/etc/slrn.rc, ~/.slrnrc The first time slrn is run, the ~/.jnewsrc file must be created. For this configuration to work, you must have an environmental variable, NNTPSERVER, set. In normal operation it would be exported into the environment by a startup file, like /etc/profile or ~/.bashrc. Here we will just put it into the environment of the configuration step. We will use the LFS news server in this example, but you should use whatever server you prefer. Create the ~/.jnewsrc file with the following command: NNTPSERVER=news.linuxfromscratch.org \ slrn -f ~/.jnewsrc --create You will also have to edit one of the configuration files. There is a sample startup /usr/share/doc/slrn/slrn.rc file that comes with slrn. It is extensively documented but if you need more information, look at the slrn website.