FAQ 2 Part A: Introduction

1) For quickly starting out, feel free to skip to Part B to the section titled "How to get started in a few steps".

• Several people I know have skipped to that section and gotten results within 20 minutes, but I caution that most of these people already had some experience with news in the first place.
• Also, if you would prefer to learn how to get started using SBNews, see FAQ 2E.
• Otherwise, if you are only starting out, I suggest you read (or at least skim over) the following sections to give you some background information and a general understanding of news.

2) As you might have noticed, FAQ 2 is very long.

• While most of the questions that I've been asked on this topic are answered in this FAQ, it may be difficult to find the answer right away.
• So, if you can't find your question answered here, feel free to ask someone who is already familiar with news.
• However, rest assured that your question is probably already answered, so in the long run you can probably save yourself some trouble by reading the rest of this FAQ in your spare time.

Note: Due to the size of FAQ 2, I will be putting a bit of advanced information in FAQ 17. Some of the information in FAQ 17 may be difficult to understand if you are not already familiar with the basics.

Note 2: If you don't mind reading and don't know much about what newsgroups are, you can see FAQ 3 for an explanation of how news works.

A newsreader is a lot like a web browser. While web browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer allow you to browse and view websites, newsreaders like Free Agent, Outlook Express, or SBNews allow you to browse and view newsgroups.

1) In this FAQ I will make many references to SBNews and Newsbin.

• SBNews is a newsreader that automatically downloads files off of newsgroups.
• Newsbin is another program that also automatically downloads files off of newsgroups.
• There are many other newsreaders out there as well, but this FAQ will focus primarily on these two.
• For a review of several other newsreaders, see the end of FAQ 3.

2) I personally prefer SBNews over Newsbin.

• However, since most beginners find Newsbin's instructions easier to follow, I usually start by teaching Newsbin first.
• In the long run, SBNews is more efficient, particularly if you have a reliable server.
• On the other hand, Newsbin is better if you use a variety of servers.
• Of course, everyone has their own tastes; some prefer Free Agent, others might prefer Outlook Express. SBNews is only my recommendation.

3) If you're only looking for a general purpose newsreader to read and reply to news messages, I suggest Free Agent.

• Free Agent is not as good as SBNews and Newsbin at downloading binary files.
• However, it is the best free newsreader for reading discussion groups (for example, like a video game discussion group).

A binary newsgroup is a newsgroup that allows users to post files, including music, movies, pictures, or zips for example.

1) Binary newsgroups carry lots of data.

• Unlike discussion newsgroups, binary newsgroups tend to contain many files, and these files tend to be very large compared to plain text messages found in discussion groups.
• Some binary newsgroups might get over 500 megabytes of binaries in a week, while others might get less than a megabyte a week. So, it's important that you find the popular groups in your area of interest.
• For this reason, also make sure that you have the free space before you start.

2) A typical size in a common binary newsgroup is roughly 100-300 megabytes, with 2,000-10,000 posts on an average week. (these are typical numbers, plenty of binary groups go well outside these boundaries)

• For example, a hentai anime newsgroup (i.e. Japanese hentai cartoons) might carry 300-400 megs with 3000 posts a week. alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.anime is one example of an erotic cartoon newsgoup that gets this amount of traffic.
• Note that Anime newsgroups tend to have a large filesize to post ratio, so another newsgroup might have 100-200 megs but carry 10,000 posts instead.
• In other words, both the size and number of posts aren't completely related to each other and will vary widely depending on the newsgroup you are using.
• Above all else, read the important note below.

Of all the pay servers out there, I recommend Newscene. Several people I know use it and it is nearly flawless with good spam filters (and well priced as well). Depending on your method of payment it should take a few hours before your account is created.

3) Important: It is important to note that you will get 100-300 megabytes from an average binary newsgroup only if you use a good and reliable news server. Note that some newsgroups get 500+ a week, so these are just typical numbers.

• For example, with two typical newsgroups, I might get 200-400 megabytes a week.
• However, this is possible because I use a reliable news server; with most free servers I would miss 90-99.5% of the posts.
• For this reason, I have seen many people use unreliable news servers that might only give 1-2 megabytes for those same two newsgroups.
• Any free server which is an exception to this rule tends to die out from all the traffic that is generated when people realize it. ;)

This section is described in full detail in FAQ 2I. So, the following is only a summary.

5) You have four general options when looking for a news server.

• You can use the news server provided to you by your ISP. This is often the best choice and normally costs you nothing extra. Note that some ISPs provide great news service, while others do not or might not even provide any at all.
• You can subscribe to a pay server. This costs some money, but if your ISP does not give you a good news server, this is better than nothing. I've never paid for a pay server, but I have tried out some that friends have lent me.
• You can try a free server from a list like the one King Tut, Newname, or Ra has. These tend to die out because free is free. ;)
• You can search for free servers on your own. This is often how news servers surface onto those lists in the first place.

