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UseNet newsgroups are international discussion groups rather than groups about news or breaking events. Many of the bigger groups are accessed by thousands of users worldwide.
Each news message is called an article. Netscape newsgroups are threaded by default. This means that the replies are put immediately after the original message, rather than in the order they happened to be received in. Given the large number of articles in many newsgroups, this is usually the most useful approach.
Each news server only receives the newsgroups it wants. Technet receives a large number of newsgroups, but it cannot receive every newsgroup.
Like many places on the Internet, the content in newsgroups will vary widely in quality, quantity and taste. While Technet does screen out some possibly offensive groups, it cannot guarantee that you will not encounter sexually-oriented material, profanity or other possibly objectionable material. Quite often, moderated newsgroups often the most useful; in moderated newsgroups, only posts that are relevant and fit the guidelines of that group are allowed. (The content deemed appropriate to the moderated newsgroup is entirely at the discretion of the moderator(s).)
UseNet newsgroups are divided into several categories. At the top, the categories are very general, such as comp (for computer-related topics) rec (for recreational topics) and alt (for alternative: this is where much of the most controversial newsgroups and discussions usually occur). The names become more specific with each level: for example: rec.pets.cats.anecdotes. Periods separate each level.
The Netscape Navigator ™ Dial-Up Edition news client can be used in two ways:
1) The news window automatically pops up whenever you click a news link in your main window.
2) Click on Window, and select Netscape News.
Click on File, and select Close. Do not click on Exit: this will also shut your browser window.
The top left area lists the names of groups, the top right area lists the messages in the current group, which is
news.answers, a newsgroup devoted to FAQs. The bottom half of the window lists the news article itself.
(Normally, this bottom half is larger.). You may have to scroll any of the windows. The 
icon indicates
articles you have not read yet.
Many times, the newsgroup in question will be a link on a web page. If you think you might want to come back
to that newsgroup, be sure to subscribe to it by checking the subscribe box 
. That way, Netscape News will
list that newsgroup and automatically check it for new message the next time you open Netscape News.
If not, one other thing you may want to do is the show all newsgroups. Please be aware that this may take a long time: because Technet's news server carries 7,600 newsgroups, it may take between 5 to 10 minutes. Netscape gives you a status report.
When you first open the Netscape News Client, it will list the groups you are subscribed to. Click on the group you want to read. The status of Netscape retrieving the new message will be displayed. If you see a message you want to read, you can interrupt the reading and click on the subject of the message you want to see and it will be retrieved.
Click on the To: News icon.This will send you to the Message Composition Window to create a
new article in the current newsgroup.
Click on the Re: News button. This will post take you to the Message Composition Window.
Be aware that the speed with which your article is sent around the world varies widely.
Clicking on the Re: Both button will create a new article and e-mail it to the sender to make sure they see
it.
Netiquette is the online equivalent of etiquette. The spirit of netiquette can be summed up simply: Mind your manners.
Read a newsgroup for a while before posting to get a sense of what topics are appropriate. Check to see if there's a FAQ so you don't ask a question that's been asked many times before. This will help you avoid committing the online equivalent of gate crashing. See Netiquette in Technet's glossary.
Related documentation:
Go to the Documentation Table of Contents
Document URL -- http://www.technet.nm.net/doc/news.htm
Last modified on February 19, 1998
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