I use Hogwasher for accessing newsgroups. It’s a Carbon app of the sort that runs under both OS X and OS 9 natively using the same files and settings.
Recently, I’ve had problems trying to obtain the list of current subject lines available for fetching, when logged on via Verizon DSL and snagging from Verizon’s newsgroup server. I tried a different client, MacSOUP, and was able to get new subject lines w/o problem, so it’s application-specific.
Doesn’t matter which subscription I try. I’ve dumped and re-downloaded the list of groups they support. (I don’t get any error messages, either, just a rapid progress bar and an empty screen as if no one had posted anything new. Oh, except that the “last date checked” doesn’t update to today’s date the way it would if I checked a group that really hadn’t had any new posts).
Meanwhile, whether connected via Verizon DSL or at work over the company’s TCP ethernet, I’m able to get subject lines from the private FileMaker Solutions Alliance newsgroup using Hogwasher. So it’s Verizon-newsgroup-server specific.
My modem is messed up so I’m unable to verify that I can use Earthlink’s newsgroup servers w/o problem (I only have dialup with earthlink).
I’ve dumped all my settings and started afresh, entering my account info and downloading group lists and setting up subscriptions from scratch and still get the same symptom, so that pretty much eliminates corrupted Hogwasher settings.
Question 1: Anyone hear of any problems with Hogwasher in conjunction with Verizon newsgroup servers? (Neither company had tech support worth a damn)
Question 2: I’m annoyed at them for other reasons anyhow. Anyone know of a commercial newsgroup subscription service that will let me authenticate with username and password without requiring (as both Earthlink and Verizon now do) that my current TCP connection be established through their ISP services? Something reasonably cheap, and I don’t need gigs and gigs’ worth of downloading access.