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Downloading the List of Newsgroups

As mentioned in the previous section, Windows Mail encourages you to download the list of newsgroups from the news server you’ve just added. This list contains the names and brief details of the newsgroups available to you - it doesn’t include all the contents of the newsgroups. If you prefer not to do so right away, you can download the list the first time you issue the Tools Newsgroups command. Windows Mail displays the Downloading Newsgroups dialog box while downloading the list of newsgroups. The number of newsgroups available depends on the ISP. Some ISPs offer as many newsgroups as they can get 50,000 or more, whereas others provide only the newsgroups that they think their customers want or should want. When Windows Mail has finished downloading the list of newsgroups, it displays the list in the Newsgroup Subscriptions box. The next section covers how to subscribe to newsgroups.

Reading a Newsgroup That Your ISP Doesn’t Provide

If your ISP doesn’t provide a newsgroup that you want to read, Google may be able to help. Choose Start Internet, browse to http://groups.google.com, and then use the links to browse to the newsgroup or search for it. You can subscribe to receive groups via e-mail.

Subscribing to Newsgroups

At this point, you’re ready to start reading news. You can do this either by subscribing to newsgroups that interest you or simply by opening newsgroups that might interest you and browsing through them. To subscribe to a newsgroup, follow these steps:

1. Click the Newsgroups button on the toolbar, or choose Tools Newsgroups, or press Ctrl+W. Windows Mail displays the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box with two groups subscribed.

2. In the list box, select a newsgroup that you want to subscribe to, and click the Subscribe button to subscribe:

• The Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box has three pages: All, Subscribed, and New. Typically, you’ll want to start on the All page, so that you can access all the newsgroups. Once you’ve subscribed to the newsgroups you’re interested in, use the Subscribed page to access them quickly, and use the New page to check out new newsgroups from time to time.

• To filter the thousands of newsgroups down to a manageable number, enter search text in the Display Newsgroups Which Contain text box. For example, if you’re interested in hardware for PC-compatible computer systems, you could enter comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware

to display the set of newsgroups that contain that string of text. As mentioned earlier in this article, comp is one of the main hierarchies of newsgroups that persist to this day.

• Select the Also Search Descriptions check box if you want to search the newsgroup descriptions for the terms in the Display Newsgroups Which Contain text box. Many of the newsgroups lack descriptions, however, so this step may not get you far.

• Windows Mail places an icon to the left of newsgroups you’re subscribed to, as you can see with the comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.comm and comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware .networkingnewsgroups.

• To unsubscribe from a newsgroup you’re subscribed to, select the newsgroup and click the Unsubscribe button.

• To download the latest newsgroups, click the Reset List button. You’ll see the Downloading Newsgroups dialog box again.

3. When you’ve assembled your list of newsgroups, click the OK button. Windows Mail closes the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box and returns you to its main page, where the Folders pane lists the newsgroups you subscribed to under the news server.

To read a newsgroup without subscribing to it, select its name in the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box and click the Go To button. Windows Mail displays the newsgroup.

When You Can’t Find a Newsgroup You Know Exists

If a newsgroup you want to read isn’t available even after you have reset your list of newsgroups, your ISP probably doesn’t carry it. Try requesting the ISP to carry it - if it’s a new newsgroup, it may not have appeared on their radar yet. If they won’t carry it for example, because other people might find its content offensive, you might need to read it on Google Groups http://groups.google.com or buy a subscription to a dedicated news server that carries it.

Reading Newsgroup Messages

To read the messages in a newsgroup you’ve subscribed to, double-click the newsgroup in the Folders pane to display it. Windows Mail downloads the first batch of headers for the newsgroup - up to 300, at the default setting, if there are that many - and displays them in the Header pane. Click a message to display it in the Preview pane. Alternatively, doubleclick a message to display it in a separate window. If a message has an attachment, you can open it by using the same techniques as for e-mail messages with attachments.

