Musing about corks, old friends and olive branches

Kindasorta. I'm not on cable so don't really know how that service works in any detail. Here's a link to Comcast's (our local cable service) FAQs on newsgroups. Perhaps your provider has a similar page so that you can find out if they offer newsgroup access and how to configure a newsreader.

Folks on Windows seem to generally use Outlook Express. Being on a Mac, I can't offer any suggestions for specific newsgroup readers for you. I assume they all work similarly though - I start my reader program and it automatically checks for new groups and then will retrieve the information to display how many new messages are on the newsgroups I "subscribe" to. Subscribing is just a term meaning, in this case, that you want to follow and track the postings to specific groups (my ISP carries 31,202 groups at last count) - there's no money involved. Once it has determined that there are, say 50 new and unread messages in one group; 725 in another; and 198 in the last, I double click the group I want to read. My reader then downloads all the new and unread message headers that have posted since I last checked in and downloaded the group. I see all the subject lines and replies to each on one "page" and it's then just a matter of skimming through the subjects and authors and

2x-clicking the new postings and replies that I'm interested in. The message then opens in a new window and I navigate up or down the thread using arrow keys or the keyboard commands. When I've read all that interest me I mark the unread messages as "read" so they don't get pulled the next time I check the groups - unless I just want to hold off on reading something due to lack of time or energy, in which case I leave it marked "unread" so that it reappears in a future visit.

When I want to reply to something I merely highlight the text I'm addressing and hit the reply button/command and it automatically copies and pastes the text into my reply. Making a new posting is very much like composing and sending an email though it's all done through the newsreader.

I think that's about the gist of it - there are a bunch of other features to readers like filters and setting different "personalities" to post under (for example I only use my real name here - in the other groups I post semi-anonymously but it is traceable if someone wanted to ID me). One can also choose to reply to the group or by private email or both. It's all pretty simple and probably sounds more complicated than it really is.

Reading the groups by way of a newsreader is much faster than going through Google - there are no ads or graphics to download with each message. The page of subjects is one long (or short) listing so there's no navigating from one page of subjects and replies to the next. One of the reasons I don't participate in other forums like Woodcentral or WoW is the cumbersome navigation of subject and message threading along with page reloading through my dial-up connection. Usenet through a newsreader is no-frills messaging and nothing but messaging. Another consideration is that, as I recall, Google doesn't carry any of the binary groups and there are 2 woodworking related binary newsgroups that I check.

Does all this help or just muddy the water?

I'm guessing your heart is in the right place, but Outlook Express is less than half a step better than using Google. I use Forte Agent, which has a free version as well as the full version availible for download at

though others use Newsrover, Xnews and similar programs. Any of them will work much better than Outlook.

All of which scores points, but doesn't get Ruth closer.

With cable, Ruth, your provider is the cable company, so call them and ask if they have access to "Usenet" or "news groups" available on their server. Or you could take the shot in the dark I mentioned earlier. Say it's Comcast, and you're using what you have. Sequence goes Tools / Accounts / News / Add - then follow the "wizard," server is "news.Comcast.net."

If you don't have them, what chip or revision or reader is moot.

The best reader is the one _you_ know how to use.