Can'

     I've used SLRN for many years on OpenVMS.  I now want to
 use it on my home system (preferably Mint Linux, but it could
 be Fedora or Windows 7).  I've used GrabIT on Windows with SSL,
 and it works.  I've tried Xpn and Thunderbird on Linux with
 SSL, and they work, but I don't like the interface or other
 features.  I want to use slrn, but I can not figure out how to
 get it to use SSL.

     I've been to the web site. It says my version of slrn is
 built with SSL: but there are no real instructions anywhere
 that actually say how to enable it.  I've searched through the
 archives on the web site, and have found nothing useful. I've
 done web searches, and can't find anyone who has said they've
 gotten this to work.

     I did eventually find a copy of README.SSL, bundled with
 the Windows version of slrn that comes in a ZIP file, but it
 doesn't give any information other than adding "snews://" 
 somewhere. I've tried every variation I can think of, putting 
 this in the .slrnrc file for server or nntpauth,  and nothing 
 will get it to switch to SSL.  I've tried putting it in the
 NNTPSERVER environmental variable, but that causes errors 
 connecting. I've tried putting the port number at the end of 
 the server name, and that seems to make it start to use SSL, 
 but it can never authenticate or connect properly. 

     My method of determining this is as follows.

     The version of slrn I have on Linux is this:

lederman@dc5700-SFF ~ $ slrn --version
slrn 1.0.1
S-Lang Library Version: 2.2.4
Compiled on: Oct 23 2013 23:23:08
Operating System: Linux

COMPILE TIME OPTIONS:
 Backends: +nntp +slrnpull +spool
 External programs / libs: +canlock +inews +ssl +uudeview +iconv
 Features: +decoding +emphasized_text +end_of_thread +fake_refs +gen_msgid
    -grouplens -msgid_cache +piping +rnlock +spoilers -strict_from
 Using 64 bit integers for article numbers.

DEFAULTS:
 Default server object:     nntp
 Default posting mechanism: nntp

     As I understand it, the "+ssl" indicates it can use SSL.

     When I run slrn, I use netstat to look at the connections:

lederman@dc5700-SFF ~ $ netstat -a | grep tcp
tcp        0      0 *:netbios-ssn           *:*                     LISTEN     
tcp        0      0 dc5700-SFF:domain       *:*                     LISTEN     
tcp        0      0 *:ssh                   *:*                     LISTEN     
tcp        0      0 localhost:ipp           *:*                     LISTEN     
tcp        0      0 *:microsoft-ds          *:*                     LISTEN     
tcp        0      0 192.168.1.39:58955      69.16.179.43:nntp       ESTABLISHED

     You can see the protocol listed is nntp.

     If I run GrabIT on Windows (or Xpn on Linux), this changes
 to NNTP like this (Thunderbird appears to use https):

Proto  Local Address          Foreign Address        State
TCP    0.0.0.0:49157          Lederman-PC7:0         LISTENING
TCP    127.0.0.1:23401        Lederman-PC7:0         LISTENING
TCP    192.168.1.27:139       Lederman-PC7:0         LISTENING
TCP    192.168.1.27:51331     69.16.179.43:nntps     ESTABLISHED

     As mentioned before, if I put the port name at the end of
 the server name, as in 

news.forteinc.com:563

     in the NNTPSERVER name, with or without snews:// at the
 beginning, I see nntp change to nntps, but the authentication
 process never completes: or else it prompts me for a username
 and password instead of using the authentication information in
 .slrnrc, and I get a lot of status messages, but the connection
 never works.

     I don't think I'm asking for too much to request an actual
 example of how to set up NNTPSERVER and the variables in
 .jnewsrc that works to set up a connection with SSL.  Since at
 least three other news readers on two different operating
 systems make what appear to be SSL connections to my news
 provider, I'm reasonably certain that the problem is not with
 the news server.

     Has anyone done this successfully, and can you please post 
 instructions or point me to a web site that actually says how
 to set this up?

     Thanks.

     Bart.


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