Newsgroups and the Internet

With the overwhelming and still growing popularity of the World Wide Web since its inception in the early 1990s, you might easily forget that the Internet was around for more than two decades before the first Web page saw the light of a cathode ray tube. Before the inception of the Web, people used the Internet to access newsgroups. Newsgroups began in 1979 as a forum in which Unix users could communicate with each other, and the concept grew steadily from there into what is now a global assemblage of people sharing information on virtually every topic imaginable.

Originally, news servers exchanged articles using Unix-to-Unix Copy Protocol (UUCP), which involves direct modem dial-up over long-distance phone lines. In 1986, the Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) was released, allowing news to be transported via TCP/IP connection over the Internet. Most modern newsgroups use the NNTP protocol, and it is the only news protocol supported by Outlook Express.

Newsgroups are scattered on servers around the world, and the rough network used to carry newsgroup bandwidth is generally referred to as Usenet. We're not implying, however, that some authority provides oversight of Usenet. "Usenet is not a democracy" is one of the first statements you will read in virtually any primer or Frequently Asked Questions list (FAQ) on the subject, alluding to the virtual anarchy in which this medium exists. Usenet has become so large and diverse that a simple definition cannot possibly do justice.

What we can do, however, is roughly describe the types of newsgroups and news servers that you can access using Outlook Express 6 (OE6). Basically, the administrator of your news server determines which news feeds you will have access to. Feeds are passed along to the server from adjacent servers, providing a decidedly decentralized structure to Usenet. Each server maintains a list of message IDs to ensure that new articles are received at a given server only once. An individual server can control which feeds it propagates, although the interconnectivity of Usenet servers ensures that a lone server has little or no control of the overall distribution. Thus, the authority of a news server is generally limited to what clients (that would be you) can access and what kind of material those clients can post. Likewise, the decentralization of servers means that an article you post may take hoursor even daysto circulate among all other news servers.

NOTE

The terms newsgroup and Usenet are used almost interchangeably in today's online world, but it is useful to know that newsgroup refers to individual groups, whereas Usenet refers to the entire network of groups as a whole.

What About Mailing Lists?

Are newsgroups the same as mailing lists, or listservs, as some people call them? No. So here's a little digression about those, just to make the distinction. The very openness that makes newsgroups desirable has its drawbacks: privacy and security are almost nonexistent. Mailing list posts are less public because usually the only people who can read them are other list members, and lists are generally less susceptible to spam and objectionable material. Furthermore, mailing list traffic comes into your email reader (your inbox in OE), making lists easier to deal with for some people.

Mailing lists are simple; you send a message to the list address, which is then forwarded to every other list member. Every time another member posts a message to the list, you receive a copy. The list is managed by a list administrator who often, but not always, works directly with the mail server hosting the list. Often the administrator can be reached via the email address listproc or majordomo followed by @ and the name of the domain server.

Virtually any topic imaginable has a mailing list. If you want to find one to join, a good place to start would be CataList, available online at

http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html

Lists vary widely in terms of message volume, ranging anywhere from only a few messages per month up to hundreds of posts each day. Many listslet you opt to receive one or two daily list compilations rather than a string of individual posts. These compilations are called digests and are especially useful with high-volume lists.

Using Mailing Lists

Before you join and start to participate in mailing lists, you need to keep two main issues in mind: security and netiquette. Security is largely determined by the list administrator, so you should check list policies for concerns before you join. You should also exercise caution when posting sensitive information to a list because, generally speaking, you won't know who is actually subscribed.

Netiquette is a little trickier. You've probably already read volumes on such topics as flame wars and the public airing of private laundry, but you should be aware of some issues unique to mailing lists:

• Don't post attachments. Most mailing lists, especially those offering a Digest mode, forbid file attachments, and for good reason. If you want to send a file to someone, do it off list.

• Send posts in plain text format. HTML formatting can wreak havoc on recipients' systems. Check with the list administrator to find out whether MIME or uuencode plain text formatting is best.

• Read and save the FAQ. Every list has a different procedure for subscribing, unsubscribing, switching to digest mode, or changing various other options. This information is usually contained in a list FAQ, which should also include guidance regarding list content and rules.

• Be conscious of the reply procedures for your list. Some mailing lists are configured so that a Reply action goes only to the original sender, and you must click Reply All to post a reply to the list. But with other lists, clicking Reply sends your response directly to the list. Again, double-check your list's FAQ to find out the correct procedure.

• Do not use an "Out of Office" auto-reply rule for your Inbox. Automatic replies to incoming messages can cause destructive feedback loops in lists that you are subscribed to. (Since every incoming message from the list triggers a response from Outlook Express, those responses go back to the mailing list, generating more list traffic that will be sent to your account, resulting in more auto replies, and so on.) If you feel that you must use such a rule, unsubscribe or suspend your mailing lists before enabling it.

TIP

Because mailing lists can dump dozensor even hundredsof posts into your email account daily, set up a separate folder in OE for each mailing list, and use Message Rules to direct incoming messages to that folder. (For more on Rules, see Chapter 10, "Sending Email with Outlook Express.")

Spam is a fact of life in both mailing lists and newsgroups. To learn more about spam, p. 413.

Locating News Servers

Many ISPs and companies provide news server accounts to their Internet users, but you still might find yourself looking for a server on your own. This might be the case even if you have a news account available to you; some service providers censor the news content that is available, and if you want uncensored news, you must rely on a different source.

Censorship, Big Brother, and NNTP Servers

News feeds are censored for a variety of reasons. For example, your company's server might restrict feeds from alt., rec., and talk. groups to reduce the number of work hours lost to employee abuse or simply to reduce bandwidth. Many other servers restrict feeds that contain pornographic content for both legal and moral reasons.

Even if your news server provides a relatively unrestricted news feed, you should exercise care when deciding which articles you download from the server. Virtually all servers maintain logs of the activities of each login account. This means that your service provider can track which articles you download, and in most cases these logs can be subpoenaed and used against you in court.

In other words, Big Brother might be watching you download porn, bomb-making instructions, and bootleg copies of the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Be especially paranoid if you access a company news server; hours spent receiving otherwise legal content such as fruit cake recipes, Bill Gates jokes, and the like could still land you in hot water if the boss is logging your online activities.

Many news servers are available through virtually any Internet connection, but you'll pay for that connection. Typically, monthly charges for a personal news server account range from $10 to $20 per month and get higher for corporate or higher bandwidth accounts. If you plan to use newsgroups frequently, you might want to factor in this cost when you're shopping for an ISP. You can find a good list of commercial news servers at

http://freenews.maxbaud.net/forfee.html

However, if you have an Internet connection and would simply like a different news server, you can find a list of free news servers available online: the list of free servers can change daily.

http://freenews.maxbaud.net/newspage.html?date=today

If Outlook Express has trouble locating your news server, see "No News Server Connection" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.

A free alternative to commercial news servers is a Web-based news service, such as the one created by deja.com. An advantage of using a Web-based news service is that a search brings back results from many newsgroups, not only one. It's a terrific way to find expert postings on just about anything from open-heart surgery, to child adoption, to what people think of the new car you're considering buying. However, messages are not brought into your news client program (such as OE) for reference offline. Deja was bought out and redesigned by Google awhile back, so until recently, you couldn't post new messages to Usenet, but now you can again. Just go to http://www.google.com and click the "Groups" link. Web-based news server at the time of this writing could be found at http://newsguy.com/news.asp.

If you cannot locate a particular newsgroup on your news server, see "Newsgroup Isn't Available on News Server" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.