The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Accessing Newsgroups: A Primer
Richard John
 

This is an abridged version of a newsgroup presentation by Richard John at the May monthly meeting — plus material that could not be covered on the night

The main focus here is on getting you started accessing and using newsgroups on your PC. In this article we cover:
  • Select a Newsgroup Program
  • Setting up the Newsgroup Program
  • Download Newsgroups
  • Subscribing to Newsgroups
  • Reading Messages
  • Replying to Messages
  • Starting a New Thread
  • Tips for Newbies
Select a Newsgroup Program

Any one of the following will serve your needs:
  1. Outlook Express
  2. Netscape Collaborator
  3. Forte Agent
The recommended client for most users and the one demonstrated here is Outlook Express. Most Melb PC members will have Outlook Express which comes bundled free with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows 9x.

Netscape Collaborator is free and comes integrated with Netscape Communicator. From Communicator's main menu, select Communicator, then select Newsgroups. The setup procedure is much the same as for Outlook Express described here.		   The screen shots used here are from Outlook Express 2000 running under Windows XP Pro (SP1) which has just put a different "skin" on the Office 2000 applications, including Outlook Express. Your screens may look slightly different. Irrespective of that, the principles remain the same.

Forte Agent has two versions, free and paid. Agent is available from a variety of sources including the Melb PC Monthly CD and other magazine CDs, or from the Internet (search for Forte). Free Agent is more sophisticated than either of the Netscape or Microsoft products, offering a myriad of configuration options, many of which are intended for more experienced users. The paid version unlocks a greater range of options. Start using Free Agent once you have become confident. You will like it.

Setting Up the Newsgroup Program

Firstly, open Outlook Express. You will see a screen similar to Figure 1. From here on it is strongly recommended that you use the menu systems and the wizards provided. When you proceed to setup, the Wizard will ask for your name (no aliases allowed, you must use your real name), your e-mail address and the name of the News Server.
 



Figure 1. Opening Outlook Express.



Figure 2. Select Tools|Accounts from main menu.



Figure 3. Select the News Tab.

 From the Outlook Express main menu, select Tools|Accounts (Figure 2). Then select the News tab (Figure 3)

Next enter your Name (Figure 4a), e-mail address (Figure 4b), and the name of the News Server (Figure 4c) pressing the next button after each.



Figure 4a. Enter your Name (No aliases).



Figure 4b. Enter e-mail address.



Figure 4c. Melb PC News Server.

When you have completed this step, click finish, you will be presented with the Internet Accounts screen once more (Figure 5). Finally, click the Close button to proceed. This message box in Figure 6 will appear; select Yes:



Figure 5. Newsgroup Setup.
 



Figure 6. Download Newsgroups?
 



Figure 7. Downloading Newsgroups.

Download Newsgroups

This is the business end where the newsgroups main listings are downloaded. A screen similar to Figure 7 will appear.

After only a short wait (less than five minutes at 56K), a list of approximately 35000 Newsgroups will have been downloaded from the Melb PC News Server. A screen similar to Figure 8a will appear. Click on OK and you will then see a screen similar to Figure 8b. Notice that the Melb PC News Server (news.melbpc.org.au) has now been added. Click on the button Newsgroups to again display the screen like Figure 8a.
 



Figure 8a. List of Newsgroups.



Figure 8b. Add a News Server.

Search for and Subscribe to Newsgroups

You can now search for the Melb PC newsgroups by entering the search string "melbpc" in the textbox labeled "Display newsgroups which contain". The list will be shortened to just the dozen or so Melb PC newsgroups (Figure 9).

You can use the same technique to search for non-Melb PC newsgroups as well. Just enter a search string, eg. IBM which will list all newsgroups with "IBM" in the name. Click OK to finish. Now a slightly altered Outlook Express window will appear. A news server has been added to the folders window on the left side of your screen (Figure 9).



Figure 9. Select Newsgroups.



Figure 10. Subscribe to Newsgroups.

