Usenet providers

[hbelkins]

My Usenet provider (Newsguy) went belly-up last summer. While I can still access what's left of MTR via Google Groups, that service doesn't offer access to the binary newsgroups.

Does anyone have any recommendations on Usenet providers with good retention? Easynews and Giganews are two that I've heard of in the past.

Also, I'm looking for a good Mac client for downloading binaries. Thoth no longer works, and Unison seems buggy these days. My primary OS is 10.9.5, but I can boot into a newer OS if needed.

[ZLoth]

My Usenet provider (Newsguy) went belly-up last summer. While I can still access what's left of MTR via Google Groups, that service doesn't offer access to the binary newsgroups.

Does anyone have any recommendations on Usenet providers with good retention? Easynews and Giganews are two that I've heard of in the past.

Usenet still exists? 

[zachary_amaryllis]

My Usenet provider (Newsguy) went belly-up last summer. While I can still access what's left of MTR via Google Groups, that service doesn't offer access to the binary newsgroups.

Does anyone have any recommendations on Usenet providers with good retention? Easynews and Giganews are two that I've heard of in the past.

Also, I'm looking for a good Mac client for downloading binaries. Thoth no longer works, and Unison seems buggy these days. My primary OS is 10.9.5, but I can boot into a newer OS if needed.

ISP's used to have usenet access, but not sure these days. I don't think mine does.

[bandit957]

I thought nobody used Usenet anymore.

Despite the campaign of personal attacks against me that was lodged on Usenet some years back, I think it's time Usenet makes a comeback. The commercial social media sites seem to enjoy censoring wrongthink a little too much.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I thought nobody used Usenet anymore.

Despite the campaign of personal attacks against me that was lodged on Usenet some years back, I think it's time Usenet makes a comeback. The commercial social media sites seem to enjoy censoring wrongthink a little too much.

*I* remember you from usenet. You are why I had 'Pooing is Cool' as the 'display' message on my phone.

But, that makes us old.

[dlsterner]

My Usenet provider (Newsguy) went belly-up last summer. While I can still access what's left of MTR via Google Groups, that service doesn't offer access to the binary newsgroups.

Does anyone have any recommendations on Usenet providers with good retention? Easynews and Giganews are two that I've heard of in the past.

Also, I'm looking for a good Mac client for downloading binaries. Thoth no longer works, and Unison seems buggy these days. My primary OS is 10.9.5, but I can boot into a newer OS if needed.

I used Usenet rather heavily (and as a macOS user) 15-20 years ago, but damned if I remember the name of the software that I used.  I vaguely remember the name Thoth but that's about it.  I used an app that easily handled multi-part binaries and reassembling them into one, but the name of that app has left my memory.

[hbelkins]

I thought nobody used Usenet anymore.

Despite the campaign of personal attacks against me that was lodged on Usenet some years back, I think it's time Usenet makes a comeback. The commercial social media sites seem to enjoy censoring wrongthink a little too much.

Usenet is great for downloading files. The alt.binaries.mp3 hierarchy is a glorious thing.

ISP's used to have usenet access, but not sure these days. I don't think mine does.

A lot of ISPs dropped Usenet access after the New York attorney general at the time (either Spitzer or the guy the Tappan Zee Bridge is named after) said he planned to go after ISPs that offered groups where porn could be downloaded.

[bandit957]

I couldn't stand the hypocrisy on Usenet. As an example, I remember how there was an ISP that kept bragging about being a big bastion of free speech. I got mailbombed by one of their users, who also spammed the hell out of numerous groups with off-topic posts. His ISP kept defending him, saying that was free speech. He kept spamming Usenet for years. But then, someone posted an ad in a classified group where it was on-topic, and it wasn't spammed to any other groups. One of the admins at this ISP saw this post and reported it to the poster's ISP, calling it spam.

It was a classic example of "free speech for me, not for thee."

