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What Will Be Your Last Post?

A

Anthony Buckland

Flightless Bird
"Duane Hebert" <spoo@flarn2.com> wrote in message
news:u5fqxxz$KHA.348@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> ...
> I asked if anyone knew of a good free server that hosted these.
>
> You are referring me to a previous post where you mentioned yours
> that is not free.
>
> Where is the confusion?
>
> I've been looking for a free server
> and have only found GMane which I use for technical groups
> but they don't host MS groups.


If your resources allow a few bucks a month, use one that
_isn't_ free. I use Giganews, and spend 7.95 USD. They
have mailed me that they intend to keep providing the MS
groups, and I'm posting through them right now.
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
Duane Hebert wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote ...
>
>> Duane Hebert wrote:
>>
>>> VanguardLH ...
>>>
>>>> Duane Hebert wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Perhaps if someone knows a free NNTP server that will host these,
>>>>> they could post it here.
>>>>
>>>> You mean like my ISP that I mentioned in my reply? You could also
>>>> ask over the in the alt.free.newsservers group.
>>>
>>> If you're talking about Albasani.net, it doesn't seem free though
>>> there appears to be a free read only access.

>>
>> And your explanation is what as to how I could be posting using
>> their NNTP server?

>
> I asked if anyone knew of a good free server that hosted these. You
> are referring me to a previous post where you mentioned yours that is
> not free. Where is the confusion? I've been looking for a free
> server and have only found GMane which I use for technical groups but
> they don't host MS groups.


Whoosh. Right over your head. So let's see what the thread mentioned:

"Perhaps if someone knows of a free NNTP server ..."
"You mean like my ISP ..."
"Doesn't seem to be free (except for read-only access)"
"Then how could I post using it?"

You asked for an example of a free NNTP server. I mentioned mine. YOU
claimed that it was read-only. I then noted that it obviously could not
be read-only because I posted using it. So I told you a free NNTP
server and also proved that it can be used for posting.

Maybe you really didn't want an answer. Okay, do your own research.
 
D

Duane Hebert

Flightless Bird
"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
news:htsm4s$m9t$1@news.albasani.net...

> Whoosh. Right over your head. So let's see what the thread mentioned:


Apparently.

> "Perhaps if someone knows of a free NNTP server ..."
> "You mean like my ISP ..."
> "Doesn't seem to be free (except for read-only access)"
> "Then how could I post using it?"


Well maybe by paying for it? If you would have said "Then
how could I post using it when I don't pay..." or something
along those lines it may have been more clear.

At any rate, I tried the server and when I tried to get the newsgroups,
it prompted me for a username/password.

I went to their web page and they seemed to offer only
a read only password.
http://albasani.net/wiki/FAQ_(English)#Is_there_an_account_just_to_read_news.3F

Since the username and password are readonly...
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
Duane Hebert wrote:

> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
> news:htsm4s$m9t$1@news.albasani.net...
>
>> Whoosh. Right over your head. So let's see what the thread mentioned:

>
> Apparently.
>
>> "Perhaps if someone knows of a free NNTP server ..."
>> "You mean like my ISP ..."
>> "Doesn't seem to be free (except for read-only access)"
>> "Then how could I post using it?"

>
> Well maybe by paying for it? If you would have said "Then
> how could I post using it when I don't pay..." or something
> along those lines it may have been more clear.
>
> At any rate, I tried the server and when I tried to get the newsgroups,
> it prompted me for a username/password.
>
> I went to their web page and they seemed to offer only
> a read only password.
> http://albasani.net/wiki/FAQ_(English)#Is_there_an_account_just_to_read_news.3F
>
> Since the username and password are readonly...


www.albasani.net

Right on the home page it says "A free and complimentary Usenet server."
Also right on the home page it tells you that you have to register to
get an account to use their services. I said free. I did not say
unregistered. You actually have to ask them for permission to use THEIR
free server. It also means that you have to specify your free login
credentials to connect your newsreader to their NNTP server. Not all
free NSPs have anonymous logins. Fact is, those that do are often the
source of a lot of spam and noise in the newsgroups.

