AT&T Dropping Usenet Netnews; Low-Cost Alternatives? 345
franknagy writes "This announcement message has appeared in all the news groups on
the AT&T/SBC News Server: 'Please note that on or around July 15, 2009, AT&T will no longer be
offering access to the Usenet netnews service. If you wish to continue
reading Usenet newsgroups, access is available through third-party
vendors.' So what free or low-cost alternatives are available for Netnews and
the NNTP services for clients?"
The web (Score:2)
It depends what you mean by "alternative" - but (sadly in my opinion), most people will just say "the web" and mean HTML-based bulletin board discussions eg Facebook.
Oh well. I loved Usenet.
Re: (Score:2)
Yep. NNTP discussion groups have been rather thoroughly replaced by web-based discussion sites, like Slashdot. And if you really need Usenet there's Google Groups. (yeah, there's a couple newsgroups Google doesn't cover. I'd give you a URL but I'd rather not risk slashdotting them.)
And as for NNTP binary groups, Bittorrent and Redtube have them covered.
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Re:The web (Score:5, Informative)
Another vote for GigaNews.
I only read about 30-40 groups, ever, and they are all text-only discussions. So their $2.99 a month Jade service is a no-brainer. I don't come close to even half a gig a month with those groups, and don't need thread retention more than 30 days either.
Cheap. Works.
My only gripe is that it's not as good as some of the pricier options that you directly link to. If all you want is basic text-only threading and zero fancy features, it'll take some getting used to the slower speeds and web interfaces. But I also am cheap and don't want to spend $20 a month... For about $40 a year, GigaNews works fine.
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It is written in python. All you do it put an nzb in the directory that it is watching, wait a few hours, and you have all your data, par'ed, decoded, patched together, and unrared, sitting in the output folder.
If you have a network storage server, you can conveniently share the queue directory with samba or NFS, and centralize all your downloading.
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You said it for me. :) The difference between it working without crashing, nice and threaded, instantly, and web interfaces is enormous. I can get done in 5 minutes what it takes nearly 30 through Google. I hate wasting time and dealing with bugs.
It also is nice because what I've read and not read isn't in some cookie - the program is a dedicated reader that keeps it all straight. If I do want a binary, which we all do from time to time, it just does it all automatically.
You will have to likely upgrade
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Do they have a way to securely and anonymously subscribe and connect to them? Can you send them cash, use a nym server for email contacts...and maybe somehow route your transactions with the server through something like TOR?
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They support anonymous SSL connections. It's not fullproof, but it's a fairly secure transfer protocol. Certainly safer than bittorrent. I've been a Usenetserver.com customer for years. Can't complain about them at all.
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Wait, didn't that happen last Tuesday, right after the rapture?
Back on topic: I suppose Usenet had to die at some point, just like Gopher/Archie/Veronica. It is kind of sad, but as OP said, there are various other tools that do the same job (albeit not as decently), and are easier to access. Thus its time was sort of inevitable.
Seriously, how many people use Usenet anymore? Mostly aging hardcore geeks, I'm guessing. Which isn't market enough to keep it living.
Sadly, I stopped using it when it became a
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:5, Funny)
while only the crotchety remain.
It's not nice to talk about someone like that when I'm^Wthey are around ;)
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:4, Interesting)
You should investigate talkorigins.org
Although that website is ancient, its a collection of a vast amount of material on the evolution/creationism debate that was held exclusively on usenet. It serves as an amazing reference so that if you see the same conversation starting for the nth time you can post the link and close the thread.
Now that may seem dismissive, but you would be amazed how many times you will see creationists copy and paste first posts from anti-evolution websites, which have detailed answers that would be a pain to type out each time.
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:4, Interesting)
I've visited the talk.origins group before and concluded that the pro-evolution group is just as zealotic as the creation/ID group. Just because you are (generally) right does not necessarily mean you're not a zealot. I suspect the mellow people of both sides have been driven out.
I once challenged that some forms of intelligent design (ID) studies could *potentially* be classified as "science" (although weak science). The pro-evolutionists there went ape-sh8t. I was appalled. I wasn't supporting existing ID work, only saying if done right it could be classified as "science".
