The RiverUser's Manual
The River
User's Manual
Section 2--Prompts & Actions
When you enter the Yapp conferencing system you are immediately at the OK prompt. It looks like this:
Ok (? for help):
The most common actions from the OK prompt are described below.
Conferences are the main reason the River exists. Each conference has a specific theme, such as Media, or News.
Type "list" to see a list of all conferences. The command "(d)isplay conferences" does the same thing, as does the command "confs".
To get a more in-depth view of the conferences on The River, type "confinfo" at the OK prompt. You will be led into a series of text-based web pages (via the "lynx" program) with details on all conferences. You navigate this utility by hitting the enter key when the cursor is at the underlined word indicating your choice. You can leave this utility at any time by typing "q" (for quit).
If you have a graphical web browser, you can access the same pages at the address http://river.org/confs
To go to a conference, type "(g)o conference" at the OK prompt. For instance, to get to the conference about movies, type "g movies". Type "g" by itself to see what conference you are presently in. The command "(j)oin" is the same as "(g)o".
To find out who the conference host is, type "(d)isplay (f)air(w)itness". Short version: "d fw".
Type "(p)articipants" to get a list of the users who have been to the conference and the last date they visited. If you want to know if a certain user has been in a conference, type "p loginID".
To see a list of topics, type "(b)rowse" at the OK prompt. Each topic has a number. You can search for topics on a specific subject by typing "b keyword". This lists all topic headers that contain the keyword.
b word1 gets all topics with word1 in the header
b word1 word2 gets all topics with either word1 or word2 in
the header
b "word1 word2" gets all topics with the exact string
word1 word2 in the header (in this case
the quotes *are* part of the command)
The "browse" command can be used in several other ways. At the OK prompt type "help browse". This tells you that the "browse" command can be used with "range". Type "help range" to find out about that.
The "browse" command is not case sensitive.
Type "(s)ee" to read all responses in all topics. Type "(s)ee 13" to read only the responses in topic 13. Yapp keeps track of which responses you have read, and the next time you come to the conference the "(s)ee" command will show you only topics that have new responses you have not yet read.
As with "browse", the "see" command can be used with "range". For example, type "s 41-50" to read responses in topics 41 through 50. Another use of range is "s since -2". This shows you responses that have been posted in the last two days. Type "help range" for more information.
The "(r)ead" command is the same as "(s)ee".
While you are reading a topic with several posts, YAPP will give you the first 23 lines and then the More prompt. It looks like this:
--More--[Press space to continue, 'q' to quit.]
If you want to read on, press the spacebar for the next 23 lines. If you do not wish to read further, type "q" to quit. This will take you to the Response prompt.
If it's been awhile since you've visited a conference and you do not want to read all of the posts that have been made during that time, type "(fix)seen" at the OK prompt. YAPP will mark all responses in all topics as already read, and they will not show up as new posts the next time you enter the conference. The "fixseen" command also works with "range", so "fix 41-50" marks all responses in topics 41 through 50 as read.
If there is a certain topic in a conference that doesn't interest you, type "forget #" -- where # is the topic number. Yapp will stop showing you this topic. The "forget" command works with "range". The command "forget" without a # will cause all topics in that conference to be forgotten -- probably not what you intended to do.
To see a list of topics you have forgotten type "(b)rowse for".
To see a list of all topics, forgotten or not, type "(b)rowse nof".
The "(rem)ember" command undoes the "forget" command, and it is used in the same way.
River users are encouraged to start topics in conferences as a way of contributing to the discussion. It is a good idea to browse the topics already in the conference to see if another similar topic is already under discussion. To enter a topic, type "(e)nter" at the OK prompt within the conference. You will be taken to the text editor so that you can type what will become response 0 in that topic. When you have finished your message, exit the text editor by typing a period on a blank line. You'll then be asked: Ok to enter this response? Type "y" for yes. The next prompt will be: Enter a one line header or ':' to edit. At this point, you can go back to the message by typing ":" if you wish to edit your response 0. If you're happy with response 0, type the header you wish to give the topic. You will see: Ok to enter this item? Type "y" to finish creating the topic. It is customary to have a short introduction to a topic in response 0, and then to further expand on your subject in response 1.
