This directory contains an example database schema and template, which you
should customize for your use. You should also read bystand.doc which
contains further information about the format of these files.

You may contribute changes if you wish, which I will then consider. (It
can also be additional example files, if wanted; and/or changes to the
existing files, and/or changes to this document.)


=== Database ===

Create the database with a command such as:
  sqlite3 ~/.bystand/database < schema

You may wish to first customize the schema file, or you can make the
changes afterward instead if you wish. This example schema also includes
a macro called ,g which displays the latest times per news group.

Some common customizations may include:

* Color: You may wish to change Color and ViewColors to 0 if you do not
want it to display colours.

* Editor: You might use an editor other than vi. If so, change this.

* Header formats: Some options use the format_row() SQL function. You may
wish to alter the colours used, or the field widths, such as if your
terminal window has a different width than I have.

* InternetVersion: If you have version 6 internet, then you may wish to
change the InternetVersion setting to 6.

* NewNews: If you want to use the NEWNEWS command, you can add the NewNews
option with value 1.

* News groups: Add records to the "NEWSGROUPS" table to indicate which
news groups you want. You should probably set "LAST" to null; it will be
automatically filled in later. (See bystand.doc for further details.)

* PostTo: You might change the PostTo option if you want to use one server
for all outgoing messages, or use logic other than the default.

* Servers: You will need to add some records to the "SERVERS" table to
indicate which servers to connect to; see bystand.doc for details about
what each column means. (Options other than those in that table must be
added to the configuration table instead.)

* Time zone: Set the LocalTime option to 1 to use local time instead of
UTC when displaying dates and adding the Date header.


=== Template ===

This is needed only to post articles and not to read. Copy the "template"
file to "~/.bystand/template", and then customize it as needed. Common
customizations may include:

* Signature: At the bottom is the signature; replace it with the text that
you want for your signature, which should be short. Note the previous line
contains two minus signs and then a space; it must be kept like that
exactly so that other programs can recognize the presence of the signature.
(If you remove the signature, remove that separator line too.)

* From: You will need to add a "From:" header containing your email address
(or a fake email address with .invalid at the end; you can suffix your own
domain name with .invalid if you want to avoid namespace collisions).

* Message-ID: Optional; if not specified, the server will add its own.
However, it is recommended, especially if you are using reposting or (in
future versions) multiple server posting. At the top of the file, $1 is
defined as the current UNIX timestamp; this is meant to use in a message ID
(although you could do it differently if wanted, too). If you include a
message ID, it should consist of < and then an arbitrary prefix that
includes some part that does not remain the same for each message (such as
the timestamp), and should be written to avoid interference with other
message IDs generated by other programs; after that put @ and then your
domain name, and then finally > at the end.

You might also add additional headers.

