Newsgroups

Any Topic Under the Sun

Newsgroups will put you in touch with folks who share an interest in the subjects that matter to you. Some are humorous, some serious, but all can make you forget you're sitting alone in front of a flickering computer screen.

If you want to find people on the Internet who share your interests -- no matter how unusual those might be -- you'll want to subscribe to some newsgroups. Thousands upon thousands of people read an immense number of newsgroup postings daily. I'm one of them. Probably the only thing I don't like about newsgroups on the Internet is that reading their messages is usually a solitary event. I don't often do my Internet surfing while someone else is in the room -- that would be too rude. The problem is that, as I browse through a newsgroup, I invariably read something so interesting, humorous, or strange that I feel a need to share it with someone. Maybe that's why I've ended up writing about newsgroups.

Variety Reigns

I don't want to give you the wrong impression -- newsgroups are not just for laughs. Like everywhere else on the Internet, variety reigns in newsgroups. A very large number of newsgroups are devoted to serious and important topics, while many more are scandalous, silly or downright insane. Contrast, for instance, the newsgroup dedicated to poking fun at children's television character Barney (alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die) with the newsgroup for professors and researchers in the field of microbiology (sci.bio.microbiology). In this sense, newsgroups are a lot like television: Among much banality, you'll find some amusing but largely useless material; occasionally, however, you'll stumble upon pearls of wisdom.

In fact, your first encounters with a newsgroup in many ways will resemble the first few weeks of viewing a soap opera. When you're new to a newsgroup, you won't understand half of the conversations under way. You'll find numerous subplots (referred to as threads) centered on different subjects. In addition, there may be rampant arguing and fighting (although this seems to happen more with the not-so-serious newsgroups). Newsgroups for fans, whether of sports, television, or music, seem to have the most numerous argument threads.

Newsgroups and Kids

Newsgroup users aren't screened before being allowed to participate -- anyone with access to the newsgroup can join in. Lately, the pornography available through Usenet (as well as the Internet) has received much attention, but as usual, a lot of this controversy is hype. It's true that "naughty stuff" exists, but you can't simply press a button and have all the pornographic material available fall into your lap. In fact, you have to hunt pretty far and wide to find sites from which pornographic pictures or literature can be downloaded. Still, the Internet, like television and other media, is suitable for children only under supervision. Keep this in mind when you introduce your kids to the joys of newsgroups.

Steps for Getting Started

How to start accessing newsgroups? If you use a shell account for Internet access, your first step is to type Rn or Trn. (These are the two most popular newsreaders for UNIX.) Next, find someone who is a veteran user of this very powerful but quite user-hostile software to help you. If you have SLIP or PPP access to the Internet, you'll find newsgroup subscribing easier. Simply obtain a copy of one of the Windows- or Mac-compatible newsreaders -- such as Trumpet Newsreader -- available either commercially or free from the Internet. To subscribe, find the Subscribe function and engage. That's it!

You'll more than likely have to wait a few minutes while your server downloads a list of all available newsgroups. Some newsgroup readers will allow you to use a search string to find groups on a certain subject.

The list of newsgroups you get is determined by the server you use. In many cases, the server will limit newsgroups to those of universal and local interest. (For example, if you live in Seattle, you may not be able to subscribe to local New York newsgroups.) Some servers won't allow users access to the alt. string of newsgroups.

You can usually double-click on a newsgroup to choose it, or select the Subscribe function. After you subscribe, you'll often have to wait a bit while your server updates the number of messages to be read in each group. It's a good idea not to subscribe to more than a few at first -- you'll be amazed at how quickly you're inundated with messages. Plan to set aside an hour or two to read the postings. If, after reading a batch of messages, you find a newsgroup really isn't what you were hoping for, just unsubscribe. Don't worry about offending anyone.

Mostly, remember to be polite when you ask for help or information, and to keep your messages topic related. Also, always, always include a descriptive subject line in your message; most people just skip messages with no subject line.
-- Celine Latulipe

Message Posting Conventions

The most important function in newsgroups is message posting. Before you get started, there are some conventions to be aware of:

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