$ man wget
This example shows how to log to a server using POST and then proceed to
download
the desired pages, presumably only accessible to authorized users:
# Log in to the server. This can be done only once.
You mean "we only do this once".
wget --save-cookies cookies.txt \
--post-data 'user=foo&password=bar' \
http://server.com/auth.php
Say, sometimes I bet --spider could be added to make it even more efficient.
Mention that.
(WWWOFFLE note: WWWOFFLE turns HEADs into GETs, and strips any
--post-data content. Maybe WWWOFFLE should tell the user in such
cases, or something.)
