OT - Almost lost the newsgroup (and I have a new e-mail address)!

Glad to have you back, Louise!!

Louise, are you absolutely, positively certain that your new ISP doesn't support newsgroups? When we moved to cableone, all the high-level hot shot techys just Knew that rctq was not available. My neighbor (who is none of the above) just clicked me right in. I know, I know. Wishful thinking - but it could be. Polly

Louise! ~hugs~ Glad you are back.

Hi Louise....glad you found your way back. DH and I went on a 3 week vacation.........drove from Alberta to Yuma AZ. Been home a week now and when I returned I can't access the newsgroup through my ISP so switched over to google to access. Not sure if ISP dropped newsgroups or if it's just a hiccup. Google isn't that bad once you get used to it.

Ann

Glad you found us.. again...

There are other options besides google if you start to hate them too much.

Vikki in WA State

Pretty close to it. Our new provider is MSN, and when I googled for MSN and newsgroups, the articles I found indicated MSN had decided to discontinue newsgroups some time ago. But if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them!

Louise in Iowa

Why did you drop medicom? I'm glad you're back even if it is a bit inconvenient.

Yes, why did you leave mediacom. When I get moved that is what I was planning on getting. If there is something wrong with that PLEASE let me know.

Kathy, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Mediacom. Their service was fine, I had access to newsgroups, and I really had no complaints at all. The only reason we switched was because we were going with satellite instead of cable for TV, and it was cheaper to go with the phone company's DSL line rather than sticking with Mediacom.

Louise

Whew! Welcome back!

There are a bunch of free NNTP servers out there. Most just require an email to set-up a free account. Some of the ones people I know use are:

Teranews (one-time $3 set-up fee): free.teranews.com AIOE: nntp.aioe.org Datemas: news.datemas.de Greatnowhere: reader.greatnowhere.com Motzarella: reader.motzarella.org Readfreenews: news.readfreenews.net

There are more than this out there, but that should get you started. See the newsgroups alt.free.newsservers and alt.usenet.news-server-comparison for more info on this.

Of the above, teranews is the one most commonly used. Readfreenews can be difficult to get on. Also the company the created the Agent Newsreader now has a newserver. Access starts at $3 for a 7 gig account, which would be a gracious plenty if all you do is text.

I am currently running through newsguy, because that is who my isp subcontracts through. We just upgraded our dsl though, making the isp we have had for more than 12 years superfluous. The phone company offers newsgroups, but their AUP is so weasel-worded that I would not be comfortable using them. At present we are hanging onto our old account, but are considering dropping them and switching to a Forte account for usenet access.

NightMist

Got it. Woof, woof! After that little Mediacom spat with Sinclair, I'm sure there are several others who have switched to satellite.

Wow, just when I think I've got some of this internet stuff figured out...........I have no idea what about 75% of Nightmist's post means. AUP..... NNTP....Forte....all Greek to me!

NightMist,

Thanks for all your help and hints. I was going to do some more searching tonight to see if I could find some other alternatives, and you made my job much easier! This group is wonderful!

Louise > There are a bunch of free NNTP servers out there. Most just require

I've decided I know just enough to be dangerous! I do love to really get into some of this stuff and figure it out myself, and so far I've been lucky and haven't caused my puter to die or anything like that. The newsgroup thing was frustrating me, though, and I was about to give up. Now I have something to do tonight - after all, Boston Legal is a rerun, so I didn't have much to look forward to!

Louise > Wow, just when I think I've got some of this internet stuff figured

I like to unwind some of the mysteries too. Have fun tonight. We're having two couples over for dinner. Waiting on the doorbell now!

Glad you found us back.

Charlotte

The people who make Forte Agent Newsreader have their own news service called APN (Agent Premium News) which is very reasonable. It's only $2.95 per month and if all you do is read text groups, that's all you need.

Pretty close to it. Our new provider is MSN, and when I googled for