Looking for a client to access arch bbs

awayand · 2011-07-30 05:03:24

I find reading the arch forums on bbs.archlinux.org using firefox cumbersome and slow. Is there a command line client out there, i.e. ncurses-based, which will allow me to browse the bbs more quickly and efficiently?

jasonwryan · 2011-07-30 06:11:57

You could use surfraw and a text browser like w3m. You would have to write an elvis for the bbs though...

tomk · 2011-07-30 08:06:36

Is it just this forum that bothers you, or do you also find other similar websites cumbersome and slow in firefox?

awayand · 2011-07-30 08:13:57

just this forum. I realize firefox is a little slow but I rely on it because of plugins I can't live without (most notably pentadactyl).

rwd · 2011-07-30 11:41:36

If the server is slow a faster client won't help.

karol · 2011-07-30 12:05:47

The forum is sometimes slow, sometimes not responding at all (can't load pages), but usually is fast and fun to use :-)
I access this forum a lot using firefox with pentadactyl and I can't say it's cumbersome.

steve___ · 2011-08-01 14:33:16

Below is a script I run hourly with cron.

#!/bin/bash

export LC_COLLATE=C

script=${0##*/}
af=$HOME/doc/af               ## to be read
afmaster=$HOME/doc/aflist     ## have been read
afexclude=$HOME/doc/afexclude ## words to exclude

_usage() { cat << EOF
usage: $script

This script will download the most recent archlinux.org forum posts.
Forum posts means the post title along with its URL. It has the ability
to track which posts the user has viewed and store the unread forum
posts in a file.

EOF
}

(( $# != 0 )) && { _usage && exit 1 ;}

## If $af is open; exit
ps a | grep -q "[0-9] vim -c sort /^https/ + $af" && exit 1

## Read $afmaster into an array
## Append new posts to the master list array, leaving unseen posts marked with a '>'
## Remove any duplicate posts from master list
set -f; O=$IFS IFS=$'\n'
aflist=( $(< "$afmaster") )
aflist+=( $(curl -Ls "https://bbs.archlinux.org/search.php?action=show_24h" | \
    awk -F'["=<]' '/viewtopic.php\?id=/ && !/stickytext/ {printf "%06d%s\n",$5,$6}') )
aflist=( $(printf "%s\n" "${aflist[@]}" | sort | uniq -w 6) )

## Read $af into an array. Format unseen posts. Exclude posts which aren't of interest.
## Recode html and unicode to ASCII.
af_array=( $(< "$af") )
af_array+=( $(printf "%s\n" "${aflist[@]}" | \
    awk -F'>' '!/^[0-9]*#/ {gsub(/^0*/, "");print "https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=" $1,$2}' | \
    grep -ivEf "$afexclude" | \
    recode HTML) )
IFS=$O; set +f

## Mark all posts as read and write to master file
printf "%s\n" "${aflist[@]}" | sed -e 's/^\([0-999999]*\)>/\1#/g' > "$afmaster"

## Print unseen forum posts to $af file.
printf "%s\n" "${af_array[@]}"  > "$af"

## OPTIONAL
## Add mail headers so file is viewable in mutt.
mailfilenew=$HOME/.mail/ml-rss/arch/new/1271109605.5731_0.donkey
mailfilecur=${mailfilenew/new/cur}:2,S
header=$(echo -e "Date: $(date -R)\nSubject: ArchLinux Forums\nTo: User\nFrom: User\n\n---")

printf "%s\n" "$header" "${af_array[@]}" > "$mailfilecur"

## If there are new forum posts, set mail file as unread
grep -q bbs <<< "${af_array[@]}" && mv "$mailfilecur" "$mailfilenew"

## The key binding in mutt
#macro generic,index,pager   E "<shell-escape>vim '-c sort /\^https/' + $HOME/doc/af<enter>" "unread archlinux forum post titles"

karol · 2011-08-01 14:38:22

You can also subscribe to the rss feeds. While you can read them in the browser with e.g. Google Reader, many other clients exist, even console ones, like newsbeuter.
You may still need to fire up a browser to post though.

Awebb · 2011-08-01 15:45:49

jasonwryan wrote:

elvis

Are these things called elvis, or is it just a personal expression?

steve___ · 2011-08-01 15:57:37

@awebb - http://surfraw.alioth.debian.org/#usage

Arch Linux

#1 2011-07-30 05:03:24

Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#2 2011-07-30 06:11:57

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#3 2011-07-30 08:06:36

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#4 2011-07-30 08:13:57

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#5 2011-07-30 11:41:36

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#6 2011-07-30 12:05:47

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#7 2011-08-01 14:33:16

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#8 2011-08-01 14:38:22

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#9 2011-08-01 15:45:49

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

#10 2011-08-01 15:57:37

Re: Looking for a client to access arch bbs

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