Page
1.0 Introduction 30
2.0 Objectives 30
3.1 Background to Newsgroups 30
3.2 Add an E-mail or Newsgroup Account 30
3.3 Find Newsgroups of Interest 31
3.4 To Subscribe to a Newsgroup 31
3.4.1 Cancel Your Subscription to a Newsgroup 31
3.5 Read Newsgroup Messages 31
3.6 Post a Message to a Newsgroup 32
3.6.1 Sending Message to Multiple Newsgroups on the Same News Server 32
3.7 Block Messages from a Sender or Domain 32
3.8 Lists and Listservs 33
4.0 Conclusion 33
5.0 Summary 33
6.0 References and Suggestion for Further Reading 33
7.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment 33
1.0 Introduction
Newsgroups are electronic bulletin boards with collections of messages which have a related theme.
You can read messages posted by members on a large variety of topics, or you can post messages of your own. Newsgroup names start with one of a series of broad topic names. For example, newsgroups beginning with 'comp' are about particular computer-related topics. Other examples include: 'biz' for business, 'raise' for miscellaneous, 're& for games and recreation, `sci' for science, 'so& for social groups, 'ale for controversial or unusual topics, and many others that are too numerous to list To view a newsgroup, you must have a news viewer software programme installed on your computer.
2.0 Objectives
At the end of this unit you will be able to:
Subscribe to a newsgroup;
Cancel your subscription to a newsgroup;
Send message to multiple newsgroups;
Block messages from a sender or Domain.
3.1 Background to Newsgroups
You can find newsgroups on practically any subject. Although some newsgroups are moderated, most are not. Moderated newsgroups are "owned" by someone who reviews the postings, can answer questions, delete inappropriate messages, and so forth. Anyone can post messages to a newsgroup. Newsgroups do not require any kind of membership joining fees.
To use newsgroups in Microsoft (R) Outlook Express (R), your Internet Service Provider (ISP) must offer links to one or more news servers. After you set up an account for each server you want in Outlook Express, you can read and post messages in any of the newsgroups stored on that news server.
When you find a newsgroup you like, you can 'subscribe' to it so that it is displayed in your Outlook Express Folders list. Subscribing provides easy access to your favourite newsgroups, eliminating the need to scroll through the long list on the server each time you want to visit a favourite newsgroup.
Newsgroups can contain thousands of messages, which can be time-consuming to sort through.
Outlook Express has a variety of features that make it easier to find the information you want in newsgroups.
You will need the following information from your Internet service provider (ISP) or local area network (LAN) administrator:
For e-mail accounts, you'll need to know the type of e-mail server you use (POP3, IMAP, or HTTP), your account name and password, the name of the incoming e-mail server and, for POP3 and IMAP. the name of an outgoing e-mail server.
For a newsgroup account, you'll need to know the name of the news server you want to connect to and, if required, your account name and password.
Exercise I
Explain why you will need to subscribe for newsgroup.
If you do not subscribe to a newsgroup you cannot have access to
it.
3.2 Add an E-mail or Newsgroup Account
On the Tools menu, click Accounts
In the Internet Accounts dialog box, click Add
Select either Mail or News to open the Internet Connection Wizard, and then follow the instructions
to establish a connection with an e-mail or news server.
Each user can create multiple e-mail or newsgroup accounts by repeating the procedure above for each account.
Exercise 2
List two major information you need before you can subscribe to a newsgroup and of what importance are the information?
The information you will need includes: Name of the news server you want to connect to and also the type of e-mail. server you are using. This is to establish a communication link between your e-mail account and the newsgroup server you are subscribing to.
3.3 Find Newsgroups of Interest
To find newsgroups of interest to you, you can search through a news server to find specific words in newsgroup names.
In the Folders list, click a server name, and then click Newsgroups
In the Display newsgroups which contain box, type the words you want to search for.
If you cannot find a specific newsgroup in the list, your news server might not carry that newsgroup.
3.4 To Subscribe to a Newsgroup
The benefit of subscribing is that the newsgroup is included in your Folders list for easy access. You can subscribe to a newsgroup in any of the following ways:
When you add a news server, Outlook Express prompts you to subscribe to newsgroups on that server.
Click a news server name in your Folders list, and then click Newsgroups. Select the newsgroup that you want to subscribe to and then click Subscribe. You can also unsubscribe here.
When you double-click a name in the Newsgroup list, a subscription is automatically generated.
Exercise 3
Do you need an e-mail account to subscribe to a newsgroup?
