Usenet News Groups

Usenet News Groups

Usenet is a powerful method of communicating
rapidly with a large number of people interested in the same subject. For a technician in need of a manual or a researcher on a deadline, Usenet provides a way of quickly exchanging questions and answers with a target audience. Responses may begin to arrive within minutes.

Usenet is a convenient way for you to read and submit announcements relating to Internet resources for a special area of interest. A colleague who has just completed work on a new web site may post the URL in a news group, just as one might post to a mailing list. Many news groups, in fact are spun off into mailing lists -- some lists capture all news posts, but often a moderator selects articles from a news group to forward to the mailing list.

Usenet news groups are so far-ranging that most internet providers allow their subscribers access to only a small fraction of what is available. There are groups in many languages, and many groups of local interest.

Some groups are only available to subscribers to a particular provider or news service. Many groups, such as upenn groups, allow you to view posts, but not to post messages of your own, unless you are a upenn computer user. You may still find useful info, and can respond to any post via private email.

Before you post a message to a news group
I strongly recommend that you read about Usenet, and learn what you can about the group you're posting to. Look for a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file and take time to read enough articles to make sure that your message's topic is appropriate to that group.

An excellent introduction to Usenet
is Jon Bell's Newsgroup Information for Beginners, -- includes what newsgroups are and how they work

News readers are software designed for managing news group info.
I usually work on a Windows system and often use Netscape to read and demonstrate news groups. To read news in Netscape, choose Windows menu, option Netscape News. Select a news server, then choose Options menu, either Show Subscribed Newsgroups or Show All Newsgroups. Or if you know a news group's name choose File menu, Add Newsgroup option.

But for serious news reading, I prefer Free Agent. There is a commercial version, Agent, with more features but Free Agent costs nothing and is widely acclaimed for its ease of use.

Indiana University's Usenet Newsgroups: Resources page (mentioned prominently on Jon Bell's page) includes extensive info on Usenet Software (news readers) for all operating systems.

Some providers access just a few groups, or none at all.
If you are choosing a new Internet Service Provider (ISP) you may wish to ask what news groups you'll be able to access. If your current provider does not carry a group you're interested in, request it -- or request all groups with certain initial letters. If they provide any news, they may be able to add your request easily.

But you don't need a news server to read and post to news groups!
If you can find the name of a news group you're interested in, try an Advanced Search using the AltaVista search engine. Click the pull-down arrow which reads `the Web' and change the selection to `Usenet.' Insert the name of the news group as selection criterion, and specify date range or other criteria to narrow search if you want. Or use Deja News Power Search Form to read and post messages.

If your internet provider provides news group access
here are some things you can do:

If you're having trouble with a computer program, if you want to ask a question about the internet, or if you need a support group, there's a group for you. Here's a sample.
Can't remember who first recorded a song? There are groups for discussion of music of specific eras and styles. Here's a sample.
Want to know what your neighbors are doing on the net? Check out some local groups. Find newsgroup search tools and search for groups whose name starts with nj, pa, phl, or upenn. Some regional groups are listed on this site's Philadelphia Regional Newsgroup Sample Page.
Do you have something to buy or sell? The Usenet Marketplace FAQ provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions ` ... specifically for misc.forsale.* and biz.marketplace.* newsgroups. Generally for all transactions over the Internet.' This site lists The Advertising Newsgroups.
Are you seeking -- or offering -- employment? Check out our Job Counselors page.

To search for news groups try these search tools:

Searchable list of newgroups

Here are some more sources of info about news groups:

Test before you post
send test messages to news groups set up specifically for testing:

To search news group postings, try these search engines:

DejaNews has about a year and a half of Usenet postings (I think)
Alta Vista has a few weeks of Usenet postings (I think)

News Groups Versus Mailing List Services

A comparison of Usenet news with Email Listservs appears in this post from PUB-ADV, a public library advocacy mailing list. You can subscribe to PUB-ADV by emailing message to
majordomo@virginia.edu with body
subscribe pub-adv [first name] [last name]
-- no subject
`PUB-ADV is a listserv on the Internet established and moderated by Libraries for the Future . The discussion list is for public library users, advocates, friends of the library and anyone else concerned with public library issues.' | Index | This list has also included discussion of plans to wire US public buildings, libraries and schools for Internet, telecommunication industry response and related lobbying efforts. Here's a sample

Newsgroup pages at this site

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This page written by Dave Butler, Computer Guide
dbut@voicenet.com | http://www.voicenet.com/~dbut/

Volunteer Coordinator, Nonprofit Technology Resources:
http://www.libertynet.org/~ntr/ntr.html

Last modified 12/23/96 -- URL for this page is http://www.voicenet.com/~dbut/usenet.htm