I asked for a clear-cut definition of "science" to verify their claim, and after reluctantly admitting that their working definition had subjective phrases, basically they implied that "if you are educated enough (like them), then you just know what is science and what isn't." (Paraphrased) Formal definitions be damned. It was the dumbest argument I've ever heard from people who should know better. Those people there are not open-minded; neither side.
And in general they exaggerate the link between pre-Cambrian and Cambrian bilaterans. Some mysteries are still mysteries and they should just admit those areas are still hazy. Their defensiveness is blinding them.
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Depends entirely on the individual. There are several newsgroups I personally find worthwhile, and I much prefer dealihg with them through a regular newsgroup client. When Roadrunner dropped netnews last year I went with individual.net - 10 Euros/year - and have been quite satisfied. YMMV.
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Want to make it worth it?
Let's all go into comp.lang.c and start top posting to threads. They LOVE IT when you do that.
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:5, Funny)
What's top posting?
Let's all go into comp.lang.c and start top posting to threads. They LOVE IT when you do that.
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It's when you reply to a string of earlier messages and place your reply on top, so that whoever reads will have no idea of the context.
What's top posting?
Let's all go into comp.lang.c and start top posting to threads. They LOVE IT when you do that.
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:5, Funny)
It's when you reply to a string of earlier messages and place your reply on top, so that whoever reads will have no idea of the context.
What's top posting?
Let's all go into comp.lang.c and start top posting to threads. They LOVE IT when you do that.
Should I do this instead?
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:5, Funny)
It's when you reply to a string of earlier messages and place your reply on top, so that whoever reads will have no idea of the context.
What's top posting?
Let's all go into comp.lang.c and start top posting to threads. They LOVE IT when you do that.
Should I do this instead?
No, no, no. When trolling a programming forum, make damn sure you post in HTML-formatted text. If you can figure out how to include the <blink> tag, you could probably hear their heads explode from halfway around the world.
If not, your best bet is to include code snippets in multiple languages, each using different tab-stops for indentation. Make frequent references in how this would be much easier in Java, unless posting to comp.lang.java, then post on how C# fixed it and is really Java done right.
Oh, and make sure to quote a multi-page question fully and answer only with one sentence. They love that.
Finally, big sigs with ASCII art and geek code blocks. The bigger the better. True masters have sigs bigger than their actual post.
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No, no, no. When trolling a programming forum, make damn sure you post in HTML-formatted text.
Sigh. Kids today, no imagination, that's the problem...
What I used to do was to have a four-line McQ compatible signature containing lots of Unicode line art. My newsreader would then encode this as Quoted-Printable (which is perfectly normal according to the standard). However, people who had ancient newsreaders that only supported ASCII would see the signature as a long line of =d7=81=43=99=e3=11 sequences.
People would go apoplectic with rage over this, accusing me of things like posting HTML, posting
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What's top posting?
Heh. My favorite explanation is this old one:
I see that others have already posted much wordier replies along the same line.
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Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:5, Insightful)
Access to advise from crotchety old engineers for the price of a little bad manners and spam is in the end a very good deal.
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I find comp.sys.apple2 well worth reading. Many past and current Apple II developers still post in there.
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Unless you are using binaries groups for music or pr0n, is Usenet even worth accessing anymore?
It has gone downhill. Most of that is due to incessant spam though. I have slowly gotten down to just checking a couple of groups once a week.
However, it still beats the pants off of any "web based forum" out there, almost all of which are clumsy to navigate, require subscription, and compete with others for the same subject matter. Usenet was sort of a one-stop-shop for finding experts in a particular area - best local mechanics, history of medieval music, page replacement strategies, computer games,
Re:Is it worth it anymore? (Score:5, Interesting)
ISP's often say that it is something like 5% of users who uses 90% of bandwidth. To be honest, I am not sure how this will advantage AT & T.
I also imagine that any dsl users under contract would be able to cancel their contract without an ETF (early termination fee). I do not know what percentage of users are under contract - but when the services offered are reduced and the customer is expected to pay a 3rd party provider to add them back that is clearly a break in the contract.
