LysKOM has a lot in common with netnews, but LysKOM is intended for local discussions (instead of worldwide). LysKOM consists of a server process and several client programs. The server process maintains a data base of persons, conferences and articles. The clients connect to the server and let the users browse the database for unread articles.

LysKOM is much faster than netnews - almost as fast as irc or ICQ! - but like in netnews the articles are saved so that you don't have to be logged in to receive the news.