Resources

Usenet Newsgroups

Newsgroups are available through your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Please contact your ISP, not me, if you don't know how to access these newsgroups.

Some of the groups I visit:

Hints to help make newsgroups more enjoyable:

• When you first get to a newsgroup, try to find out what's acceptable and what's not. Not all groups are friendly, and beware that you don't inadvertently wander into a porn group.
• Use a proper news reader program. There are many that are much better than Outlook. I personally use Agent Newsreader. There's a free version with a few limitations, and the licensed version for US $29. That's money well spent.
• When posting photos (where they are allowed), 800x600 or 1024x768 are acceptable sizes. Anything larger should be indicated as LARGE in the subject. If you're posting a normal/smaller version, indicate SMALL. Use the JPEG format with 25% to 30% compression to reduce file size (up to 500K is a good size). The use of yEnc posts is discouraged in some groups. Post only one photo per message, unlike in this sample.
• Your ISP typically does not run their own news server. If they do, a. they should invest in huge hard drive space, and b. they should listen to their users' requests. My ISP is smart, they route directly to Supernews, which in case of alt.binaries.pictures.gardens (abpg), carries over 100 days of messages.
• If someone criticizes your message or photo, don't take offense. Typically readers of these newsgroups try to help people, not stomp on them. Sometimes, if you feel criticism is unjustified, it's better to ignore the message.

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	Site last updated on 19 June 2007