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1. What are newsgroups and how do I use them?
2. The Plusnet newsgroups
3. The Plusnet Newsreader
4. Using the Plusnet Newsreader
5. Alternative newsreaders

1. What is USENET and how do I use it?

USENET is the collective term commonly used to describe a world wide system of discussion groups known as Newsgroups.

Newgroups work in a very similar way to forums (such as our Community Site Forums). Someone will make an initial posting to the group, which is then picked up by another reader and answered. This posting is then replied to and so on. Each conversation is known as a thread. Hundreds of threads may develop in any newsgroup forum. You should be aware that some newsgroups are adult orientated and not suitable for children.

To access newsgroups on USENET you can use the Newsreader hosted on our website or you'll need to set up a newsreader program on your computer.

2. The Plusnet newsgroups

The Plusnet newsgroups are a place where you can talk about our service, submit feedback, or receive updates. Although many people now prefer to use our Community Forums, USENET continues to be a popular place for veteran Internet users.

There are over 20 Plusnet newsgroups, each covering a different topic. Most of our groups allow anyone to post to them. However, some are reserved for official use; these are known as 'moderated' groups. Our 'announce' and 'service.status' groups are examples of moderated groups. Many of the newsgroups are monitored by our support team to help us identify common user problems.

The most popular newsgroups are:

• plus.net.service.announce - moderated and used by us to make service announcements; often with more technical detail than we provide on our server status page or press releases
• plus.net.service.customer-feedback - our most popular newsgroup. Voice your opinion about our services
• plus.net.service.status - this group is moderated and used by us to make announcements regarding our service status
• plus.net.social.chat - this group is an open for chat about pretty much anything
  

3.The Plusnet Newsreader

If you're having trouble, you can access newsgroups from anywhere you have a connection with our newsreader. It's quick and easy to use.

4. Using the Plusnet Newsreader

Log in to the Member Centre and click on USENET (it's on the left hand menu).

You'll see the Plusnet newsreader and a list showing our newsgroups. You're free to post in most of our groups, apart from those reserved for official Plusnet use, (e.g. the 'announce' and 'service.status' groups). Either click on the newsgroup that interests you or click search to find a newsgroup based on your own interests.

Reading a newsgroup

1. Choose a newsgroup to view a list of latest postings. There are three pieces of information displayed for each posting:
   • The subject
   • The author
   • The date of posting
2. Each posting has a symbol next to it. This shows whether anyone has posted a reply to it.
3. Click on the subject to read the posting or click on the author's name to send them an email. Please note: newsgroup users often enter false email addresses to avoid spam email.

Reading a newsgroup posting

Click on the subject of a post to read the posting. If there aren't any replies to the original message you will just be shown that text.

However, if there is a thread of posts based on this subject you'll be shown the text of the original posting plus the title, author and date of any replies.

Making a new posting

To start a new thread in a newsgroup:

1. Choose the newsgroup you want to post to.
2. Click Post and you will go to the Post Message screen.
3. You will be asked to enter a subject in the Subject box. Try and make this as short and clear as possible.
4. Your name and email address are automatically added. If you want to change either of these you can. Please note: consider using a false email address to avoid receiving spam.
5. Type your message in the Message box;
6. Click Send when you have finished.

Your posting will appear at the head of the newsgroup's postings list. However, it may not happen straightaway. If it doesn't automatically appear, wait for 15 minutes before you try and re-post your message.

To practice posting messages you can make test posts in the plusnet.test newsgroup.

Replying to a newsgroup posting

If you wish to reply to a posting:

1. Click Reply to this message at the top of the posting.
2. Enter a subject, name and email address into the message box.
3. The content of the original posting is quoted using ">" symbols to represent quotation marks. Delete unwanted quoted text, being careful to leave enough for people to follow the thread. Insert the word 'snip' in cut areas if necessary;
4. Enter your reply and then click Send.
5. You will return to the list of postings and your reply should now have been added to the thread.

Older/Newer Posts

If you want to see older or newer newsgroup posts simply click the Older Posts or Newer Posts option.

General newsgroup etiquette

There are some common rules newsgroup users should stick to:

• Make postings clear and easy to understand. Many newsgroup communities are spread across the world, so avoid colloquialisms and cultural references.
• Sarcasm and humour are not always easy to understand in written form. Try and make it obvious if you are being light hearted. Smilies are excellent for this :-).
• Only use upper case letters if you want to give the impression that you are SHOUTING.
• Only post once. Be patient; if your posting doesn't appear immediately, wait 10 - 15 minutes before re-posting.

5. Alternative newsreaders

If you don't want to use Plusnet's newsreader there are guides for other newsreaders below:

Netscape Communicator	Outlook Express

If you're using a different program, the only things you'll need are our news and relay server addresses:

• News server: news.plus.net
• Outbound mail server: relay.plus.net

No authentication is required for the news server.

This page last updated 3rd April 2009