“Combine and Decode” a Large File Posted in Multiple Parts

When a large file has been posted in multiple parts, you can reconstitute it by downloading the messages for each part, selecting the messages, right-clicking one of them, and choosing Combine and Decode from the context menu. Where posters have replied to a message using the same Subject line, the messages are threaded linked together in a sequence. You can expand a collapsed thread by clicking the plus + sign next to it, and collapse an expanded sign by clicking its minus – sign. Each generation of a threaded message is indented more than the previous generations, as shown here.

The status bar shows you the current status of your subscription to the newsgroup: how many messages there are in the newsgroup, how many you’ve read, and how many more you haven’t downloaded yet. To download message headers you haven’t downloaded yet, click the Get Next Headers button the rightmost button on the toolbar or choose Tools Get Next 300 Headers. To display another newsgroup, double-click it in the Folders pane.

Posting to a Newsgroup

You can post to a newsgroup either by creating a new post or by replying to a post:

• Click the Write Message button on the toolbar to start a new post. Don’t use stationery for a post to an Internet newsgroup, because chances are that many people won’t be able to see it - they’ll probably have to download it as an attached graphic, which improves nobody’s temper. Windows Mail starts a new post to the newsgroup.

• To reply to the newsgroup, click the Reply Group button on the toolbar. Windows Mail creates a reply message to the group, quoting the text of the original post . Reduce this text to the minimum needed for context, because surplus quoted text is a killer in highly trafficked newsgroups.

Once you’ve written your post, set it aside for 10 minutes. Then read it carefully to make sure its meaning is clear, that there’s nothing offensive in it, and that you’re not about to annoy people by writing in all capitals doing so is considered to be shouting. Make changes as necessary, and spellcheck it if appropriate. Then click the Send button to send the post. You may also want to reply only to the author of the post particularly if you don’t want to broadcast your response to the post or to forward the post to someone else:

• To reply only to the author of the post, click the Reply button on the toolbar. Windows Mail creates a regular reply for you, as if you were replying to an e-mail message.

• To forward a post, click the Forward button on the toolbar. Windows Mail creates a regular forwarded message.

Posting an Attachment

To attach a file to a post, follow the same procedure as for an e-mail message:

1. Click the Attach File to Message button or choose Insert File Attachment. Windows Mail displays the Open dialog box.

2.Select the file.

3. Click the Open button. Windows Mail attaches it to the post.

If you’re posting large attachments, make sure that you’ve selected the Break Apart Messages Larger than NN KB check box on the Advanced page of the Properties dialog box for the news account and entered an appropriate value in the text box. What’s an appropriate file size will depend on the size of the files you’re posting and the sensitivity or lack of sensitivity of the news server. For example, if you’re posting your latest compositions in MP3 format, consider breaking the files down into segments of 100KB or so by using this option.

Avoiding Copyright Issues

Don’t post any copyrighted material that you don’t have specific permission to distribute. See the section “Understanding Copyright Issues” in Article 19 for a brief discussion of copyright.

Creating Rules for Filtering News

In Article 17, you learned how you can filter e-mail to take actions automatically on messages that match certain criteria. Windows Mail lets you filter news messages as well. For example, you might want to create a rule that captured every message with particular keywords in the header. Here’s the brief version of what to do for more specifics, look at the section titled “Creating Rules for Filtering E-mail” in Article 17:

1. Choose Tools Message Rules News. Windows Mail displays the New News Rule dialog box .

2.In the Select the Conditions for Your Rule list box, select the conditions to apply to the messages.

3. In the Select the Actions for Your Rule list box, select the actions to take when the conditions are met.

4. In the Rule Description list box, click the links to edit them as appropriate.

5. In the Name of the Rule text box, type a descriptive and easily understood name for the rule.

6. Click the OK button. Windows Mail closes the New News Rule dialog box and displays the Message Rules dialog box.

7. Click the Apply Now button. Windows Mail displays the Apply News Rules Now dialog box.

8. Select the rule in the Select Rules to Apply list box.

9. Click the Browse button, and then use the resulting Apply to Folder dialog box to apply the rule to a different newsgroup if necessary.

10. Click the Apply Now button to apply the rule. Windows Mail displays a message box telling you when the rule has been applied.

