the server asking for Y
    articles starting with article number X.

    "G" when a group command is sent.

    "A" when an article is retrieved.

    "p" if the server says "no" when the client asks to post an article.

    "*" when the client finishes posting an article.

14. In -d mode, exit by typing 'q' and pressing return.