How to use Usenet

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

Every Windows PC is capable of reading and posting messages to newsgroups - you don't need special software. Here is a step-by-step guide to accessing Usenet from Outlook Express.

Finding your news server: First establish whether your internet service provider includes a Usenet service - it is sometimes referred to as a "newsgroups" service or just "news".

If your ISP does not support Usenet, you can still access newsgroups from any browser such as Internet Explorer - see the Google Web Based Usenet Directory below. If your ISP does support Usenet, you will need to know the name of its news server.

For example the news server for all Xtra customers is news.xtra.co.nz, while ihug users based in Auckland should use news.akl.ihug.co.nz.

You should be able to gather server information online from your internet service provider's help or dial up settings pages.

Setting up a news account

Open Outlook Express, click on Tools/Accounts and select the News tab. Click on the box marked 'Add' in the top right hand corner and click on "News" in the pop up list that appears.

The connection wizard will now ask you to supply your name and email address. If you want to post messages under an alias, you should enter it now in the box provided for your name, and if you are new to Usenet it is probably a good idea to enter a fictitious email address as well. Now enter the name of your news server in the box marked 'News (NNTP) server'. Unless your ISP has specified otherwise, leave the box marked "My news server requires me to log on" unchecked.

Click "finish" and you will be invited to download the newsgroup headings for the account you just added. As there are thousands of newsgroups, this process can take a few minutes.

Subscribing

As soon as this process has been completed the Newsgroups Subscriptions window will pop up, which contains a vast list of available newsgroups.

Now type in nz.test in the search box at the top of the window. You will notice that the list of newsgroups diminishes with each character you type until you have zeroed in on a single newsgroup.

Click on the "subscribe" box. Nz.test is used for test postings, but while you are here also subscribe to nz.general for general local discussions and a couple of international groups.

Reading the news

Make sure the folders window is displayed by clicking on view/layout and checking the "folder list" box. Within the folder list you should see the name of your news server, together with the newsgroups you subscribed to earlier.

As you click on each newsgroup, the messages will begin to download and will appear in the message pane on the right. Click on each message to read the contents.

Making a test post

Click on nz.test in the folders pane. Click on "new post" on the main menu (top left). Enter a suitable subject line in the New Message document, "test" perhaps, as well as some words like "testing, testing" in the body of the message. Click "send". It may take several days for your message to appear on this newsgroup.

Downloading attached files

Before you download attachments from binaries newsgroups, make sure you have installed up-to-date anti-virus software. You should also click on start/settings/folder options and make sure the box marked "hide file extensions for known file types" is unchecked, which ensures the full file names are displayed.

Be cautious about downloading files ending in .exe (program files) or .vbs (Visual Basic scripts).

Now, make sure the preview pane is displayed - click on view/layout and check the "view preview pane" box.

Connect to a suitable binaries newsgroup, for example alt.binaries.pictures.abba and click on any message bearing an attachment in the message pane on the right. The corresponding image should appear in the preview pane after a few seconds.

Links

Google Web Based Usenet Directory

Usenet News guidelines

Usenet writing guidelines