I do know that with T-Mobile a few years back a change was implemented that altered service and on each bill, - in the fine print at the bottom -, you were advised that you could cancel your services (with no ETF) or continue with services which would mean you agreed to any changes. Would be interesting to see an AT & T bill over the next bit.
Giganews. (Score:5, Informative)
Low-cost is a subjective term, and it really depends on how much you use it, but Giganews is rock solid. Super fast (I can get 20Mb sustained -- that's my connection max) and over a year retention on binaries.
Do you get a discount now? (Score:5, Insightful)
Now that they're cutting a portion of the service out - do you get a cut on the monthly rate as well?
Re:Do you get a discount now? (Score:5, Funny)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Good one, you must be new here.
Sincerely,
AT&T
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Now that they're cutting a portion of the service out - do you get a cut on the monthly rate as well?
Of course not. They're improving their service, by removing unused overhead, thus speeding up[*] access to all other data. You'll pay a lot more, as you already should.
[*] speedup will give speeds of up to 100% of previous speeds.
Re:Do you get a discount now? (Score:5, Funny)
Customer: So, since you cut a portion of my service, will I get a discounted rate?
ATTsaurus: RAAWWRRR...Why, I see your point there, of course we can do something for you!
Customer: ...what? really? Oh, ok, great!
ATTsaurus: Let me enter that into the computer...*pound pound pound*...ok...so...you used 5 megabytes accessing the Usenet server last month, and 9 gigabytes total...that comes to 0.054% off of your bill, or about 4.3 cents! Congratulations!
Customer: ...I hate you guys...
ATTsaurus: RAAWR!!!! *eats you*
Google Groups or Astraweb (Score:2, Informative)
If you actually want to READ and POST text news, then I don't know why anyone would use an NNTP client nowadays. Google Groups is a far superior gateway.
If you are interested in binaries, then I would point you to Astraweb. They have great price plans.
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Re:Google Groups or Astraweb (Score:5, Insightful)
If you actually want to READ and POST text news, then I don't know why anyone would use an NNTP client nowadays. Google Groups is a far superior gateway.
What?? How is the Google groups UI even remotely better at threading, marking, filtering and generally managing long conversations? Compared to even something like Free Agent it's utterly shit!
Re:Google Groups or Astraweb (Score:5, Funny)
What he meant was:
Kibo can grep all of Usenet for his name much faster using Google.
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Fool! Kibo IS Google!
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Not to mention that Google Groups is a major source of spam.
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and that's because you have to use your e-mail address and you can't fake it, like with Usenet providers. Which is just stupid, they being Google.
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It isn't. That is just google fanboy-ism (very prevalent here these days). Simply nothing that thread, filter, sort, slice and dice like a modern e-mail client - which explains the dominance of mailists for real conversation and debate. But then you'll get the people who use hotmail or whatever complaining mailists are sooo hard to use and we should all use web forums - which are just about the worst form of communication ever invented.
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Obviously better than hotmail though..
Re:Google Groups or Astraweb (Score:4, Informative)
Disclaimer: I haven't actually had a Usenet feed for many years, though articles like this one actually make me want to try one again. I should try one of the free ones (if they still exist) and see if they have even a decent feed for the very few groups I'd want to keep up on. (I really wish Google News had an NNTP feed, even if it charged a low fee.)
I think the reason why anyone would use an NNTP client were actually elaborated very well in Brad Templeton's history of Clarinet article that was posted yesterday..
http://www.templetons.com/brad/clarinet-history.html#m5 [templetons.com] in the section "Eventual fate".
(Though I have used it for very infrequent uses, Google News didn't seem to keep track of which articles I read, and the interface certainly wasn't as good as the browser I use(d), trn..)
Re:Google Groups or Astraweb (Score:5, Interesting)
Google is not USENET. Google is a privately owned company. USENET belongs to no-one and to all. Do you see the difference? NNTP was very well thought out. It's distributed.
