Newsgroups and Usenet

This part of the Internet is as active, if not more active, as the rest of the Internet. Newsgroups, also known as Usenet, are similar to a classifieds section of a newspaper, filled with article after article of comments, needs, offers, but with the advantage of it being a free bonus to the Internet. Once you have access to newgroups, you have the ability to post and read all the different things that millions of people have to say. Newsgroups are a public forum, with little restriction on what people can say. To keep discussions organized, however, there is a specific newsgroup for every possible topic, and new groups are created daily to fill in the gaps. Groups range in material from such controversial concepts as politics and religion, to house design and gardening. People ranging in expertise from experts to novices frequent these groups, sharing all the information they can. Newsgroups have also been used to distibute files. These files are also varied in type, as they can be scanned photographs, audio files, computer programs, or any number of other non-text format. However, it is important to remember that most of these groups are not moderated, that is, anyone can post to these groups. Opinions can become very heated and offensive terms may appear. When reading messages off of these newsgroups, it is important to have thick skin, and an acceptance of the fact that there are many people in the world that have a propensity to swear, and this will be reflected in their articles. Additionally, there are newsgroups that contain explicitly violent, racist, or sexist discussions, but these groups can be easily determined by their names. It is ultimately the choice of the individual on whether or not he or she is prepared to deal with newsgroups. If you are unsure of whether you feel mature enough to handle adult themes, then be certain of the newsgroup topic you are about to browse before you actually do so.

To use the newsgroups, you need three things: server information, a newsreader program, and a general guide to the groups.

Server Information

Server Name
You must get this from either your ISP, short for Internet Service Provider, or an outside company. Most ISPs have a news server of some kind, that have access restricted to current customers only. Some news servers are unacceptable, whether from lost articles, slow connection, too few groups, or simply non-existent, so there is a business to be made providing customers access to a third-party news server. People looking for a suitable news server have several choices as quite a few companies exist solely to provide news server access, and even local ISPs will provide access for a nominal fee. A few choices include:

Airnews	$4.95/mo. or more	Airnews, run by Internet America, has an article lifespan of over a week, meaning that old articles are kept on the server for at least that long. However, articles are occasionally lost. The price is for non-binary groups only. Binary access costs $9.95/month minimum. There is no download limit, but there is a data speed limit.
Newsguy	$5.95/mo. or more	Newsguy provides a faster connection rate than Airnews, but has fewer groups and a shorter article lifespan. However, articles are very rarely lost from this server. The listed price only allows 10 MB of information transferred per day, which usually isn't enough for binary access. A $12.95/month plan gives 500 MB of bandwidth per day.
Google Groups	free	This is a public access server originally known as Deja News. It can be accessed through directly through the web. Binary attachments are automatically deleted from articles, so this server is only useful for text discussions.
Yahoo! Listing	varies	Yahoo! has a listing of many available servers beyond the three I have listed. For each server you consider, find out the cost, the limits, and the newsgroup list for that server. Not all servers have the same listing.

User Name and Password
These are given by the provider. In the case of public access servers or those provided by your ISP, there may not be a need for a user name or password. Keep them on hand if you have them, just in case.

Newsreader Program

In order to browse the newsgroups, you must have a proper newsreader. Although many web browsers now provide a functional newsreader within the program, these usually are too awkward to properly view, save, organize, or filter articles. Depending on your needs, you may need a simple reader, or a more powerful design for massive downloads. If you wish to download lots of files, you will need a reader that can decode binary attachments.
Simple Newsreader
These will read text articles, but have poor or no ability to decode binary attachments. For those that simply wish to chat about various things and don't want to bother with files, this is the best choice. You can always find a binary-capable newsreader at a later date.
Newsreader with Binary File Capability
The reason a decoder is needed is because Usenet cannot view binary data; it can only deal in simple text-only messages. Binary files that are sent directly without first converting them to text corrupt and become nothing more than incomprehensible garbage. So a few algorithms have been created that convert binary files, such as images, audio, executables, etc., into a coded text-only file. The most common encoding types are UUencode , MIME, and BinHex , in decreasing order of usage.

ASCII file	This is a file that is composed entirely of text. There are no images, no special formating, no programs, or anything else. Only ASCII characters are used, nothing more. This severe restriction on the design allows this type to be a universal standard, regardless of what type of machine uses the file.
binary file	Images, movies, audio files, databases, archives, and thousands more types fall under this category. Basically, if it is not an ASCII file, it is a binary file.
UUencode .uu .uue	This type is easy to detect as each line of text begins with an "M" character and each line, except for the last line, is exactly the same length. Often it will begin with a line that reads "begin 644" or some other 3-digit number. This is the best choice for posting non-Macintosh binary files to newsgroups.
MIME .mime .mim	This is a little harder to detect, as it does not have a specific organization to its encoding. However, it usually begins with a line that contains "mime" within it somewhere. Unlike UUencode , MIME does not encode text files, and instead attaches them to the end of the code without conversion. This encoding is used most often by web browsers. When sending messages by e-mail, which also only accepts ASCII text, this is the best choice.
BinHex .hqx .b64	When viewed in a simple text editor, BinHex is seen as simply encoded text with no headers or descernible markings. The only way to tell if a text file is BinHex encoded is by running the text file through a decoder and seeing if it comes out as a binary file. This encoding method is not used very often today outside of the Macintosh operating system.

