OT - what newsgroup NNTP server to use

Having recently switched my ISP, I am now using "giganews" for my newsgroup 
nntp
provider.  (I have a perfectly fine newsgroup reader).  It seems to be missi
ng
"more than the usual" number of posts and even entire newsgroups.

I think this has been asked before, but does anyone have any specific GOOD
(rather than just complaints) information on free or inexpensive newsgroup
providers?  I looked at "tera news" but seemed to have some problem getting 
on
to their "free" service.

--
Bill Klein
wmklein <at> ix.netcom.com

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 18:40:23 -0500, "William M. Klein"
<wmklein@nospam.netcom.com> wrote:

>Having recently switched my ISP, I am now using "giganews" for my newsgroup
 nntp
>provider.  (I have a perfectly fine newsgroup reader).  It seems to be miss
ing
>"more than the usual" number of posts and even entire newsgroups.
>
>I think this has been asked before, but does anyone have any specific GOOD
>(rather than just complaints) information on free or inexpensive newsgroup
>providers?  I looked at "tera news" but seemed to have some problem getting
 on
>to their "free" service.
I have been using News.Individual.NET for a long time now. No
problems, and posts do show up very quickly.

And it is free. No Binaries though if this matters to you.


Frederico Fonseca
ema il: frederico_fonseca at syssoft-int.com

Frederico Fonseca <real-email-in-msg-spam@email.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 18:40:23 -0500, "William M. Klein"
><wmklein@nospam.netcom.com> wrote:
> 
>I have been using News.Individual.NET for a long time now. No
>problems, and posts do show up very quickly.

Seconded..  :-)

--
Jeff.         Ironbridge,  Shrops,  U.K.
jjy@jakfield.xu-netx.com  (remove the x..x round u-net for return address)
and don't bother with ralf4, it's a spamtrap and I never go there.. :)

... "There are few hours in life more agreeable
than the hour dedicated to the ceremony
known as afternoon tea.."

Henry James,  (1843 - 1916).

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 18:40:23 -0500, "William M. Klein"
<wmklein@nospam.netcom.com> wrote:

>Having recently switched my ISP, I am now using "giganews" for my newsgroup
 nntp
>provider.  (I have a perfectly fine newsgroup reader).  It seems to be miss
ing
>"more than the usual" number of posts and even entire newsgroups.
>
>I think this has been asked before, but does anyone have any specific GOOD
>(rather than just complaints) information on free or inexpensive newsgroup
>providers?  I looked at "tera news" but seemed to have some problem getting
 on
>to their "free" service.

Many first-rate ISPs are configued with no NNTP security. When I
connect to news.optonline.com, it doesn't ask for authentication.

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 18:40:23 -0500, "William M. Klein"
<wmklein@nospam.netcom.com> enlightened us:

>Having recently switched my ISP, I am now using "giganews" for my newsgroup
 nntp
>provider.  (I have a perfectly fine newsgroup reader).  It seems to be miss
ing
>"more than the usual" number of posts and even entire newsgroups.
>
>I think this has been asked before, but does anyone have any specific GOOD
>(rather than just complaints) information on free or inexpensive newsgroup
>providers?  I looked at "tera news" but seemed to have some problem getting
 on
>to their "free" service.


I've been using Airnews (http://www.airnews.net/products/index.html)
for many years and except for a few instances of problems with binary
groups, they have been solid.  If you are only interested in text
groups (like this one), then their classic service at 9.95 a month is
more than sufficient especailly if you have broadband access.

Regards,

////
(o o)
-oOO--(_)--OOo-


"It takes only one drink to get me drunk.
The trouble is, I can't remember if it's
the thirteenth or the fourteenth."
-- George Burns
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove nospam to email me.

Steve

On 3 Sep 2004 08:30:43 -0400, docdwarf@panix.com wrote:

>In article <04ngj01c9kb2hdn1arq0fk2k5ngv1b95hq@4ax.com>,
>Robert Wagner  <robert@wagner.net.yourmammaharvests> wrote:
>
>[snip]
> 
>
>Mr Wagner, leaving aside how 'one' becomes 'many' - in a manner similar,
>perhaps to dictionary-errors - it might be an interesting exercise to
>construct a chain of logic which begins with the assertion:
>
>'A first-rate ISP employs first-rate security methods.'

A first-rate ISP is more interested in providing service to its
customers than answering support calls about connection failures.

A second-rate ISP worries about unauthorized use of bandwidth, then
spends more money administering userids than it could possibly save.

A third-rate ISP is a self-appointed 'data cop' who thinks
public-domain information needs to be secured.

