Information Overload: Usenet Newsgroups!

This month I want to tell you about one of the largest and most active knowledge/information sources on the Internet. And, it is one that the majority of new Internet users have never used! Try it, you may like it!

Back when I first obtained access to the Internet (at work), I had access to email and Usenet Newsgroups only. Access to the World Wide Web was blocked due to security concerns. I found the newsgroups to be a very valuable information source, and still do today.

Newsgroups are similar to an electronic bulletin board. Messages are posted in groups depending on subject matter. There are literally thousands of newsgroups. My ISP's newsgroup list currently indicates that there are over 43,000 newsgroups! This means there are newsgroups dedicated to almost any subject you can imagine (and some on subjects you probably wouldn't imagine).

Everyone who reads newsgroups can read each message if they so desire, although no one has time to read all the messages that get posted. I have seen estimates that over 80 million characters of information are posted to newsgroups each day!

Although most web browsers--including Netscape--let you read newsgroups, I strongly recommend using a separate dedicated newsreader program such as NewsWatcher, a freeware program by John Norstad, to read newsgroups. This program has specific features that I will be describing in this column. These features may or may not be available to you if you use a different program to access newsgroups.

When reading newsgroups, you first view a listing of the newsgroups that are available from your ISP (see examples below). You then create a list of newsgroups in which you are interested (called subscribing, although it is not the same as subscribing to most things). Subscribing to a newsgroup just adds the title to a list in your reader program and shows you how many unread messages may be in the group. To unsubscribe, you just delete the newsgroup title from your list.

The newsgroups and messages are stored on your ISP's server and get downloaded to your computer only when you open them (other programs are specifically set up to download ALL unread messages. This is an option for those with fast Internet connections, but can mean long connection times otherwise). After selecting a newsgroup in which you are interested, open it. You then get a listing of the latest messages. When you close the message window, that message disappears from your computer, unless you deliberately save it. Don't feel that you have to save too many messages, as most (but not all) newsgroups are archived, and so are available and searchable for years to come.

Here is a listing of a few newsgroups that I selected as a diversified example. Look at the wide range of topics in just this small example:

Note the wide variation in the numbers of messages in each group. This is an indication of how the activity in the different groups varies.

Here is an example of messages in a writing related newsgroup:

Note how the messages are grouped into threads (the lines with the number of messages in front of the sender's name). This is very useful, and allows you to scan the threads and subject lines to select the messages you want to read. This allows you to sort through even busy newsgroups in a decent amount of time. With practice, you learn to zero in on interesting threads rapidly, and ignore the ones that do not interest you. If you click on the arrowhead on the left end of a thread, all the messages in the thread will be visible. Messages that you mark as "read" will not appear in the listing the next time that you open the newsgroup. Marking threads "read" is an excellent way to get rid of them if they do not interest you.

Note the first message in the list, with the check mark, with the subject heading of "Charter." The check mark means that I have read this message (or have deliberately marked it as read without actually reading it). This message is an explanation of the intended scope of the newsgroup, and should be read and heeded by all the people using the newsgroup. The thread with the number "4" and the check mark in front means that I have read all four messages in the thread. The "re: " in the subject means that this message (and the ones grouped with it) are a response to an earlier message in the thread that either has been read previously or is too old to still be on the newsgroup server. The thread with "19" and the plus symbol (+) means that I have read some, but not all, of the messages in the thread. Note the highlighted message with the subject "Do you get paid for writing? I do.." That is a "spam" message. Yes, newsgroups also get spam. However, in the newsgroups, you can just ignore the spam messages pretty easily.

One final example:

This newsgroup has the word "moderated" in the title. This means that one or more real live humans are actively running the newsgroup and that all messages must be allowed by them (sometimes actively managed, and sometimes passively managed) before they will appear in the newsgroup. This also means that the moderators can and do intervene in the affairs of the group if the threads deviate from the newsgroup charter, as has happened and is evidenced by the highlighted message titled "[ADMIN] Thread Termination."

Moderated newsgroups are a pleasure to read, because they stay on topic much more consistently than non-moderated newsgroups. Note that not all moderated newsgroups will be designated as such in the title. The "rec.food.recipes" newsgroup in my example list is a moderated newsgroup, and is very well organized and run.

In addition to a Charter, many newsgroups have a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) with associated answers, to help minimize the repetitive posting of the same old questions over and over. Please watch for and read the FAQ for any newsgroup to which you subscribe. Many of the newsgroup FAQs can be found on the web at http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup. Most newsgroups have a founder or champion who posts the FAQ and Charter on a periodic basis (monthly for many newsgroups). The moderator will almost always do this for moderated groups.

A few precautions

Just like any other part of the Internet, there are certain to be things in some of the newgroups (or even entire newsgroups) that you find to be objectionable. So, be selective in the newsgroups you pick. If the title sounds objectionable to you, the content is certainly going to be more so. Things that one person finds to be objectionable, another finds to be enlightening. That is one of the prices of freedom. Concentrate on the good things and life will be better.

Newsgroups have been around for years, and so have established etiquette, protocols, and acceptable subjects. Please read messages in a newsgroup for a while, and read any Charter or FAQ file for the newsgroup to learn these things BEFORE posting messages to the group. Remember, newsgroups are available to the entire world, and you can easily make a fool of yourself in front of millions and millions of people. And since the newsgroup may be archived, don't post any information that you may not want to be available years into the future.

Anyone can pose as an expert on the Internet, including in newsgroups. They can even learn the jargon that goes with the subject and sound like a real expert when they are not. Verify important information that you get on the Internet, and especially from newsgroups, using a trusted source. The more important the information is to you, the more important it is to verify it. However, don't let this discourage you. Verification is not an issue if you have NO information! So, jump in and become informed!

And, if you post messages to newsgroups, you may start getting lots of SPAM in your email in-box. spammers regularly sift newsgroups in search of email addresses. If this is a concern, either sign up for an extra email account and use that email address for posting, or obtain a SpamCop email account (see my February 2000 column for info on SpamCop http://spamcop.net) and use it for posting AND for helping the spammer lose his/her ISP accounts.

If you want more information about newsgroups (as well as all the other services/parts of the Internet), look at the tutorials at http://bcn.boulder.co.us/help/Roadmap/Index.html. MAP08:USENET is the one about Usenet Newsgroups. Although these tutorials are a little aged, they are still very helpful, especially to beginners.

There is a newer set of Internet tutorials (available in multiple languages) at http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html. This is a very up-to-date set of articles, and gives all the basics about many Internet subjects. You may want to read these first, then visit the Roadmap tutorials to get the deeper details.

Next month we will see more of the best knowledge and information sources on the Internet.

And now, KnowledgeSpider's Knowledge/Information Resource recommendation of the month: Use Usenet Newsgroups to broaden your Internet information sources.

In each month's column I will grab knowledge or information resources from the Internet and share them with you. If you have a learning or knowledge resource or a teaching technique that has proven particularly useful to you, share it with all of us by tossing it into my web! Send me email!

David E. Price
david@mymac.com