I'm quite aware that there's a generation out there that thinks Google can uncover any info you want (try something from 3 years ago and see how well you fare) and that think that PHP forums are the *best* way to store info. However, a simple examination will reveal how unfounded these opinions are. Google will own your info. PHP forums come and go. That's not reliable information.
OTOH, I would like USENET posting to allow for mark-up text, such as LaTeX or MathML. That would be very useful.
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MathML... ick... that markup should just die.
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Re:Google Groups or Astraweb (Score:4, Insightful)
Or maybe he'd prefer not to feed the kind of parasites who helped destroy Usenet. I have very little respect for people who make others distribute and store their warez for them, using resources intended for learning and discussions. They are on the same level as spammers.
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Hang on, I'll agree with you as soon as that flood of Sara Underwood pics finishes...
There we go. Yes, the binary groups killed Usenet.
No wait, they didn't. As a netnews admin (1982 to approx 1995) I could easily choose not to carry all or part of the binary newsgroups. The Usenet hierarchy was engineered such that this was fairly easy to do. The binary groups were something optional that you had to look for, they didn't just crash down on you. Especially if you were a business and getting your fe
alternatives (Score:5, Informative)
I've never found a free one that was worth a damn, but there are several pay alternatives that are quite good. I'm currently with easynews.com.
If you don't need the binary groups, I'd bet the chances of finding a usable free one will be much higher, though.
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I've never found a free one that was worth a damn, but there are several pay alternatives that are quite good. I'm currently with easynews.com.
If you don't need the binary groups, I'd bet the chances of finding a usable free one will be much higher, though.
I would also recommend easynews.com, I'm very happy with their service.
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I would also recommend easynews.com, I'm very happy with their service.
The web interface and download manager are pretty convenient. I have no idea if their customer service is any good... never needed to contact them. It always just works. Always.
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Try http://newzbot.com/ [newzbot.com]
It's a search engine for finding free newsgroups server.
Just enter the group you'd like to grab, and it will provide you some servers.
Run your own server (Score:2)
Whack a copy of INN on your Colo and hook up a feed with your BOFH friends.
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Have you ever ran INN? The amount of bandwidth is I N S A N E.
It makes p2p weenies seem like low bandwidth amateurs.
Why yes, I have run my own news server. :) (Score:2)
Have you ever ran INN?
I've been running it more or less continually since I upgraded from C news back in the early '90s. Before that I ran Cnews, before that I ran Bnews.
The amount of bandwidth is I N S A N E.
Depends entirely on how many peers and groups you get. If you want to carry alt.binaries.pink.copyright.violations... yes, the bandwidth you'll burn up is insane. But why would you carry groups you don't actually read?
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This does make me think about whether there is a better solution. Here is what we have now:
1. Usenet. Pros - NNTP works great in that it separates content from presentation. Cons - a lot of stuff gets sent all over the place "just in case", spam is a big problem, and archival is redundant (why store an artile in 50,000 places for six months?).
2. Web Forums. Pros - better control of spam and stewardship is clear (site owner controls site), purely on-demand transmission of data. Cons - you're stuck wit
This is going to sound like an advertisement... (Score:5, Informative)
I use Astraweb as its currently the best unlimited monthly payment going
http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html [astraweb.com]
$11/mo
SSL
Unlimited downloads
I've never had a problem capping my connection's bandwidth or with the service.
newshosting.com (Score:3, Informative)
I use the aptly named newshosting [newshosting.com], and have been quite impressed.
Cheaper then giganews, and has excellent retention and completion. Speed is only limited by my connection, and SSL and compression are available for even more speed.
Depends on what you think is important (Score:5, Funny)
I use EasyNews to get my pr0...um...er...oh...make that 'I heard EasyNews is good'.
I use Astraweb.com (Score:2, Informative)
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You don't need to use paypal, but you CAN. If you just click the "buy now" button, you can use a CC. The only downside to Paypal is that they won't let you do porn, so if you don't care about that, it works fine. If you want the erotica groups, just use a CC. I'm doing it now with a Visa card and it works fine. Just didn't feel like using Paypal for it. $11/mo and working every bit as good as Giganews did.
