July '02 Tools

Newsgroups are a great way to communicate with thousands or even millions of other people on just about any given subject. They are extremely informative and easy to use.

Getting started using newsgroups...

You can begin by reading posts for a few days until you get comfortable with the format. You can frequently learn as much from previously posted questions and answers as you could from submitting your own question. You may be able to find a page of FAQs or Tips to help you along. Generally, if a newsgroup has an FAQ it will be posted occasionally. If you don't see it after a few weeks you can ask the newsgroup where to find it.he use of cookies.

What software do you need?

Just as you need email software to use email, you also need a software called a newsgroup reader for newsgroups. The reader connects you to your ISP's news server, grabs the groups you want to read, and organizes their messages.

A newsgroup reader should be easy to use; the best will have you browsing through messages within minutes. A good reader should have...
- Simple server sign-up with a step-by-step guide to walk you through the process.
- Multipane display: Your reader should simultaneously display these three windows: a list of the newsgroups you've subscribed to, the headers (essentially the subject lines) of the messages in the group, and the messages themselves.
- Newsgroup search tool: Your reader should include a search engine to help you locate newsgroups.

Some of the best readers are free and you probably already have one! Most of the popular email programs do double duty as readers. For example, Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 and Netscape Messenger - have newsgroup readers packaged with them.

Both of these free newsreader do the basics: they connect to a news server, download messages, let you read and reply, and display images attached to some messages. They look so much like the email software you're already used to, so it should be easy to navigate.

Getting set up...

Before your newsreader can retrieve messages from a news server (the computer where your ISP stores newsgroup content), you must show it where to find the server. The first time you use the reader, it will ask for your outgoing email, or SMTP server. Get the name of the news server from your ISP. It's typically in one of these formats: news.yourISP.com or nntp.yourISP.com. You can call your ISP's technical support or visit its Web site for the exact address.

Once you connect to a news server, your reader downloads the server's list of available newsgroups. Most servers contain tens of thousands of groups, but since each ISP decides which newsgroups to place on its server, some may provide more or fewer. Once the list appears, ,just select any newsgroup you'd like and subscribe to it (your reader probably has a Subscribe button). The subscription acts as the newsgroup equivalent of a bookmark in your Web browser and it isn't permanent. You can unsubscribe with one click of the mouse.

Helpful management hints...

If you are annoyed by one particular poster, you can set your reader to ignore or delete those messages. Each reader does this differently and may even use different terminology. Outlook Express, for instance, calls this feature blocking. Usually, all you need to do is select a message, then choose the appropriate command from your reader's menu to forever prevent that sender's missives from appearing on your screen.

If you're not careful, you'll be buried under an avalanche of messages. Set your reader to sort all your messages by sender, subject, or date. You can usually just click one of the column headings - Subject, From (by sender), or Sent (date sent) to sort your messages into alphabetical or numerical order. When you sort by From, the messages are reordered by sender from Z to A. To reverse the order, click From again. In just a second or two, you have a list of all the messages from one writer.

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) doesn't permanently store newsgroup messages on its news servers. As new messages show up in a group, the oldest fall off the server. If you want to refer back to a message, you'll need to save it. Just create a folder in your reader, then move the message you want to save into that folder.

A few rules to follow...

The most important rule is to stay on topic. If the newsgroup is about lawn care, don't post about the car racing.
When you post a follow up message, you should quote enough of the original message so others know what you are referring to. You don't need to include the entire original message.
Be Polite - good manners count!
Don't type all in caps - it's the equivalent of a shouting and other newsgroup participants will be offended.
Don't flame (tell somebody off) - it will only work against you.
Spelling count - run your message though a spell check before posting.
No spam. Enough said - don't do it.
Never use your real address when posting to a newsgroup. Set up your reader with an email address just for this purpose - you can use a free email account from Yahoo or Hotmail. This reduces the risk of spam from address harvesters who cruise newsgroups and collect email addresses for their mailing lists.

Just for newbies...

Several newsgroups are available for newsgroup newbies. Using your reader, search for or type in one of the following newsgroup names:

news.announce.newusers - background explanations about newsgroups.
news.newuser.questions - beginners ask questions about newsgroups.
news.groups.questions - tells which newsgroups address which topics.
alt.test - practice posting messages here.

The easiest way of all...

If you don't want to learn how to use a newsreader program, there are web-based services that allow you to find and post articles.

One of the easiest ways is to go to Google Groops (http://groups.google.com) and enter keywords defining your interest or hobby into the search box. On the page of search results, scroll through the messages until you find one that matches your interest.