Usenet Newsgroups Glossary of Terms
Here are some of the common terms you will
come across when using Usenet newsgroups:
Completion ... usually described as
a percentage. Refers to the number of posts
that have all their "parts". To get
a better understanding of why there would be
"parts" read on.... Posts sent to
Usenet have a size limit (usually determined
by the newsgroup service provider). If the size
of an uploaded posting exceeds the size limit
then it's broken into parts. If you want to
successfully download the entire post you need
to tell your newsreader software to download
all the parts; which are then assembled (decoded)
by the newsreader software into it's original
format.
Connections (Streams) ... newsreader
software applications can usually attach (connect)
to the Usenet server more than once; why? It
usually means the downloading and uploading
of Usenet posts will occur more rapidly. The
number of connections/streams are determined
by the newsgroup service provider and you can
ask them for their number of connections allowed.
Cross-posting ... occurs when the same
post is sent to more than one newsgroup. Usenet
etiquette insists that postings are made only
to those newsgroups that describe the topic
your posting about. Keeping cross-posting limited
to a couple of (on-topic) groups should keep
you out of trouble. If you post to many more
than that you may be contacted due to SPAM.
Headers ... contains the information
about a posting. Date, Subject, From, To, Groups
posted to, Newsgroup Service Provider post made
through, Abuse contact, Path taken through Usenet,
etc.
Newsreader ... software used to connect
to Usenet newsgroups. It makes the connection
by using a protocol called NNTP. Features differ
between software applications as some have basic
features, while others are more advanced. Free
and paid newsreaders are available at www.newsreaders.info
NNTP ... short for Network News Transfer
Protocol. Used by newsreader software to connect
to Usenet newsgroup servers.
Parts ... large files and postings that
exceed a newsserver's size limit are usually
broken into parts by the newsreader software.
Usually within the settings or preferences of
the newsreader lets one determine the maximum
size of posts sent. When one wants to download
the complete file/post of a multi-part posting,
they must select all the parts for downloading/decoding.
RAR ... encoding/compression format
sometimes used on Usenet. Similar to ZIP compressed
files. An application like WinRAR can decode
RAR files for Microsoft operating systems. Search
Google/Yahoo/MSN for RAR DECODING if needed
for different operating systems.
Retention ... usually expressed in terms
of days. Refers to how long posts are retained
on the news server. Posts are not available
on Usenet forever as they expire eventually
to make room for the newest incoming postings.
SPAM ... has the same meaning when referring
to email; any type of junk posting/message that
usually advertises some product/service. The
best way to handle SPAM on Usenet is to look
at the "headers" of a posting to find
the x-abuse (or similar) line that tells one
where to send SPAM complaints.
Usenet Etiquette ... loosely defined
as appropriate behavior when using Usenet. Best
to think of as a way to act as if you were in
a group of live people. SPAM is not tolerated
and usually results in those sending such posts
to get banned.
UUEncoding/UUDecoding ... an encoding
method to send binary posts to Usenet. Usenet
handles only ASCII-type characters and any binary-type
files need to be encoded by the newsreader software.
Encoding usually increases the size of the end-result
of encoding. yEnc was invented as an alternative
to keep the final size of the encoded-posting
a bit smaller.
yEnc ... an alternative encoding method
to UUencoding. It purportedly encodes binary
files in smaller sizes than UUencoding.
400 Per-user Connection Error ... an
error message usually returned by a newsgroup
server when you've exceeded the number of connections/streams
allowed by the newsgroup service provider.
502 Authentication Error ... an error
message returned by a newsgroup server than
indicates one of two possibilities: 1) the username
and/or password submitted to user (to log-in)
is incorrect or 2) the username/password is
not active on server. Best to contact the newsgroup
service provider if you continually receive
this message.
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