11. Click the OK button. Windows Mail closes the message box.

12. Click the Close button. Windows Mail closes the Apply News Rules Now dialog box.

13. Click the OK button. Windows Mail closes the Message Rules dialog box.

Working Offline

If you don’t have a permanent Internet connection, you can work offline with newsgroups. In short, you download the headers for the newsgroups, mark those you want to download, and then download them when you go back online. To work offline, follow these steps:

1. When you’re ready to go offline, choose File Work Offline. Windows Mail stops working online and switches to offline mode. The status bar displays Working Offline.

2. Browse the headers for the newsgroups you subscribe to. Mark any messages you want to download:

• To mark a message for downloading, right-click it and choose Download Message Later from the context menu. Windows Mail marks the message with an arrow to indicate that it will be downloaded.

• To mark a thread for downloading, right-click one of the messages in it and choose Download Conversation Later from the context menu. Windows Mail marks the messages with arrows.

3. When you’re ready to go back online, choose File Work Online or double-click the Working Online indicator on the status bar.

4. With the newsgroup selected, choose Tools Synchronize Newsgroup. Windows Mail displays the Synchronize Newsgroup dialog box .

5.Make sure the Get Messages Marked for Download check box is selected. To download further headers, select the Get the Following Items check box and the Headers Only option button.

6. Click the OK button. Windows Mail downloads the items you specified.

7. Choose File Work Offline to go offline again to read the items.

Understanding the dangers of newsgroups Newsgroups can offer a wide variety of interesting and useful information, but they can also contain inaccurate, offensive, or dangerous material. Evaluate all material critically rather that taking it at face value. Don’t send inflammatory posts that you may later regret when they end up in a news archive. Consider disguising your e-mail address so that it cannot be harvested by spammers’ bots, or use a disposable e-mail address for your posts.

Setting up Windows Mail to read newsgroups To set up Windows Mail to read newsgroups, choose Tools Accounts, click the Add button, choose the Newsgroup Account item on the Select Account Type screen, and then follow the wizard. You’ll need to supply a name perhaps your own, perhaps a pseudonym, an e-mail address perhaps disguised, and a news server name accurate. You can change the name of a news account after creating it by working on the General page of its Properties dialog box. To subscribe to newsgroups, click the Newsgroups button on the toolbar, and then work on the three pages of the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box.

Reading newsgroup messages Once you’ve subscribed to a newsgroup, double-click its listing under the news server in the Folders pane to open the newsgroup and display messages in it. Click a message to display it in the Preview pane.

Posting to a newsgroup To create a new post to a newsgroup, click the Write Message button on the toolbar. To reply to a post in the newsgroup, click the Reply Group button. To reply only to the person who posted without posting to the newsgroup, click the Reply button. Before sending your post, it’s a good idea to take a short break and then reread it to make sure it says exactly what you want and isn’t inflammatory.

Creating rules for filtering news You can filter news messages by using much the same techniques as for e-mail messages. Choose Tools Message Rules News, and then work with the options in the New News Rule dialog box.

Working offline If your Internet connection is dial-up or temporary, you can use Windows Mail’s offline features to arrange which messages to download, and then download them all at once. Choose File Work Offline to go offline. Right-click a message and choose Download Message Later to mark a message for downloading, or right-click a message in a thread and choose Download Conversation Later. Choose File Work Online to go back online. Select the newsgroup, choose Tools Synchronize Newsgroup, specify which items to download, and then click the OK button to download them.

Downloading is easy from within the Internet Explorer window, but if you need to upload files to the FTP site, you must open a Windows Explorer window to it. To do so, choose Page Open FTP Site in Windows Explorer. Internet Explorer may display an Internet Explorer Security dialog box like the one shown here, warning you that “A website wants to open web content using this program on your computer.”

Verify that the program is Windows Explorer, and then click the Allow button. A Windows Explorer window opens showing the contents of the website. You can then transfer files by using standard Windows Explorer techniques:

• To upload a file, drag it to the FTP site’s Windows Explorer window.

• To download a file, drag it from the FTP site’s Windows Explorer window to another Windows Explorer window.