Once a file is encoded, it can then be posted onto a newsgroup. As binary files are often very large, most posters split the file into smaller chanks, with a "[Y/X]" listed in the article subject, with X being any integer greater than 0, and Y being any number from 1 to X. This allows many servers unable to handle large articles from losing files or file segments. Many servers today can handle articles over 20,000 lines, but most experienced posters limit themselves to only 10,000 to avoid overflow. These parts must then be collected by a user and decoded. There are three ways that binary files can be decoded: manually, automatically, and in-line.

Manual	All of the parts of the encoded file are appended in order and saved to a single text file. For most news programs, this would mean simply selected all the parts in the appropriate order and then saving them as a single batch job. Any extraneous text, such as header information, must be deleted by hand as this would cause an error in the decoding process. Once the file has been "de-boned" of extra text, it can then be passed through a UU, MIME, or BinHex decoder, chosen by examining the code for the clues previously listed. This method for decoding is tedious, and can very often end in failure due to deleting the wrong line, or overlooking a single header. Only the very proficient should attempt to decode files this way, and even then only when necessary.
Automatic	This method is the most common and by far the fastest and easiest to do, although it is not totally automated as the name suggests. All the segments of the file are selected from the newsgroup and then the newsreader is commanded to download them; the coded text is decoded during the download process. Most binary-capable newsreaders have this function, and nearly all of the work is done for you. However, a transfer error in the middle of a download will cause a decoded file to corrupt.
In-Line	This method cannot be used with files that have multiple segments, but only for single-article files like small images. In-line means that when the article is opened to be read, any binary attachment is decoded and placed in-line for the reader to view, save, etc. This process is used with nearly all web-browser-based newsreaders and many of the standalone programs.
A combination of the Manual and Automatic methods can be performed, and I have found it to be very effective. Many newsreaders have the ability to create message boxes where you can save articles for later viewing. Create a message box named "binaries" and transfer the various segments of the encoded file to the new box. If a transfer times out, it will resume where it left off, saving articles only when they are successfully downloaded. Once all the segments are downloaded to the box, you can examine the file for any missing segments, and you can decode the file without worrying about tranfer corruption. Once the file is downloaded, you can delete the now unnecessary articles.

The most popular news readers can be found at Download.Com - go to Internet and then to Newsreaders for all the programs available. Of course, if you have a PC, you can just choose my personal favorite: Xnews - Item #9 at Geocities This is the reader I currently use, with excellent capability for binary file extraction and multiple-server access.

Guide to the Newsgroups
Hopefully, you've gotten all of your settings correct and are now browsing Usenet. I have listed a set of newsgroup prefixes that may help you find what you're looking for. Each group usually has an FAQ, which can often be found with a search engine. The FAQ for each group details appropriate and inappropriate discussion material and expected conduct if and when you decide to post a message.

alt.*	These are what are referred to as the "alternative" newgroups. This is simply because the topics are so varied that there is no specific category that they all fall under. This area is mainly reserved for topical, often heated discussions.
alt.binaries.*	This is an exception to the discussion rule. If you need a file, this is where it will be found. Videos, audio, pictures, and software are all here. If it isn't available now, ask and it will probably turn up in a few days.
alt.fan.*	For fans of television shows, pop idols, and even political figures. General gossip occurs here, but most of it is tempered by the more cynical fact-finding readers.
alt.games.*	Not just for computer games, this section has groups about the intricacies of chess, the trials of soccer play, and pretty much any kind of game you could play.
alt.music.*	From singers to musicians, from songwriters to composers, this area covers the musical aspects of the internet. Audio is not posted here, as the alt.binaries.sounds.* section already covers that topic. This is reserved for verbal discussions.
alt.politics.*	Politics are a major concern for a great many people, so naturally there would be a section reserved for this controversial subject. Government issues, political assassinations, revolution, and even specific
alt.religion.*	Where there is politics, there has to be religion. For those not keen on discussing spiritual matters involving deities, there is always the "alt.philosophy.*" groups.
alt.sex.*	This section involves some discussion very more mature themes, but much of each group is filled with pornographic spam. Some groups such as "alt.sex.advocacy" may be worth perusing as such groups may have discussions concerning opposing viewpoints on this topic.
alt.sports.*	Sports is a national pasttime for many countries, and this is reflected in the Internet. All the major sporting events, and some minor ones, too, are covered here.
alt.support.*	Life isn't always wonderful, and some people need a shoulder to cry on. This section of Usenet acts as an online support group, allowing strangers to come together on equal grounds and talk frankly about their problems.
alt.tv.*	If a show has been popular, and sometimes even when it's just been really bad, there has been a group created for it.
rec.*	Recreational groups, aimed at discussions about hobbies, art, music, games, gambling, sports, radio, and many more topics too numerous to be listed here.
rec.*.marketplace	This is an auction/sale section where people can trade or purchase items appropriate to the group's title. It is important to remember that fraud can happen, so be careful when making purchases in an unregulated area like Usenet
(country).*	The English-speaking world is not the only peruser of usenet, and there is a section for foreign discussions. If you are multi-lingual, this would be a good place to hone up on your skills. Each country has its own code, similar to the codes used in web addresses. For example: "de." denote the German groups and "fr." denote the French groups.

Return to the Internet Page
Questions? Comments? Send them to: res0i70r@verizon.net