Usenet

Indeed, the Internet is increasingly becoming a part of mainstream life for most folks. But the vast majority of users likely rely on three components in the global network: the World Wide Web, Email and Instant Messaging.

There’s a fourth component, though, that predates the Web and can be just as powerful a tool for communication and gathering information, and that’s Usenet, which is an untapped resource for most mainstream users. Chances are good that if you have an Internet provider, you have Usenet access. Verizon Pacifica’s newsgroup is news.vzpacifica.net.

Usenet’s biggest draw is the other people who use it—and that’s also its biggest drawback. If you have a question, the odds are very good that someone reading Usenet will have an answer for you and will post it in a timely manner. However, you can’t always be sure the answer you’re getting is accurate. And finding what you want in a text-based cacophony of spam, flame wars and off-topic nonsense can be maddening.

However, if you understand Usenet’s structure and can make use of search tools, Usenet can make your life much easier.

Usenet is broken up into different main categories known as hierarchies. Each hierarchy has subcategories, and the individual discussion topics are called newsgroups. For example, one of the largest hierarchies is alt, or alternative. There’s also comp (computers), rec (recreation), sci (science), biz (business), misc (miscellaneous). There are also hierarchies that serve specific communities. And many Internet providers have newsgroups viewable only to their own customers.

The newsgroups’ names are based on the hierarchies and subcategories to which they belong. If you’re a fan of the sci-fi show Scare Tactics, you might enjoy reading the alt.tv.alias newsgroup. Want help troubleshooting problems with a CD-ROM drive? Consider posting to alt.comp newsgroup.

How do you see the Usenet newsgroups? The easiest way is to use a Web-based service like Google Groups, but there are also software programs just for this purpose called news readers.

To set one up, you’ll need to contact your Internet provider’s help desk for particulars.

If you are a Windows user, Outlook Express is a decent news reader that’s built into the operating system. Click on Tools, Accounts and then News to begin the setup process.

Macintosh users may want to try the news reader built into Mozilla, the open-source browser that’s a first cousin to Netscape’s browsers, available from www.mozilla.org. If you are an America Online user, you can simply type in the keyword Usenet.

The biggest advice I can give a newcomer to Usenet is to spend a lot of time reading the newsgroups before posting to them. Usenet regulars are a cranky lot: If you post a question that’s been asked often in the past, you’re likely to get flamed. Many of the groups that have been around for a while have a Frequently Asked Questions document. Find the FAQ for a group you’re interested in and read it before posting the first time.

A first glance at some newsgroups may seem intimidating, particularly those clogged with spam or where regulars are hurling insults at each other. Some groups have been rendered completely useless by these trends. In the mid-1990s, it was a good place to ask for general information and get knowledgeable answers. Today it’s a wasted landscape of juvenile insults, character assassination and liberal-vs.-conservative arguments ad nauseam.

But groups that have a more defined purpose are still quite usable. It’s very good for getting help with PC problems—or actually anything technical.

It’s also good for travelers who may want to learn about interesting places to go on a trip. For example, if you’re headed to another city and want to know where the locals chow down, look for a restaurants-related newsgroup in the city you’re visiting. If you’ve got a health problem, chances are you’ll find fellow sufferers in the hundreds of newsgroups devoted to everything from sleep disorders to mental illness to AIDS.

Using the search function at Google Groups is really the best way to cut through the clutter. It uses the same search function as the Google search engine, and with a little practice you can zero in on your information needs in no time.

Finally, the warnings you hear about e-mail apply to Usenet as well. It’s possible to attach a binary file to a Usenet posting, so be wary of downloading any executables. Also, don’t buy from spammers who post to Usenet, and be careful about surfing to any dubious Web addresses you see posted.

* * *

Franco O. Mendoza is the Systems Administrator of Verizon. For comments or questions, e-mail him at franco.mendoza@vzpacifica.com.