Stylesheets - [OT] Re: Using a newreader

Author

[OT] Re: Using a newreader

Barbara de Zoete

2006-04-17, 6:59 am

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:53:30 +0200, Trevor L. <tandcl@homemail.com.au>
wrote:

> How do I use a newsreader (e.g. Outlook Express)

OE is *not* a newsreader at all. It is an e-mail client. To get yourself a
usenet news client, download and install one of these:
- Forte Agent,
- Thinderbird,
- Opera (M2)

> to read this forum.

This is not a forum. It is a newsgroup in usenet. Google for what those
are, or look here:
<URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet>
<URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsgroup>

> I currently use it (OE) for Microsoft newsgroups but how do I set it up
> for this one

Get yourself a proper usenet newsclient first. Then set it up to use a
news server. Get details from your Internet Service Provider on what those
settings are, or get an account with a newsserver like news.individual.net
(not entirely free) if your ISP doesn't provide newsgroups. Download the
list of available newsgroups. Select those you want to participate in (or
just want to read). Et voila, you're done.

Since you currently use Google Groups to participate here, please read
<URL:http://www.safalra.com/special/googlegroupsreply/> before replying.

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Sherm Pendley

2006-04-17, 6:53 pm

"Barbara de Zoete" <trashbin@pretletters.net> writes:

> OE is *not* a newsreader at all. It is an e-mail client.

Huh? OE is most certainly a news client. It's just a horribly bad one. ;-)

sherm--

--
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Alan J. Flavell

2006-04-17, 6:53 pm

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006, Barbara de Zoete wrote:

> On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:53:30 +0200, Trevor L.
> <tandcl@homemail.com.au> wrote:
>
>
> OE is *not* a newsreader at all.

I think you're somewhat over-stating the case here!

http://www.xs4all.nl/~js/gnksa/gnksa-evaluations.html

It certainly rated /evaluation/ as a newsreader, even if it failed.

As usual with anything from the same house, its default settings
qualify not only for an Anti Social Behaviour Order for widespread
failure to respect the netiquette, but also as a potential security
hazard for its own user.

But those who are sufficiently devoted to using software from that
house have published various recipes by which it can be tamed
(OEquotefix etc.), and I've seen some postings done with it which I
couldn't really fault, even if most of its users seem to be at fault.

> It is an e-mail client.

Is it? I suspect it has at least as many faults as an Internet mail
client, as it has as an NNTP client.

> To get yourself a
> usenet news client, download and install one of these:
> - Forte Agent,

Interestingly, that also failed the stringent criteria of the GNKSA...
(As did PINE...).

> - Thinderbird,

Which looks as if it would also fail, based on the fact that the GNKSA
failed Mozilla.

I would go along with your recommendation to get a better news client
than OE: only the more dedicated/informed/sophisticated users seem to
be able to tame it. But it's a question of scale, really, according
to the GNKSA ratings.

I *believe* I'm capable of making netiquette-conforming postings with
PINE, despite it failing the gnksa ratings. But it's a heads-up to be
reminded that it fails their test criteria. In fact, older versions
of OE got a better score than PINE (which I find rather alarming[1]),
but it looks as if OE got worse, version by version.

funny old world.

[1] Looking at the detailed tests, I think I could refute at least
some of their failure reports, but I don't want to be accused of
special pleading, so I'll stop there.

Ed Mullen

2006-04-17, 6:53 pm

Alan J. Flavell wrote:

> [1] Looking at the detailed tests, I think I could refute at least
> some of their failure reports, but I don't want to be accused of
> special pleading, so I'll stop there.

Uh, that page was last updated in July 2002! =-O

--
Ed Mullen
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Alan J. Flavell

2006-04-17, 6:53 pm

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006, Ed Mullen wrote:

>
> Uh, that page was last updated in July 2002! =-O

True, but would you say the situation has substantively changed since
then?

As it showed: OE (at least in its default reviewed configuration) was
getting worse with time. Do you have any indication that it got
better - as measured by their criteria - afterwards?

At least some of the other software developers do their best to fix
their deviations from published specifications and guidelines, instead
of just documenting the discrepant behaviour as a feature.