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I haven't tried it personally with Paypal. That's just what Astraweb said on their pages when I was signing up. If it works for you, even better. :)
Best Usenet Providers (Score:5, Informative)
Out of the list I liked binverse.com and usenetserver.com, generally if you go thru the links provided by newsgroupreviews you'll get discounts that may or may not be "obvious" from just going directly to the sites in question.
R.I.P. (Score:5, Interesting)
Usenet was my first encounter with electronic forum - questions asked and answered, flame wars, trolls, kooks, some grass-roots projects, etc.
I remember the flame war about people's sig. Some dudes had this gigantic ASCII art sig files, and people were complaining about one-line posts with 20-line sigs, how the bandwidth were wasted, etc.
A trick to have one's question answered rather than ignored: Post the question, and from a second account, post a completely bogus answer with extra dose of condescension. People are so eager to pounce on the bogus answer with full-on indignation.
Oh well. Move on.
Re:R.I.P. (Score:5, Funny)
Fortunately, that would never work here on Slashdot.
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I remember the flame war about people's sig. Some dudes had this gigantic ASCII art sig files, and people were complaining about one-line posts with 20-line sigs, how the bandwidth were wasted, etc.
Yeah, the old days of warlording...
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20 line sigs? I take it you never saw some of Eyeglazer's sigs. Typical example here: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.games.final-fantasy/msg/60d7eecf20b2e63d?hl=en [google.com]
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You're probably thinking of Kibo's .sig [birdhouse.org].
FatWallet thread (Score:2)
Usenet Story (Score:3, Funny)
I subscribed to a variety of Usenet groups. I used that nice Freeagent software for year. Still do on my Museum PC (Packard Bell running Windows 95 with a tape drive and 128 MB of RAM).
I have a spam filter on my gateway so spam messages vanish.
I haven't gotten a new post in 3 years...
Usenet isn't dying. It's dead with nothing but ghosts left...
Not just on AT&T's servers (Score:2)
The announcement showed up on Newsguy's servers, too. Seriously, if AT&T sucked so bad at Usenet that they couldn't keep their 'private' announcements in-house, maybe it's just as well.
Speaking of which, Newsguy is pretty darned awesome, in my experience (which is admittedly limited, in that I've only had an account with them since Scumcast dropped their Usenet service a little under a year ago.)
Newsguy.com (Score:5, Interesting)
Newsguy.com is an excellent service. Compared to many other USENET services, Newsguy actually has very little spam because of this really clever program they developed called SpamHippo. I also like them because you can buy bandwidth on demand if you want it and the bandwidth balance rolls over each month. The online readers are very focused on the USENET usage experience, with automatic binary downloaders for those binaries with hundreds of parts (and you download the binary version, not the encoded 7-bit version). Of course port 119 is there, too.
Can we let the secret out now? (Score:2, Insightful)
OK.. Now that USENET is dead.. is it safe to let the secret out?
USENET WAS GREAT.
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Easynews (Score:2)
I just wanna say it's terrible (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd just like to say it's terrible when ISPs drop Usenet. Usenet is part of the Internet culture.
Re:I just wanna say it's terrible (Score:4, Insightful)
You misspelled "history".
Seriously, the vast, vast majority of Internet users today came online long after Usenet collapsed under its own weight. Only a tiny minority (like me) remember it, and even fewer of those use it with any regularity.
Culture is a living thing; it evolves. There was a time when Usenet was definitely part of the Internet's culture, but today is not that time.
Ads (Score:2)
Ahhh, Usenet...
I remember when someone spammed ads in the groups. There was a huge uproar over the notion that someone would attempt to use the Internet for commercial purposes.
readnews dot com (Score:5, Informative)
When my isp dropped usenet, I switched to readnews.com. It was something like $7 or $7.50 a month. I created an account, set up automatic billing, switched my news reader to the readnews nntp server, and forgot about it. It's a lot faster than my old ISP's news server ever was, especially when doing mass newsgroup updates, actually making use of the 20 Mbit pipe. They don't appear to do any newsgroup filtering, if you're concerned about that sort of thing.