Yes, the FAQ article you mention talks about a free read-only account.
That's a free *anonymous* account. So anyone without permission can
read from their NNTP server. Only those that have asked for and
received permission by way of getting login credentials can *post* using
their NNTP server - but at no time do you pay anything. By requiring a
user to register for a posting account, spam and noise are reduced plus
the owner of those resources can kill accounts because he knows who
posted the offending posts. Registering for a posting account embues an
investment by the user not to commit actions that result in loss of the
account. Anonymous logins incurs no inconvenience to the malicious or
spamming posters.

Follow the link on their home page (to send an e-mail or use their web
form) to request a *free* posting account. You need to use a valid
e-mail address (maybe not your primary e-mail address but one where they
can send back your login credentials). If you're a malignant troll
attempting to disrupt a newsgroup to make it unusable or spammer, you
won't want to use Albasani.

The owner of Albasani is responsive to its users. Took 1 day to get a
reply about whether or not they were going to drop the microsoft.*
newsgroups because of some threat by a wannabe Usenet admin claiming he
is going to spew out rmgroup control messages (and, no, Albasani won't
be honoring the rmgroup from Julien or anyone else). If you want to
ensure some support then don't look at free NSPs. invidual.net is
operating at a German university (Berlin area, I think) and costs around
$16/year ($10 euro) but this is not a commercial operation so it could
disappear when campus policies change and they no longer decide to have
any of their students or staff manage their NNTP servers anymore. Of
course, free NSPs come and go, too, so pick one that has been around for
awhile with a good uptime record. Because Albasani, invidual.net, AIOE,
Eternal-September (aka Motzarella) are free NSPs, they're paying for the
cost of equipment and bandwidth out of their own pocket. As such, they
don't carry the binary newsgroups because of the disk space and
bandwidth that would get consumed by the jerking off porn addicts. You
only get the text (non-binary) newsgroups with the free NSPs.

If you have a need for "personal entertainment" content from the binary
newsgroups then look at commercial NSPs. Some charge a monthly fee,
like Giganews, but some let you buy blocks of bandwidth which could end
up being cheaper depending on how much you download.

This newsgroup is to discuss IE. Free NSPs is off-topic. That's why I
mentioned asking the folks in the alt.free.newsservers group about free
NSPs or suggestions on where to get cheap rates on those that charge a
monthly fee or for blocks of bandwidth.
 
F

Fuzzy

Flightless Bird
On 5/30/2010 08:54 AM, Duane Hebert wrote:
> "VanguardLH"<V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
> news:htsm4s$m9t$1@news.albasani.net...
>
>> Whoosh. Right over your head. So let's see what the thread mentioned:

>
> Apparently.
>
>> "Perhaps if someone knows of a free NNTP server ..."
>> "You mean like my ISP ..."
>> "Doesn't seem to be free (except for read-only access)"
>> "Then how could I post using it?"

>
> Well maybe by paying for it? If you would have said "Then
> how could I post using it when I don't pay..." or something
> along those lines it may have been more clear.
>
> At any rate, I tried the server and when I tried to get the newsgroups,
> it prompted me for a username/password.
>
> I went to their web page and they seemed to offer only
> a read only password.
> http://albasani.net/wiki/FAQ_(English)#Is_there_an_account_just_to_read_news.3F
>
> Since the username and password are readonly...
>
>

news.eternal-september.org
They do require that you create an account and password but this is so
they can keep spammers at bay as much as possible.
 
D

Duane Hebert

Flightless Bird
"Anthony Buckland" <anthonybucklandnospam@telus.net> wrote in message news:E9mdna-RlpYLS5zRnZ2dnUVZ_s-dnZ2d@giganews.com...

> If your resources allow a few bucks a month, use one that
> _isn't_ free. I use Giganews, and spend 7.95 USD. They
> have mailed me that they intend to keep providing the MS
> groups, and I'm posting through them right now.


Thanks. That may be an option at the office especially since we use
the public.vc groups for support.
 
D

Duane Hebert

Flightless Bird
"Fuzzy" <pawpaw7@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote in message news:#amGJYHALHA.3176@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> On 5/30/2010 08:54 AM, Duane Hebert wrote:
> news.eternal-september.org
> They do require that you create an account and password but this is so
> they can keep spammers at bay as much as possible.


Thanks. I'll give it a try.
 
D

Duane Hebert

Flightless Bird
"Fuzzy" <pawpaw7@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote in message news:#amGJYHALHA.3176@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> news.eternal-september.org
> They do require that you create an account and password but this is so
> they can keep spammers at bay as much as possible.


