I have written 2 script files for contacting my ISP: one for uploading
and one for downloading. Each file handles both news and messages. The
files, to which you are welcome, are easily human-readable and were
automatically written by my communications software, which is called
LiveWire; I'm sure other brands of comm software (e.g., Procomm Plus)
would also write such programs. My daily traffic widely varies from 80
kB to 800 kB. I do not limit download traffic.
Fortunately my ISP maintains the uqwk software, which is referenced in
both script files. If your ISP maintains uqwk, you should be able to
read the output of a Unix command "help uqwk" while on line (if the ISP
allows you to access a Unix system prompt) or, alternatively, use the
command "help uqwk > uqwkfile.txt" to create a file that you can
download and read at your convenience.
After downloading (24k to 28k baud), I use the Yarn "import" feature to
unpack and sort the "zip.down" download package. Yarn filters described
in the Yarn documentation do the sorting. To grab news, I must maintain
a file called ".newsrc" at my ISP. It is easy to edit .newsrc on line
with the "pico" editor, provided by the ISP.
I am usually satisfied with my ISP's service. About once a week I get an
unexpected disconnect, after which I need to log on again and enter
commands manually where the script file was interrupted. About once a
week the connect process stalls, possibly due to heavy traffic. My ISP
provides me with 3 dialup lines, but when one is down they are all down.
Good luck.