USENET Newsgroups FAQ


  1. Does The Internet Hardlink Co provides USENET NEWS service?
  2. How do I set up my news program?
  3. How do I use Netscape's News Reader?
  4. How do I get a list of newsgroups?
  5. How do I subscribe to a newsgroup?
  6. What local newsgroups are there?
  7. What other newsreader programs I can use?
  8. I have copy of Free Agent, now what?
  9. Where would I find a list of USENET FAQ's?
  10. Can I get a list of newsgroups that news.hardlink.com supports?


1.1 Does The Internet Hardlink Co provides USENET NEWS service?

Yes! We provide Internet service USENET NEWS for our customers. You can access it via our NNTP server news.hardlink.com.

1.2 How do I set up my news program?

If you are using Netscape Navigator, look in its menu's pull down configuration (Options) section. Configure the "Mail & News" options using these settings:

Depending on which version of Netscape you use, you will open the "Identity" or "Mail & News" sections to configure your identity. Use your e-mail address and your name in these sections. In case of problems please referr to the Netscape's help page for news.

If you use a program other than Netscape to read your news, you will still need to use the above settings. Help for MS Internet Explorer available from Internet Mail and News home page

Check the program's documentation for more detailed instructions.

1.3 How do I use Netscape's News Reader?

If you're using Netscape Navigator, you can take advantage of the newsreader built into the browser. On some versions you can reach it through a pull-down menu from the "Windows" item on the top menu bar. In other versions you can run the News Reader by clicking on the "Newsgroups" button.

1.4 How do I get a list of newsgroups?

You may want to look through the long list of all the newsgroups before deciding to which ones you want to subscribe. Netscape allows you to download the whole set of newsgroups (menu "Options", submenu "Show All Newsgroups"), but it usually takes a very long time (10 to 20 minutes, depending on your connection's speed).

1.5 How do I subscribe to a newsgroup?

The huge number of newsgroups and larger number of news messages within USENET (also called Netnews) clearly require that you employ some way of filtering which newsgroups you view. Subscribing to specific newsgroups helps limit the number of newsgoups you view. When you have subscribed to a newsgroup, your News Reader will automatically check it each time you go online.

For Netscape Navigator 3.0 users you can subscribe to the newsgroups that interest you:

1. Connect to the Web using Netscape Navigator.

2. Check to make sure you are connected to the The Internet Hardlink Co News Server. To check (and view your default newsgroups to which you are already subscribed), select from the Netscape's main menu "Window| Netscape News."

3. Select from the menu "Options|Show All Newsgroups."

4. Scan the list of newsgroups for a hint of whether you want to subscribe. Note that the number of unread and total messages appears to the right of the newsgroups names. Newsgroups that have subgroups are designated with a "+" sign to the left of the newsgroup name. Click on the "+" to see a list of the subgroups.

5. Place a check mark in the box next to each newsgroup to which you wish to subscribe.

6. Select from the menu "Options|Select Active Newsgroups" when you have finished choosing which ones you want.

Close the News window ("File|Close" from the menu) when you are done. Unsubscribing requires you to hit the line again to remove the X then hit the "Subscribe" button at the bottom of the page to communicate the change to the system.

The term "subscribe" in this usage means only that you are going to tell your newsreader to routinely link you to these specified newsgroups. You are not obligated to pay (or read!) the newsgroups once you've subscribed. Unsubscribing is just as easy as subscribing.

1.6 What local newsgroups are there?

We currently have three local newsgroups that do not get propergated onto the Internet. They are:

All The Internet Hardlink Co users should subscribe to these newsgroups to recieve important information about our services.

1.7 What other newsreader programs I can use?

You can use any newsreader program which supports NNTP protocol. For example "Free Agent" from Forte Inc.

1.8 I have a copy of Free Agent, now what?

Now What???? It's time to go on-line and see what is what. After you get on-line using your dialer, launch the application. Show all newsgroups by going into the Group pull down menu and select Show All Groups. Then the complete list of newsgroups will be displayed on the left side of the screen. If they are not there, click on the Title Bar of that window found if the left corner

Now you may select the groups you wish to subscribe to by double clicking on the group of interest.

1.9 Where would I find a list of USENET FAQ's?

The most complete list of USENET FAQ's can be found at Ohio State University.

1.10 Can I get a list of newsgroups that news.hardlink.com supports?

Sure, you can have a copy of our raw newsgroups file. We do carry more then this, but this file should give you an idea.


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