# Free usenet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882 "2003-04-02T03:58:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/1 "2003-04-02T03:58:36Z")
Anyone know where I there would be a linkety to a free trial/limitied version of Usenet? It would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/2 "2003-04-02T04:00:54Z")
Isn’t usenet just newsgroups? Don’t you just need a reader? ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/3 "2003-04-02T04:04:52Z")
I think(just a guess) they charge for the viewing of the newsgroup, not the reader. I could be wrong though. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/4 "2003-04-02T04:11:49Z")
On my rare trips to newsgroups on AOL. I just read them. Never saw anything about being charged. ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/5 "2003-04-02T04:13:42Z")
I went to usenet, and it told me I had to pay to register. I was wondering if there was any way to access them on a trial or limitied basis. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/6 "2003-04-02T04:17:16Z")
Your ISP doesn’t have a newsfeed? Most do. They tend not to publicize them too much, though. Call and ask. You could also plug **[test.easynews.com](http://test.easynews.com)** into your newsreader. That’s a trial server for [Easynews](http://www.easynews.com), though I haven’t tried it and am not sure exactly which ways it limits your activity. On preview: yes, **Reeder** , Usenet and newsgroups are one and the same. IIRC, there used to be several networks of news servers, but the others have all faded away leaving only Usenet, and essentially making the two terms synonymous. And **Aslan2** , there are many readers to choose from, some of which are shareware, others freeware. I recommend the freeware Xnews. Using the Microsoft Outlook newsreader is not recommended, especially for binaries. You may or may not end up paying for a news server, depending on what your ISP offers. Prices for a pay server vary depending on how much you want to download. IME, companies that charge low rates for lots of downloads tend to have poor completion and/or retention (_cough_ _cough_ I’m looking at you, [newsfeeds.com](http://newsfeeds.com)). Expect to pay, on average, $10 or so for 1GB/month. If you choose Newsfeeds, expect to pay $20 a month for a hundred times that, but also expect to spend most of your free time hunting down complete binaries. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/7 "2003-04-02T04:18:29Z")
While there’s no charge to look at Usenet specifically, you have to get access to the newsfeed from somewhere and that sometimes is not free. Often your ISP will provide some sort of Usenet access but may not make a big deal out of it. There are a few free options. Teranews for one provides some level of access at no charge and you can go to [groups.google.com](http://groups.google.com) for another free option. The pay services set themselves apart by offering longer retention, more complete feeds, fewer download limits or things like that. I thought that Usenet got totally eaten up by spam and flamewars a couple of years ago but would be glad to find that things have improved. Alt.fan.cecil-adams is out there somewhere after all. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/8 "2003-04-02T04:18:52Z")
Usenet consists of a network of servers around the world. Your ISP probably has its own server which is part of your basic service. You just need to install the software and set it up. Some e-mail programs and browsers can function as newsreaders, but dedicated newsreaders like the [Free Agent](http://www.forteinc.com/) are more powerful and, IMHO, easier to use. There is also a Web interface and archive at [Google Groups](http://groups.google.com). ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/9 "2003-04-02T04:38:04Z")
It’s requesting my NNTP Server name, which as I understand is “[news.myisp.com](http://news.myisp.com)”, but it’s asking what’s my SMTP Server name. Where would I find out something like that? ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/10 "2003-04-02T04:49:48Z")
When you say “[news.myisp.com](http://news.myisp.com),” do you mean that you have that literal string typed into the box, or do you mean that, say, if your ISP is Cox, it would be “[news.cox.com](http://news.cox.com)?” If the former, that’s just an example address. If the latter, make sure it’s the right address. Most ISPs follow that format, but not all. Mine, for example, is [newsgroups.bellsouth.net](http://newsgroups.bellsouth.net). SMTP is your outgoing mail server. You will only need to configure this if you plan to send email from your newsreader to other Usenet users. ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/11 "2003-04-02T04:56:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neutron star \* > \*\*When you say “[news.myisp.com](http://news.myisp.com),” do you mean that you have that literal string typed into the box, or do you mean that, say, if your ISP is Cox, it would be “[news.cox.com](http://news.cox.com)?” If the former, that’s just an example address. If the latter, make sure it’s the right address. Most ISPs follow that format, but not all. Mine, for example, is [newsgroups.bellsouth.net](http://newsgroups.bellsouth.net). It’s a example, for the ISP I would type in, say, '[news.juno.com](http://news.juno.com)(or net). At least, that’s the way it worked when I used a reader. > [@](#): > > SMTP is your outgoing mail server. You will only need to configure this if you plan to send email from your newsreader to other Usenet users. \*\* Since I won’t be responding, then I will not need to fill that in. ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/12 "2003-04-02T05:01:08Z")
Erm, does any one know where I would go to find my hosts news server? ‘[news.shaw.net/com](http://news.shaw.net/com)’ does not work. ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/13 "2003-04-02T05:11:06Z")
either go to your ISP’s webpage or ask their tech support. -lv ---
**Author:** ![Thrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2acd7d/32.png) [@Thrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrash)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/14 "2003-04-02T05:36:45Z")
This link will provide information of a number of free News servers: [http://freenews.maxbaud.net/](http://freenews.maxbaud.net/). I had to search it out a while back when my ISP shut down there news server. Most seem to work fine. ---
**Author:** ![bcullman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bcullman/32/8207_2.png) [@bcullman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcullman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/15 "2003-04-02T05:54:48Z")
you smtp server is the server you use to send email through. Generally when dealing with ISP email, you connect to one of thier servers to retrieve and send email. In some instances, you connect to one server to retrieve email, and another to send email. When retrieving email, you connect via pop3. You might connect to your ISP via [pop3.myisp.com](http://pop3.myisp.com), for example. When sending email, you connect via smtp. You might connect to your ISP via [smtp.myisp.com](http://smtp.myisp.com), for example. Not all ISPs do it this way. Some just have one mailserver, [mail.myisp.com](http://mail.myisp.com). And others use servers whose names have no bearing on the fact they are email related. [chewbacca.myisp.com](http://chewbacca.myisp.com) So depending on your ISP, your smtp server might be a number of things, but even without looking at your ISP supprt pages, or calling them, you could probably take a few guess at it. ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/16 "2003-04-02T06:07:53Z")
I keep on getting these errors, saying there was a ‘SOCKS’ connection problem. Any help?(I know, I’m a idiot.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/17 "2003-04-02T13:48:18Z")
Just go to [Google](http://www.google.com) and select “groups.” That’ll give you the Usenet newsgroups. No muss, no fuss. You just have to sign up for an account. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/18 "2003-04-02T14:20:43Z")
the only problem with google’s service is that it doesn’t give you access to all those naughty binary picture/music etc files, only the discussion pages ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-usenet/165882/19 "2003-04-02T15:23:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scm1001 \* > \*\*the only problem with google’s service is that it doesn’t give you access to all those naughty binary picture/music etc files, only the discussion pages \*\* Well, who’d want to go to _those_? 😃