Here is how this entire sequence looks:
Ok (? for help): e Enter message, '^D' to end, or :? for help. In this topic we will discuss pine trees. . Ok to enter this response? y Enter a one line header or ':' to edit ? Conifers R Us Ok to enter this item? y Saving as item 55...saved.
The person who starts a topic or the conference host can end the topic by "freezing" it. To freeze a topic, type "freeze #" where # is the topic number. The respond prompt then becomes:
Response not possible. (Return) or (?):
The main reason for freezing a topic is conference housekeeping. A host may want to keep a topic from going over a certain number of posts. Or a host may see a topic which was started by someone who didn't know that there was already a topic on the same subject.
Type "thaw #" to unfreeze a topic.
To get a list of who is online while you are, type "u" at the OK or Response prompt. You can also type "w" at either prompt and get more information about who is online in terms of how long they've been online, where they are logged in from, and other details.
Type "quit" or "exit" to leave the Yapp conferencing system.
When you finish reading the posts in a topic, you reach the Response prompt. It looks like this:
Respond (r), pass (Return), or help (?):
Several of the most common actions from the Response prompt are described below.
Type "10" to read the 10th and subsequent responses.
Type "23-30" to read responses 23 through 30.
Type "(r)espond" to start a post. The system responds:
Enter message, '^D' to end, or :? for help.
At this point you are in your text editor. See Appendix A for information about editors. Type your post. Exit from the editor by typing a period (or CTRL-D) on a blank line. You will see this prompt:
Ok to enter this response?
Type "y" to post, or "n" to stop the post if you change your mind.
If you wish to call attention to the fact that you are responding to a specific earlier post, say response 23, type "r 23". The first line of your new post will automatically be, <response to #23>.
It is sometimes useful to "hide" a post so that the body of the post does not show up unless the user specifically asks to see it. If a post is very long, for instance, it is considered polite to hide it so that people don't have to scroll through all of it.
To hide a post, type "hide #", with # being the number of the response.
To unhide a post, type "unhide #", with # being the number of the response.
Users can hide and unhide their own posts, but not the posts of others. Conference hosts can hide and unhide any post in their conference.
To read a hidden post, type "(o)nly #", with # being the number of the response. (That's a small letter o, not the zero.)
If you post something and aren't sure you want to leave it there after all, you can scribble the post. This deletes the post completely from the topic. People scribble posts for different reasons. They might have re-read their post and found formatting problems in it, so they scribble the post and rewrite it. They could have had a change of mind about the wisdom of making that post. Sometimes people feel they have been too hard on someone else, and will scribble a post for that reason.
Please keep in mind that the real value of the River is the content of the conferences -- this is what we are all building together. If key posts are missing, it may make the flow of the conversation difficult to follow, since posts generally relate to earlier posts. It is your right to scribble your posts, but please do so with great care -- once scribbled, it cannot be unscribbled.
To scribble a post, type "(scr)ibble #", with # being the number of the response.
Yapp keeps track of which topics you have read, and when you come back to a conference Yapp will take you to topics with responses which are new since your last visit. But what if you are reading a great topic and want to respond, but you don't have the time? In that case you will want to see the responses again later to spark your memory.
Type "(pr)eserve" at the Response prompt. That topic will be shown to you the next time you read the conference, just as though it had not been read. YAPP then takes you to the next topic in that conference.
Alternatively, type "(n)ew" at the Response prompt. This works the same as "(pr)eserve", except that Yapp returns you to the OK prompt instead of going on to the next topic in the conference.
If your question has not been answered by these manuals, you can send mail to (support03@river.org).
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Last modified 5/28/03