Usenet News

• Usenet is not another name for the Internet!
• Huge distributed bulletin board system (BBS)
• Special subculture with norms of good behavior
• Frequently-asked-questions, or "FAQ" files
• Increasingly low signal/noise ratio; still useful!
• Some groups are moderated (controlled by an editor); generally more useful

Principal Newsgroups

• comp -- computer science
• news -- Usenet news system
• rec -- recreational activities
• sci -- scientific research
• soc -- social issues
• talk -- debate on controversial topics
• misc -- everything else
• alternative groups: alt, bionet, gnu, ...

Software Tools for News (UNIX)

• Emacs/GNUs
• nn (highly recommended!)
• rn
• tin
• PCs and MACs usually access via UNIX host

Administrative and Resource Issues

• NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol)
• Communications (UUCP, Internet)
• Disk space (considerable) vs. remote access
• Policy decisions (which groups, how long to keep)

Functions of News Reading Software

• Subscribe/unsubscribe to news group
• Kill (preselect) news articles
• Read news
• Save news to file
• "Posting" (contributing) news
• Replying to posting (by news or email)

Posting Etiquette

• Read news.announce.newusers
• Check other sources prior to posting query
• Use appropriate subject line (question vs. answer)
• State your question or statement clearly and concisely
• Write to inform, not to impress
• Include minimum required amount from previous postings
• Ask for answers by email, offer a final summary
• Post only to most relevant group
• Be polite (no "flames")
• Do not advertise unless group specifically allows it