Program end speed was: XBOX 360 2716

snip

Maybe I need a better-different newsreader, and this group might be just the one to recommend one.

I'm currently using trn and am generally happy with it (runs under Linux, text-mode interface, allows me to compose posts in my text editor of choice, stores information in text files like a proper Unix program, etc.). It does support threading, but it doesn't give me the ability (as far as I can tell) to do what would really be helpful in this context, namely mark particular posts as being of interest and then select follow-ups to those posts. It's also not very good at allowing easy access to posts marked as "already read".

Would anyone care to suggest alternatives that have the properties I like about trn (runs under Linux, text-mode interface, etc.) but would be more helpful in following particular subthreads?

None of this sorting really helps identify posts of interest in a subthread that had previously not been of interest, but maybe that's a problem without a good solution, since in this group one reply may drift in multiple directions.

More or less the point I was trying to make in the rest of the sentence:

Who said anything about conforming to all newsgroups? I didn't spell "newsgroup" correctly above, but I did put the apostrophe in the right place. Correcting the spelling, "a newsgroup's local customs" would be the customs of that particular newsgroup, which might not be the same as those of other newsgroups -- which newbies are supposed to try to identify during the period of lurking that's supposed to preceded starting to post, and then follow when they do begin to post. Admittedly in this eternal September the standard advice about lurking first is not always followed ....

-- B. L. Mbuttingill ObDisclaimer: I don't speak for my employers; they return the favor.