Note: If you cannot see the "Folders" window in Outlook Express, from the main menu select View|Layout and under Basic, check the box marked "Folder List".

At this point you can do one of two things. You can select a Melb PC newsgroup from among the list presented (eg. melbpc.general) and click the Subscribe button. Alternatively you can just select melbpc.general and click the Go To button. For the purposes of illustration, we will subscribe to just melbpc.general (the first option). Click OK and melbpc.general will be added to the folder list in the left hand side window (Figure 10).

At this point, click on melbpc.general in the left hand side window and Outlook Express will immediately spring into action and start downloading message headers; no bodies (message text), just the headings. A number of message headers will be downloaded to your computer.

From the message headers in the main window on the right, select messages that interest you and see what happens (we can't tell you everything now, can we...?). Watch out for the humour, recipes, the low down on
Claude's goat and more.

Reading Messages

You are now ready to read messages. You will see a screen similar to Figure 11.



Figure 11. Reading Newsgroup Messages.

Let's look at the structure. The bold text indicates messages you have not yet read. Use the "+" and "-" to expand and collapse the message headers respectively. Either click the symbol on screen, or press the "+" and "-" keys on your keyboard.

The '+' symbol means there are replies posted by others. Study it a little and you will begin to understand how it all works and hangs together. Notice that the message count for melbpc.general in the folders window has reduced from what you originally downloaded. This is just a count of the messages you have not yet read. Of course you are not obliged to read all the messages. Just read those with headers that interest you.

To see the body (or text) associated with a particular message header, simply click on the header in the top window and the body will be displayed in the bottom window. To read the message in its own window, click on it or select it using the keyboard. Really, that's all there is to reading newsgroups.

Reply To Messages

There are two ways you can interact with newsgroups. You can "lurk" or you can participate more fully. Lurking is where you are a spectator. You just read other people's postings and do nothing else; you "hangout". Put another way - on the train you might eavesdrop on a conversation that interests you, and you just continue reading that same line several times from that "very interesting" book you're holding.

The other way to interact is to participate more actively. One of the ways you do this is by replying to or following up a message in an existing thread (you have decided to join the conversation on the train-about Claude's goat in this case) In Outlook Express you can do this by opening a message, reading it and then decide to reply in one of two ways:

  1. You can reply to the entire group using the Reply Group button

  2. Use the Reply button to privately e-mail the individual who wrote the particular message. (Figure 12)



Figure 12. OE Toolbar.
Generally you would use the latter option only when you feel your reply is of no real interest to the group but you wish to communicate with the individual (Figure 13).

Starting a New Thread

The second way to participate more fully is to post by starting new threads or lines of discussion. For instance, if you wish to start a discussion on little Johnnie's "steel underpants", in Outlook Express, click the button New post on the toolbar. From here the process is much the same as sending an e-mail (Figure 14)
 



Figure 13. Reply to the Newsgroup.



Figure 14. Posting to a new thread.

Notice the similarities to e-mail: A Send button; a Newsgroups field (read e-mail address field); a Subject field and so on.

Tips for Newbies

Use emoticons (emotional icons), such as:

:-) (happy)

:-( (sad)

;-) Just kidding.

To quote the words of a former Newbie, member Barbara Maple:
"When I started on the BBS I had great difficulty in taking things that people wrote to me, the right way. Until you start using this type of communication, not being able to see or hear the other person, you don't quite realize how the way a person says something makes all the difference, if that person is joking or serious."

Conclusion

This is just an introduction to using newsgroups in general and the Melb PC newsgroups in particular. You will find it a rewarding experience once you have learned the basic rules of this game. We hope this primer will get you started and on your way. A little bit of effort on your part will reap big rewards, make you new friends and launch you on a new experience.

Contributors

The movers and shakers from melbpc.general as well as Bob Thomas, Di Allen, Maurice Canterbury, Richard John (all Melb PC members).

Reprinted from the July 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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