Newsgroups resource.

[chris h]

The usenet newsgroup system is a totally free resource that I dont often see mentioned here. There's numerous groups covering Photoshop, scanners, printers etc. 40,000 + in fact covering every subject.. Outlook Express can function as a newsgroup client but here's a better one......

http://www.forteinc.com/

The only piece of information you need to obtain the service is the address of your ISP's news server which should be listed with your mail server information. Worth a try believe me. The digital photography newsgroup rec.photo.digital gets 2-300 new posts a day so there's always something of interest. For more detailed information..............

http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/basics.html

[Doug Nelson]

Personally I prefer Xnews, but that's just a matter of taste. Forte Agent is an excellent reader, with a good reputation. I just like the Xnews interface better.

On a related note, you can get the Adobe forums via your newsreader, just set the server for adobeforums.com and put in your username and password (required, go to the website and register if you don't have one).

[CJ Swartz]

I read the related newsgroups also, but the version I get just lists the headers and is full of "landmines" and stupid little flame wars. The comp.graphics.apps.photoshop group and others are certainly a great resource, but I have to be willing to spend a bit of time to find the choice pieces. Lately, I just go to Google(formerly Deja News) and search the newsgroups for whatever topic I need. In addition, of course, to coming to this well organized website which is full of choice pieces and free from XXX-rated landmines or flame wars.

Do the newsreaders you've listed offer filters?
Update: I visited the two sites mentioned and see that the non-free version of Forte's Agent does offer filters. Do these filters work against the XXX-rated postings? (Or have you guys ever bothered to filter them out?)

[Doug Nelson]

They mostly all offer filters, but you have to configure them (which means a lot of nasty typing).

Easiest way is just to avoid the alt. newsgroups (unmoderated)

Also the Adobe forums are heavily moderated

[Mig]

Forte Agent is my second favorite piece of software and it only costs about 40 bucks. And there's even a free version.

[chris h]

Didn't know about Xnews Doug I'll have to have a look at it, I've used Agent for years and am set in my ways and like its non Microsoft front end.

You get junk on most newsgroups CJ but your only seeing the headers and I suppose by now I filter it out subconsciously although there's a battery of 'complex' filter options in Agent. I tend to scan the headers and tell Agent to download the most promising stuff. Some of the most outrageous behaviour I've ever seen on the net was on one of the Civil War (Yours) groups. I think the group was more dangerous than the actual war!!

[CJ Swartz]

"Some of the most outrageous behaviour I've ever seen on the net was on one of the Civil War (Yours) groups. I think the group was more dangerous than the actual war!!"

I've only attended one of the Civil War reenactments (there was only one Civil War battle fought in Arizona, thank goodness), and the participants seemed quite tame when they weren't shooting at each other (blanks, hopefully). I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find some of them trying to re-fight the war, rather than just re-enact it. Are there Revolutionary War re-enactors in Britain? (or is it called something else over there?)

[chris h]

CJ,

I didn't make myself clear, the 'battling' took place on the newsgroup itself with all sorts of flames and personality differences etc. Very sad really because amongst the lunatics there was a lot of interesting material discussed. I'm greatly in favour of 'lively' debate but this was just slanging matches.
I'd say about 75% of newsgroups are rubbish and of no value but the other 25% make up for it. Any views Doug / Mig ?

CJ A few remarks about battle re-enactors on 'Regards from.............

[Doug Nelson]

Newsgroups have a very bad signal-to-noise ratio, but they have candid information there you can't get anywhere else.

But if they were so great I'd never have felt the need to start RetouchPRO

[chris h]

Agreed. I've just set up Xnews on W98 and after a bit of headscratching it is running Ok. I do like to use the one man one program stuff if possible i.e. PIE, Quimage etc.

[Doug Nelson]

I like the tabbed MDI interface of Xnews. I've got it set up for 5 servers, and each is just a tab to click on. Within each server I have as many as 40 subscribed groups, sorted into folders I keep closed unless I want to view them.

Some of the features are a little harder to find, and it's a bit clunky-looking compared to some of the others, but I guess its like a command-line interface, once you learn the tricks it can be very fast (but you have to want to learn the tricks).

It takes me about 15 minutes a day to view the titles of every post in every group I normally monitor. Obviously longer if I get into a thread or want to reply.

It also dings at you if anyone replies to one of your posts

I used to use Xnews, Agent, and Gravity all simultaneously for different purposes. On an old website I used to run I'd post selected articles into a database for my web users to browse. Agent was excellent for that. Gravity was used for searching for specific topics (but dejanews (aka google) made that pretty much obsolete).

Oh yeah, I also use NewsbinPro, but that's not technically a reader. Its a robot that will go into groups you select and download binaries using criteria you specify.

[CJ Swartz]

Chris, you made yourself quite clear; it was I who didn't. But I do often wonder how many of the posters who "flame" a lot under the cloak of internet anonymity are contentious critters in public life. Anyway, no need to worry about that here. I do check the comp.graphics.apps.photoshop and similar one for pagemaker on a semi-regular basis and certainly have picked up good tips as well as good links (to tutorials, new software, examples of work). Doug, you have created an excellent resource here and I find that I spend more and more time here than with any newsgroup or other website. (although I still spend plenty of time surfing other interests and checking out photo.net for photography related issues.)