[zachary_amaryllis]

I couldn't stand the hypocrisy on Usenet. As an example, I remember how there was an ISP that kept bragging about being a big bastion of free speech. I got mailbombed by one of their users, who also spammed the hell out of numerous groups with off-topic posts. His ISP kept defending him, saying that was free speech. He kept spamming Usenet for years. But then, someone posted an ad in a classified group where it was on-topic, and it wasn't spammed to any other groups. One of the admins at this ISP saw this post and reported it to the poster's ISP, calling it spam.

It was a classic example of "free speech for me, not for thee."

I mean the whole thing has devolved into a quivering mass of spam, from what I've seen. Seemed like one of the news providers was ... we'll say 'politically charged' and leave it there. Dude in one of the groups I was in was bragging about how no one could touch him etc.

reminiscing.

[kphoger]

I mean the whole thing has devolved into a quivering mass of spam, from what I've seen.

That's explained in 'The Spam Conspiracy', which was published on Geocities more than twenty years ago.  I'd link to it, except that it appears to be virus-infested now.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I mean the whole thing has devolved into a quivering mass of spam, from what I've seen.

That's explained in 'The Spam Conspiracy', which was published on Geocities more than twenty years ago.  I'd link to it, except that it appears to be virus-infested now.

I found an archived copy. That's .... out there. And I read my own posts.

[kphoger]

I found an archived copy.

Where?

[hbelkins]

I couldn't stand the hypocrisy on Usenet. As an example, I remember how there was an ISP that kept bragging about being a big bastion of free speech. I got mailbombed by one of their users, who also spammed the hell out of numerous groups with off-topic posts. His ISP kept defending him, saying that was free speech. He kept spamming Usenet for years. But then, someone posted an ad in a classified group where it was on-topic, and it wasn't spammed to any other groups. One of the admins at this ISP saw this post and reported it to the poster's ISP, calling it spam.

It was a classic example of "free speech for me, not for thee."

I mean the whole thing has devolved into a quivering mass of spam, from what I've seen. Seemed like one of the news providers was ... we'll say 'politically charged' and leave it there. Dude in one of the groups I was in was bragging about how no one could touch him etc.

reminiscing.

The last on-topic post I can remember seeing in MTR, which I only check about once a month now via Google Groups, came from Calrog. Of course he was pimping one of his stupid pictures or videos.

A few months ago, someone actually responded to one of my old posts about the parallel county roads along the WV Turnpike between Charleston and Beckley.

I'm not sure how many of text-based groups I used to frequent are still active with on-topic posts. My interest is in the binary groups.

I have hard drives and CDRs/DVDRs full of music files I've downloaded from Usenet over the years. Between Usenet, Hotline servers, and Napster, I got digital copies of everything I had purchased over the years on vinyl or 8-track.

[bandit957]

I have hard drives and CDRs/DVDRs full of music files I've downloaded from Usenet over the years. Between Usenet, Hotline servers, and Napster, I got digital copies of everything I had purchased over the years on vinyl or 8-track.

What I've always done is copy my old vinyl records and cassettes to my computer to make an MP3.

I actually have some records I've rescued that I still need to do this with.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I found an archived copy.

Where?

Is this the right thing?

https://www.oocities.org/collegepark/quad/4201/spam.htm

[Rothman]

Last archive I saw of m.t.r. was quite incomplete.

[kphoger]

Is this the right thing?

https://www.oocities.org/collegepark/quad/4201/spam.htm

Yes!  Thank you!

[hbelkins]

Last archive I saw of m.t.r. was quite incomplete.

Where were you looking?

Google Groups started out as DejaNews, but the problem with DejaNews was that it respected the "x-no-archive:yes" header and thus any posts with that header didn't get archived. That has carried over to Google Groups.

[bandit957]

The Google archive is also unreliable.

I complained to them to remove a bunch of posts that someone forged in my name. They refused to do it.

[zachary_amaryllis]

Is this the right thing?

https://www.oocities.org/collegepark/quad/4201/spam.htm

Yes!  Thank you!

That was, quite the interesting read. Have you ever looked at textfiles.com ?

[kkt]

If you find a server that still hosts Usenet I'd be interested... when my ISP stopped, I looked around but couldn't find one then.