6) If you choose to use an ISP, then your best choice depends on your location and interests.

• In the UK, the best ISP is Demon, which many believe to be the best in that country. While AOL in the UK is £16.95 pounds a month, Demon is only two thirds that cost. Of course, you must also factor in local toll charges, if applicable.
• In the US, magazines generally agree that Mindspring is the best ISP. It's newsfeed is very good, though in an attempt to reduce spam, they only carry binaries in the alt.binaries.* newsgroups (so groups like japan.binaries.pictures.anime don't carry binary posts, while alt.binaries.* groups carry them almost perfectly).
• In Canada, it depends mainly on your location.
• Other ISPs in the US I've heard are good would be Earthlink and Sprintnet.
• In Japan, it mainly depends on your location, as there is no single best nationwide ISP.

7) If you choose to use a Pay server, then your best choice depends on various factors.

• Airnews is a pretty good pay server. It's $20 US dollars for the first month and $10 US dollars every month afterwards. Their webpage is at http://www.airnews.net. You can see a list of their newsgroups at http://206.66.12.200:89/newslist/home2.html.
• A few believe that Newscene is also very good. I haven't looked up the initial costs, but if you are a subscriber for 6 months, then it costs $43 US for a six month renewal.
• Others recommend Altopia.

Important: *Never* run a mystery program that you've downloaded from news. Several people I know have gotten viruses this way and have lost all the data stored on their hard drives. The same obviously goes for webpages as well. If you follow the Rules of Acquisition, you will never get a virus (I never have). Please do not learn this the hard way. ;)

To illustrate why getting a good news server is so important, I will cite a few actual examples of other people who have used this FAQ.

1) Some people are successful with news.

• One person I know managed to get a little over 100 megabytes from various groups starting off on their first week.
• Several other people reported numbers around 50 megabytes during their first week.
• Another person that I personally helped out got 250 megabytes in a week.
• These numbers are what you should aim for; eventually you'll get better as you get the hang of SBNews/Newsbin.

2) Some people are not successful with news.

• Unfortunately, some people have reported getting between 1 to 4 megabytes on their first week instead.
• Why did these people get such a different set of results from the successful ones in section 1 above? After some investigation, I found that there was one and only one significant difference between the two groups: Those in the 1st section used good news servers; those in this section used bad news servers.

3) In general, there is a large gap between good and bad servers.

• To further give you an idea of the numbers involved, one good server had about 13,000 posts in a particular newsgroup; that number is normal for that newsgroup.
• On the other hand, another server had only about 100 posts for the same newsgroup.
• This means that this server was missing roughly 99.5% of the posts.
• In fact, this gap is even greater than it seems because while the good server had very little spam, the bad server had mostly spam.
• The number of posts in a group depends on how much spam is present and how long it takes for posts to expire (even a news server that has 6,000 posts in a particular newsgroup can probably be considered a good server as long as it doesn't have much spam).
• That taken into consideration, generally speaking the larger the better.

4) Bad servers are worthless.

• As you can see, bad servers can carry next to nothing.
• The easiest ways to tell a bad server from a good server is either through word of mouth or by trying it out yourself.
• Bad servers can be found almost anywhere, though they tend to be found most often among the free servers.
• Only a few free servers are good, and when you do find a good free server, they tend to be either exceptions or temporary servers.
• For this reason and several others, pay servers tend to be better than free servers.
• Once again, there are of course exceptions.

5) There are several places to find servers.

If you're looking for a news server, first check to see if your ISP already provides you with one; some do, some do not.
• Keep in mind that while some ISPs may provide you with a news server, occasionally the provided news server will be unreliable or lack the newsgroups that you want
• If this is the case, then I suggest you visit Newname or King Tut's website for a list of free/public servers.
• Newname's site also includes a review of pay servers, in case you are already familiar with news and can also afford to pay for service.
• Lastly, you can also try searching for free servers yourself.

1) FAQ 3 gives more information to help you understand how news works.

• If you don't know much about news, you might want to read the beginning of FAQ 3, which has an explanation and description of news.

2) Patience and determination will bring success.

• Having helped people access news for a long time (long before I wrote FAQs), I have learned that only those who are truly patient and determined will succeed.
• Keep in mind that many people already know how to access news, and they would be annoyed if I kept repeating instructions on the message boards.
• That was the original reason for writing these FAQs and why you don't see so much information at message boards.
• Unless I am addressing a specific question or concern, I find that it's best not to clutter the boards by posting this information repeatedly.

3) Also, I try not lead everyone by the hand because I do not want to be guilty of overcrowding the news servers.

• for example, when a few months ago several of us began leading people by the hand towards news servers, the traffic into free news servers caused some problems for the rest of us (partly because of the way that people were using our advice)
• so, don't expect me to lead you by the hand - unless of course you're a cute little girl. ;)