A step-by-step introduction to scoring.

[Split this file up for easier reference?]

	This document is intended as a quick incremental introduction
to scoring in trn.  It presents scoring a few features at a time, with
more advanced features presented after the simpler ones.

[The notes seem to get in the way.  Move them elsewhere?]
Important notes:
    * The user should have some knowledge of rn/trn commands and the
strn article scan mode (using the ';' command).

    * If your "private news directory" is not ~/News, then substitute
your private news directory for ~/News in the instructions below.
(The default private news directory is ~/News, but it can be changed.)

    * The instructions below assume that your system can use "long"
filenames (at least as long as newsgroup names).  Later I'll write
instructions for using shorter filenames.  (I don't even remember what
to do right now. :-)

    * For now, I will presume that the user has a basic knowledge of
UNIX commands including:
	o Creating a directory (mkdir)
	o Going to a directory (cd)
	o Using a file editor (such as vi)
...or can get help in using these commands.

*****

1.  A quick sample of scoring.

    A.  Start strn, and enter a newsgroup using the ';' command (to
enter article scan mode).  Pick a newsgroup with several articles and
some followup articles (displayed with a '>' character at the start of
the subject).  (Larger newsgroups may take more time to process the
examples below.)

    B.  Now, a quick example.  Type the following line exactly as it
appears and press the <RETURN> key at the end of the line:
"! -2 pattern Subject: ^Re:

...When you type this you should see something like:

Rescoring articles.....................Done.
[Type space to continue] 

(If your site has a thread or overview files this will probably be
very fast.  The "......" characters are printed to show that strn is
scoring the articles and has not crashed.)

    C.  Type space to continue.  The articles will be redisplayed, and
the followup articles (starting with "Re:") will be displayed after
the "original" articles (which do not start with "Re:").  Move to the
end of the list of articles (the '$' command will do this), and see
that the followup articles have "[  -2]" in the score column.

[Add another example here?  Author based positive score?]

*****

2.  Simple scoring setup and Subject:/From: scoring.

    A.  Here is an example of this scoring method.  I went to the
alt.config newsgroup, and entered the article scan mode.  I moved the
cursor next to a subject, like this:
alt.config | 157 unread follow
+....  [   0] Larry W. Virden  > comp.sources.mac debate
+....  [   0] Mike Beebe       RFD: sci.fortean
+....> [   0] alt.humor.best-o Welcome to alt.humor.best-of-usenet!
+....  [   0] Somnath Sen      bengali newsgroup

...and I typed "" 5 S   (then typed return).

Strn then printed this:
5 subject: Welcome to alt.humor.best-of-usenet!
[Type space to continue] 

...and waited for me to type space to continue.  The line
5 subject: Welcome to alt.humor.best-of-usenet!
...is what strn added to the score file for this newsgroup.

* Rescoring with 'R' in article scan mode.

    B.  Strn will not re-score articles unless you tell it to.
(This allows one to enter multiple scoring rules before rescoring.)
To tell strn to rescore articles, type the 'R' (shift-R) key while in
article scan mode.  For the example given above, here is what the screen
would look like after typing 'R':

alt.config | 157 unread follow
+....  [   5] alt.humor.best-o Welcome to alt.humor.best-of-usenet!
+....  [   0] Larry W. Virden  > comp.sources.mac debate
[More scores below.]

    C.  One can also easily score articles based on the author of the
article.  For instance, suppose that "Larry W. Virden" posts excellent
articles, and you'd like his postings to appear before other articles.
You can give a score based on the author by replacing the 'S'
character in the previous example by a 'F' (for "From:") character.
For example, if the screen looked like:
alt.config | 157 unread follow
+....  [   5] alt.humor.best-o Welcome to alt.humor.best-of-usenet!
+....  [   0] Larry W. Virden  > comp.sources.mac debate
+....  [   0] Mike Beebe       RFD: sci.fortean

... and I typed "" 12 F
...then strn would print:
12 from: lwv26@cas.org (Larry W. Virden)
(Strn will use the whole address to match the author.)
Then, if I typed the 'R' key to rescore, strn would display:
alt.config | 157 unread follow
+....  [  12] Larry W. Virden  > comp.sources.mac debate
+....  [  12] Larry W. Virden  > More about the comp.sources.mac debate
+....  [   5] alt.humor.best-o Welcome to alt.humor.best-of-usenet!
+....  [   0] Mike Beebe       RFD: sci.fortean

...and Larry's postings would be at the top of the list.

    D.  Here's a bit of explanation for the last example:
"" 12 F
||  | \--- Use the "From:" header line of the current article.
||  \--- Add 12 points to scores which match.
|\--- Use the score file for this newsgroup (the "local" score file).
\--- The command to add something to a scoring file.

    E.  Now you can try scoring articles.  Go to a newsgroup that you
would like to score.  Enter the newsgroup using the article scan mode
(type the ';' key to enter the group).  Using the article scan mode,
look for an article which has an interesting subject.  When you find
an interesting subject, move the article scan pointer ('>') next to
the article, and type the following:

"" 5 S

...and type return at the end of the line.  (The characters you type
will appear at the bottom of the screen.)  Strn will then print a line like:
5 subject: This was the subject I selected.
[Type space to continue] 
...The first line is what strn added to a score (rule) file for the
current newsgroup.
	Then type space to continue.  You will be back at the article
scan mode.  Type 'R', and wait until strn refreshes the screen.  All
articles with the subject you selected should be at the top of the
screen.  (You might have to type '^' to reach the top of the article list.)  

	You might want to try scoring a few more subjects or authors
before going on to the next section.

*****

3.  Looking at score files, and savedscores.

* exit strn, go to ~/News.

* look at "savedscores"

* look at the "scores" subdirectory.

*****
[split this one up?]
4.  Hierarchical and global scoring, using patterns and different headers.

* Introduce the "global" scorefile.
* Editing score files by hand.
* Control-E to edit a scorefile.
* Comments in a score file.
* Use the example "-2 pattern Subject: ^Re:".  Explain all parts.
* Explain pattern usage.  (maybe briefly about '*' in From: lines?)
* (briefly) different headers (maybe more later).
* Hierarchical scoring (like "soc" for the whole social hierarchy)
* explanation of score loading order.

*****

5.  File-oriented commands in scorefiles.

* Including files within other files.
* "Interest" files (somewhat like topics).
* Excluding files.

*****
[Merge 5/6?]
6.  Online commands related to files.

* More about the " command and it's file character
* The "file" command.  First use: character for the global scorefile.
* Adding lines to scorefiles using file characters and the " command.
* The "? command
* Using abbreviations for interest files.
* Hierarchical numerical file abbreviations (?)

*****

7.  Saving scores with "savescores"
[Does this need a section anymore?]

* Space/time tradeoff.
* The loading status display.
* Removing score files.

*****

8.  Misc. topics?

* killthreshold
* newauthor
* Error reporting.
* using the "header" command for custom headers.
* customizing of various types.

*****

Things to add:

* Choosing a point system.
    * Avoiding clustering around the center point (lots of 1 or 2
      point scores)
    * "Yes, you really can give negative scores by author."  (1/2 :-)
    * "Don't spend a lot of time designing what you'll probably
      discard anyway."  (second system effect mention, personal experience)

[Created 3/29/93 by Clifford A. Adams.]
[Last updated 3/29/93 by Clifford A. Adams.]
