When I first started checking out the newsgroups, I used my Netscape browser. The first newsgroup I subscribed to was alt.support.depression. It was a difficult time in my life and the people on this newsgroup were very kind and supportive. They were also very knowledgable about medication and it's side-effects.
Several posters share their experience of having cats with insulin-dependent diabetes. Others have had cats with feline urologic syndrome (FUS) and provide valuable information regarding symptoms, treatment and dietary restrictions recommended by their veterinarians.
Even with my upgrade to the Agent Newsreader, and the ability to create a "kill-file" to screen out spam, getting it all is impossible.
After one year of daily downloads, I have tons of MIDI files (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). I collect Pop, Jazz, Classical, and pretty much everything else. It's much faster to download a MIDI file from a newsgroup, than it is to get it from someone's website. The best place to get MIDI files is alt.binaries.sounds.midi. MIDIs will play on the standard Windows Media Player so there is no need to download a special "MIDI player." unless you have a ton of space on your hard drive.
A Word About Viruses!
Don't worry too much about catching them on these newsgroups. Viruses attach themselves to executable files. This means that the downloaded file must have a *.exe or *.com extension and *also* that this file must be executed (opened) before it can invade your system. In general though, it is wise to use a virus checker after downloading *.zip files. Use McAfee VirusScan, or use the one included with your specific platform.
Note:
Recently there have been quite a few Java applet viruses (.class) and MS Word Macro viruses (like Melissa)... another reason for a virus scanner. McAffee's comes with a VShield which scans all downloads and filters website java. I don't use MS Word...I love WordPerfect and have used it since it was DOS based (remember DOS?) :)