Can anyone recommend one or two (preferrably, not commercial) sites that would help a newbie find their way into Usenet? Tanks.

I use Google http://groups.google.com/ these days if I need to look thru Usenet. Or do you mean an introduction to what Usenet was before Spam was invented?

one fairly painless way in is through the backdoor (so to speak) via Google/Groups. go to the main page at google.com and click the Groups tab; there you'll find some basic entry level help, and (of course) you can google the groups for specific stuff.

Finally - a question about something concerning which I actually know something!

http://www.ibiblio.org/usenet-i/usenet-help.html is a pretty good tutorial for starters.

Here are a few suggestions I would make.

1 Get a good NNTP-feed.
If you are interested in groups carrying binary files, alt.binaries.whatever, a commercial provider is your best bet, and http://www.giganews.com is among the best there is, offering a variety of plans at reasonable cost. Using a pay service is critical for binary groups, as only the commercail services have the completion and retention needed to make binary newsgroups worthwhile - there is little more frustrating thatn finding that your Usenet feed has 97 parts of a 100-part file you are downloading.

2.
If you are only interested in text newsgroups, then http://news.individual.net/ (my prime feed), is an excellent choice. Run by Berlin University, it offers over 23,000 newsgroups and good retention of articles. This means that, once your newsreader is setup, you can search for groups that are likely to interest you and be reasonably confident of finding them.

3.
LURK. The dynamics of each Usenet newsgroup are different, so I would recommend a minimum of a week, preferrably a fortnight or so, of silent lurking, reading posts, getting a feel for who's who in the group, what subjects are considered ok, that sort of thing. It's also a good idea to use Google groups to do a search of the newsgroup for previous threads that may have addressed any questions you wish to raise. In almost every newsgroup you will hear the mantra, "Google is your friend", or its less civil equivalents.

4
ENJOY. Approached carefully, Usenet is a fantastic resource, and buckets of fun.

A word of caution regarding posting from Google groups - it is viewed with suspicion and disadain in many newsgroups, as it is a favoured approach of spammers and trolls. I use Google groups extensively for searching group archives but almost never post from Google.

And, finally, don't listen to naysayers who say that Usenet is past its best. Yes, it's clogged with spam, but so is email. It's still a great resource, and there are some outstanding communities of interest. It is still very worthwhile.

And is it pronounced [yoosnet] or [yooznet]?

>>is it pronounced..?<<

In Brooklyn, it is pronounced "you'ze net" -- accent on 'net,' when in anger.

Thanks for that, sjmaxq, jheem, and tsuwm. I'm sure I'll have more questions. Cheers.

In Brooklyn, it is pronounced

Yeahbut® how about in the *real world.

Yeahbut® how about in the *real world?

Is that an academic question, Faldage, or do you really want to know?

I really want to know.

Doesn't stop it from being an academic question, though.

>>I really want to know<<

From a quick Sherlock search:

/yoos'net/ or /yooz'net/ n. [from `Users' Network'; theoriginal spelling...

Is the question really a 'what do *you* say?' or are you wondering about connotation?

I guess connotation.

I guess connotation.

Your "guess" connotes that you are not sure what your question is, Faldage.

Frankly, neither am I?

Sorry. Are you two inventing a new dialect?

Are you two inventing a new dialect?

Faldage wanted to know about "the *real world" and I am trying to fill him in.

If you think you can make a better job of it than I am, Capfka, please, be my guest.

I've used rn, nn, tin to access usenet through corporate nntp servers.

Nowadays I use google as it seem more reliable, if slower.

Usenet is a really great resource - the prime programming resource I use and often more helpful than books.

I use is mostly to get answers to technical questions.

Most of the time, I can find the answer to my question by simply searching a particular group. A few times, I have come up empty on searches and posted queries. Sometimes I later find that the topic has indeed been discussed, but using a different terminology. I get reasonable answers a fair amount of the time.

There is a problem with spam. There is also a problem with people posting inappropriately. There is also a problem with "regulars" in some of the groups just waiting for a perceived neophyte to come in so they can put said neophyte in his place. Finally, the search issues are just as serious with groups as they are with the rest of google, and it takes some finnagling to narrow the search appropriately.

But overall it's a great thing. I've been reading using Usenet on and off for maybe close to 20 years - since my early college years. I discovered it within a year or so of discovering Bitnet (I'm not sure if bitnet was actually part of The Internet ... I didn't actually know much about networks back then).

Anyway, the different usenet groups have different dynamics - and yet there are similarities. I'm not anticipating that you will have any trouble, but I will say this: try not to take whatever gets said personally. You may think, "My interest is purely intellectual. Why should it turn personal?" I don't know that it will, but I'm just saying, if it does, bear in mind that there are people whom you might swear live for the sole purpose of finding people they can badger. Also, there are certain personalities that are inevitably going to clash.

Still, it can be a heckuva lotta fun and it's kinda like a big university in the sense that no matter what your interests are, you can find a few people who share it.

k