Sure that is the only way they can post News to you.
3.4.1 Cancel Your Subscription to a Newsgroup
When you view a newsgroup without subscribing to it, its name appears in your Folders list.
Right-click the name and then click Subscribe.
To view a newsgroup you subscribe to, click its name in the Folders list.
To cancel your subscription to a newsgroup, click Newsgroups, click the Subscribed tab, select the group you want, and then click Unsubscribe. You can also right-click the newsgroup in your Folders list and then click Unsubscribe.
3.5 Read Newsgroup Messages
Go to a newsgroup and look through the message list for a message you want to read (you may need to scroll).
To view the message in the preview pane, click the message once.
To view the message in a separate window, double-click the message in the message list.
You may want to change the preview pane, by going to the View menu, click Layout, and then in the Preview pane area, select the options you want.
3.6 Post a Message to a Newsgroup
In the Folders list, select the newsgroup you want to post a message to.
On the toolbar, click New. Post.
Type the Subject of your message. Outlook Express cannot post a message that does not contain a subject.
Compose your message, and then click Send.
3.6.1 Sending message to Multiple Newsgroups on the same News Server
In the New Message dialog box, click the icon next to Newsgroups.
In the Pick Newsgroups dialog box, click one or more newsgroups from the list (hold down the CTRL key to select multiple newsgroups), and then click Add.
You can choose from all newsgroups or only those you subscribe to by clicking Show Only Subscribed Newsgroups.
You can send a given message to more than one newsgroup at a time only if all the newsgroups are on the same news server. To post a message to newsgroups on other news servers, create a separate message for each news server.
You can cancel a message you have posted by selecting the message, clicking the Message menu, and then selecting Cancel Message. Cancelling a message does not remove it from a newsgroup user's computer if the user downloaded the message before it was cancelled. You can cancel only messages you have posted; you cannot cancel another person's message.
Exercise 4
Is it possible to send a message to multiple newsgroups on different serves at the same time? Why.
As earlier on discussed above, it is not possible to send a message to multiple newsgroups on different servers at the same time because they have different addresses.
3.7 Block Messages from a Sender or Domain
You can block messages from a particular sender or domain. The domain is the name following the
@ symbol inane-mail address.
When you block a sender or domain, no e-mail or news message from that sender or domain will arrive in your Inbox or in the news messages you read. E-mail from blocked senders goes directly into your Delete folder. Newsgroup messages from blocked senders are not displayed.
From your e-mail Inbox or the list of messages in a newsgroup, select a message from a sender you want to block.
On the Message menu, click Block Sender.
Blocking a sender applies to standard POP e-mail only. It does not apply to HTTP e-mail or IMAP messages.
To remove a sender or domain from the blocked senders list, on the Tools menu, point to Message Rules, and then click Blocked Senders List. Select the sender or domain, and then click Remove.
Exercise 5
What is the implication of removing a domain from your newsgroup?
If you remove a domain from your newsgroup, you will not be receiving any message from the newsgroup server.
3.8 Lists and Listservs
An Internet List is an interest group in which any member may send a message to all other members of the list. List groups exist for a very large number of all types of topics. Messages exchanged can be discussion letters, professional papers, resource listings, conference and job announcements, technical queries and advice, etc. Joining a list is one way to keep up with happenings in a specific field of interest to you. It also gives you a network of other individuals with the same interest.
A listserv is an automated mailing list distribution system. It is a software that allows members of the list to communicate on the Internet.
Exercise 6
State one of the importance ofjoining a list group.
Joining a list group is one way to keep up with happenings in a specific field of interest to you.
4.0 Conclusion
A newsgroup is a collection of messages posted by individuals to a news server (a computer that can host thousands of newsgroups). When you find a newsgroup you like, you can 'subscribe' to it without paying any amount. All you need do is provide information on your e-mail account and also you'll need to know the name of the news server you are subscribing to. Listserv refers to both the software and the computer which runs the software, which is essentially an automated e-mail programme.
5.0 Summary
In this unit we looked at how you locate a newsgroup of your interest and subscribe and unsubscribe for newsgroup. We also considered how you can send any given message to more than one newsgroup at a time as well as block messages from a particular sender or domain.
6.0 References and Suggestion for Further Reading
Open Content License (http://www.opencontentorg/), Widernet Project, http//www.widernetorg
Microsoft Windows http//www.Microsoft.com
7.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
Question
State the procedure for finding and subscribing to a newsgroup.