Thanks. This one seems to be working fine.
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
VanguardLH wrote:

> invidual.net


That should've been individual.net.
 
D

Duane Hebert

Flightless Bird
"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message news:htu7vv$72i$1@news.albasani.net...
> www.albasani.net

<snip>
> Yes, the FAQ article you mention talks about a free read-only account.
> That's a free *anonymous* account. So anyone without permission can
> read from their NNTP server. Only those that have asked for and
> received permission by way of getting login credentials can *post* using
> their NNTP server - but at no time do you pay anything. By requiring a
> user to register for a posting account, spam and noise are reduced plus
> the owner of those resources can kill accounts because he knows who
> posted the offending posts. Registering for a posting account embues an
> investment by the user not to commit actions that result in loss of the
> account. Anonymous logins incurs no inconvenience to the malicious or
> spamming posters.


Ah. I found only the free read only one and didn't see where I could request
an account. In the interim I tried the suggested news.eternal-september.org and
it seems to be working. I'm posting from it now and it was no charge. I had to
setup an account but that took only 2 minutes.

If this doesn't pan out, I will take a look at albasani.net.

Thanks for your detailed explanation.
 
D

Dan

Flightless Bird
"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
news:htou1e$dqh$1@news.albasani.net...
> Dan wrote:
>
>> "Duane Hebert" <spoo@flarn.com> wrote in message
>> news:eOSK18l$KHA.5848@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
>>> news:hto1i4$rc6$1@news.albasani.net...
>>>
>>>> I asked my NSP as to their intentions regarding the microsoft.*
>>>> newsgroups. Below is a snippet of their response:
>>>
>>> Perhaps if someone knows a free NNTP server that will host these, they
>>> could
>>> post it here. My ISP stopped supporting NNTP. I use GMane for most of
>>> my
>>> groups but they don't host any MS groups.
>>>
>>> Why anyone would prefer these slow stupid web based things is beyond me.
>>> Sounds like
>>> a bunch of hoopleheads...

>>
>> There's an NNTP Bridge interface to the new web forums - it'll let you
>> use a
>> newsreader to access them just like you can the ms newsgroups now. It
>> seems
>> to work, but I haven't played with it much yet.

>
> If you had trialed it, you wouldn't be using it anymore. Instead of
> running the gateway up on the server where it belongs, as how do Usenet
> leech web sites that operate their gateways to Usenet, Microsoft's
> "solution" is to run the gateway on your host.
>
> The local NNTP-to-forum gateway (NNTP bridge) does not automatically
> login. You have to load it, manually login, and then load your
> newsreader.
>
> Because the Microsoft forums are often unavailable, so they are also
> unavailable through the local NNTP-to-forum gateway.
>
> According to a disclaimer on the proxy's login screen, Microsoft didn't
> even write this software and why it doesn't get updated.
>
> Their gateway does not produce value Message-ID header values. The
> domain portion (to the right of the "@" character) is missing. This
> causes problems in many newsreaders regarding threading and sorting.
> This is a problem that is over a year old and still Microsoft (or
> whomever codes the proxy) has not fixed it.
>
> As bad as the web-based forums are, trying to get at them using
> Microsoft's crapware local gateway makes access to them even worse.


There is a beta of a community drive NNTP bridge that solves the issues
you've raised - it connects to both Answers and Forums, has auto login, and
adds the domain to the Message-ID.

http://communitybridge.codeplex.com/

However, as the msnews newsgroup aren't replicated to either forum it
doesn't cure that issue.

--
Dan
 
D

Duane Hebert

Flightless Bird
"Dan" <news@worldofspack.com> wrote in message news:51414BA4-078E-4E81-945F-> There is a beta of a community drive NNTP bridge that
solves the issues
> you've raised - it connects to both Answers and Forums, has auto login, and adds the domain to the Message-ID.
>
> http://communitybridge.codeplex.com/
>
> However, as the msnews newsgroup aren't replicated to either forum it doesn't cure that issue.


This one works better but you need to make sure that it's running before trying to access
the group. There's no connection that will start it automatically that I can see.
Also, like you say, the microsoft.public.* groups aren't there.

It's probably better than using the web interface to the groups if you're used
to newsreaders though.
 
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