There are technical issues about ease of administering NNTP. It's a
dream on IIS. On Apache, the NNTP server is typically a bunch of buggy
Perl scripts.

By coincidence, I'm currently developing Web server administration
tools with remote access via HTML .. 100% in  Cobol. If you want to
talk in detail about administering security in Hamster and Radius, I'm
all ears.

>... and concludes:
>
>'optonline.com is not a first-rate ISP.'

Your piercing logic, wielded with slingshot precision,  concludes that
CableVision, the Goliath of the US cable industry, is less than
first-rate. The other Philistines are trembling out of fear they'll be
your next target.

In article <ge2hj0pekrjpmbii96theqmng2gks8d8cm@4ax.com>,
Robert Wagner  <robert@wagner.net.yourmammaharvests> wrote:
>On 3 Sep 2004 10:48:17 -0400, docdwarf@panix.com wrote:
> 
>
>Because first-rate security for apache newsservers does not exist.

And that would prevent it from using a newsserver other than Apache...
how?

>
>In the case of an apache newsserver, the best security is none.

If this s true then it might be concluded that using no security is the
same as using first-rate security.

[snip]
 
>
>Argument from authority is _valid_, not fallacious, provided the
>authority really is an expert.

You did not call CableVision an expert, Mr Wagner, you called it a
Goliath.

> 
>
>Yes, that's possible.

Good of you to grant this.

>The old General Telephone comes to mind. Take a
>look at cablevision.com and judge for yourself whether it looks
>shoddy. If you read unbiased ISP user satisfaction surveys, you'll
>find OptOnline is number one.

Ummmmm... argumentum ad populum has been found in the same class as
argumentum ad verecundiam, Mr Wagner; that class is called 'common logical
fallacies'.

DD

Works fine for me.

Warren


James J. Gavan wrote:

> William M. Klein wrote:
> 
> I'm still  using Netscape with Mozilla. I haven't dared make the switch
> - yet. But there is a separate copy of Mozilla, apparently independent
> of Netscape. I was referred to it by my ISP - the tecchie thought it was
> superior.
>
> Jimmy

On 3 Sep 2004 13:16:23 -0400, docdwarf@panix.com wrote:

>In article <ge2hj0pekrjpmbii96theqmng2gks8d8cm@4ax.com>,
>Robert Wagner  <robert@wagner.net.yourmammaharvests> wrote: 
 
>
>And that would prevent it from using a newsserver other than Apache...
>how?

Linux is the operating system; apache is a Web server; the newsserver
is an add-on.

Choices:
.. Write (or find) a newsserver with good security.
It's not worth the effort.
.. Go to another Web server
As a practical matter, there aren't any (for Unix).
.. Go to another operating system
The other one is Windows. Everyone loves to hate Microsoft.
 
>
>If this is true then it might be concluded that using no security is the
>same as using first-rate security.

Bingo. That's what I tried to say.
 
>
>You did not call CableVision an expert, Mr Wagner, you called it a
>Goliath.

Whatever. Big implies authority, which in turn implies expert.

>Ummmmm... argumentum ad populum has been found in the same class as
>argumentum ad verecundiam, Mr Wagner; that class is called 'common logical
>fallacies'.

You need to re-read your logic primer. Here's a flash card:

ARGUMENTUM AD VERECUNDIAM

The Appeal to Authority uses the admiration of the famous to try and
win support for an assertion.  For example:

"Isaac Newton was a genius and he believed in God."

This line of argument is not always completely bogus; for example,
reference to an admitted authority in a particular field may be
relevant to a discussion of that subject.  We can distinguish quite
clearly between:

"Stephen Hawking has concluded that black holes give off radiation"
and
"John Searle has concluded that it is impossible to build an
intelligent computer"

Hawking is a physicist, and so we can reasonably expect his opinions
on black hole radiation to be informed.  Searle is a linguist, so it
is questionable whether he is well-qualified to speak on the subject
of machine intelligence.

On 4 Sep 2004 08:46:33 -0400, docdwarf@panix.com wrote:


>See above, Mr Wagner, about how 'giant' implies 'peanut-sized brain'...
>and remember how many 'giant' organisations will say that a component of
>a healthy diet is meat.

In the past, people ate junk food as a snack and fealt guilty. Now,
McDonalds has convinced them junk food is a reasonable main course ..
and set American cuisine back 100 years. Their defense is 'We didn't
twist their arm, we just gave them what they wanted.'  Sure.

During a TV interview, Bill Gates said "Microsoft is just another
software company. We put our software in a box and put that on a
retail shelf. People are free to buy ours, someone else's or nothing
at all. The software industry is free enterprise at its best."

If you believe that, I have an attractive bridge ...