Of course, I have no connection to readnews.com except as a customer. My first job on a Unix box back in 1982 was as the local usenet administrator, (ah, the days of "B" news and 1200 baud modems...) have always gotten Usenet for free, so it grates to have to pay for it, but I have to admit, the service works flawlessly.
Someone will inevitably point out that you can access news on groups.google.com. That service is excellent for searching for articles, but it fails when you're trying to browse a lot of articles. The interface is just too slow. If you're using usenet as a resource, google groups is fine. If you're actually trying to actively participate in any really effective fashion, you'll need a local news reader and an nntp service.
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Readnews no longer accepts individual accounts.
Cheapest Usenet provider I know (Score:2)
...is
news.individual.net
10 Euros/year only. No binaries - so that means you won't see pictures of recipes in alt.binary.food.
But that's enough for posting your questions in your favorite comp.lang.* groups.
And anybody with half a brain who's not born yesterday (Facebook/Tweeter kiddos) who's tried using Usenet newsgroups knows there's nothing better for tapping into the wisdom of experts.
individual.net (Score:3, Informative)
Back in the day... (Score:2)
When I ran a little ISP, we kept a 7-day Usenet feed. It came off MCI, took almost 10GB, and was a pain to manage. We got a satellite link and cut back to 3 days, then back up to 7 when some users howled. My boss said to cut back to 3 days unless users had 'legitimate' needs, not ABPE for instance.
Users dutifully provided legitimate uses. Comp.* was the favorite.
Well, it grew to the point that storage was becoming a pain, and an hour's delay overnight got my pager whining from the ABPE fanbois going ape
news.individual.net (Score:3, Informative)
If you're one of those rare souls interested in discussion, sign up at individual.net. It's ten Euro a year (twelve US dollars or so), decent spam filtering. No binaries groups, but some of us view this as a bonus, rather than a shortcoming.
reports of usenet's death exaggerated? (Score:4, Funny)
There is still pr0n.
There is still a boatload of warez.
There is still a ton of spam.
There are still many, many groups and messages.
There are still plenty of Usenet access providers and willing customers.
There is still plenty of software to access Usenet.
ISPs are still reducing services while raising prices.
So what's new and why is Usenet apparently dead?
There are free news servers on IPv6. (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.sixxs.net/misc/coolstuff/#newsservers [sixxs.net]
Public:
news.ipv6.eweka.nl
newszilla6.xs4all.nl
Requires signup:
reader.ipv6.xsnews.nl
-molo
Re:it is about time (Score:5, Insightful)
I was always wondering why this protocol and all related software have not disappeared yet.
Because of alt.binaries.*
Re: (Score:2)
Ditto, NNTP is dead.
Re:Just start torrenting. (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, it is better if you want to get caught easier...
No one is really actively tracing downloads from USENET, not like P2P solutions.
For the original poster, go google "open usenet servers", you'll find a couple of sites that index open usenet servers, and gives stats on them.
I know...I know...first rule of USENET is not to talk about USENET.
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Although there has been mumbles about the RIAA and the likes targeting USENET over the years, they tend to just ignore it. Several reasons:
1. As simple as it is to use, there's usually still a process involved in finding and getting stuff. It might require 3 clicks instead of one, and that can frustrate some people.
2. You have to be patient to find stuff. The good news is, if you can see it there, it's very likely there, and it's very likely legitimate, and if it's not, there will be a dozen reply post
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I can max my connection speed either way. In theory it's faster with a local mirror, and certainly costs the ISP less upstream bandwidth, but in practice it doesn't matter for many people. And ISP NNTP servers tend to suck anyway, so you might actually do better on "the wild Internet".
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Astraweb offer a "pay as you download" service where you buy say 120GB of downloads and can use it when you need it, rather than paying monthly.
It's ideal as a backup server if your ISP's ones suck, because you can things that are posted regularly like TV episodes from your ISP with 7 days retention, and fills/older stuff from Astraweb.
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Ditto. They even support SSL (see here [aioe.org]). For the few odd text groups I use, this free low-volume service is nice enough.