Usenet is a collection of computers that allow users to exchange public messages on a variety of topics. A Usenet message is an article and these are grouped by topics into newsgroups.
Usenet and the Internet are not the same thing. Usenet started in 1980 to help users acquire prompt updates on UNIX system configuration. These early users, mostly at universities, linked UNIX computers by modem and exchanged news using UUCP (UNIX to UNIX Copy Protocol). Today, more and more computers use the high speed connections offered by the Internet using NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol). Not all Usenet computers are part of the Internet, and not all Internet computers participate in Usenet.
Newsgroup articles differ from e-mail in that the discussions are public not private. However, people responding to an article posted on a newsgroup may reply to the group publicly, or may choose to reply privately by sending an e-mail message to the author of the article.
General information about newsgroups is provided by the newsgroup: news.announce.newusers. New users are encouraged to read some of the articles in this newsgroup for guidance on etiquette, advertising conventions, FAQs, etc.
Newsgroup names contain two or more parts separated by periods. As the name is read from left to right, the parts of the name progressively narrow the topic of discussion. The first part describes the top level hierarchy. The "big seven" newsgroup hierarchy is:
comp computer topics, discussion of hardware and software (e.g. comp.sys.mac.apps)
news Usenet news topics, discussion of Usenet itself and newsgroups issues (e.g. news.admin.policy)
misc miscellaneous discussions that do not fit anywhere else (e.g. misc.kids)
rec recreational topics such as sports, movies, hobbies (e.g. rec.autos.antique)
sci scientific, engineering, math topics (e.g. sci.geo.petroleum)
soc social and cultural topics (e.g. soc.culture.german)
talk high-traffic, noisy discussions of controversial topics (e.g. talk.politics.soviet)
There is an additional hierarchy that is important:
alt alternative topics that are controversial (sex, drugs), contain large files (graphics), or are bizarre. This group also contains a huge number of mainstream topics, it is easier to create a new newsgroup in alt hierarchy in order to test the interest level, and move it to a standard hierarchy later if there is sufficient interest (e.g. alt.solar.thermal).
Web browsers like Netscape have search engines that help users find
the names of newsgroups that discuss topics in which they are interested.
Regardless of the search option, be
sure that Usenet is selected, this is often in a pull-down menu with a
button toggle to activate. The following are steps currently used in a
few of the Netscape search engines:
Click on Yahoo! and then click on the large logo for Yahoo!, then: 1) select options, 2) select Usenet button, 3) enter newsgroup subject, 4) click search
Click on Infoseek and then on the large Infoseek button, then: 1) toggle button from "the World Wide Web" to "Usenet Newsgroups", 2) enter newsgroup subject, 3) click Seek Now button
Click on AltaVista (you may have to scroll down), then: 1) toggle button from "the Web" to "Usernet", 2) enter newsgroup subject, 3) click submit button
For "enter newsgroup subject", use keywords (Yahoo allows Boolean searching) to bring up a list of articles. Browse some of the articles that sound interesting and if they are useful, jot down the name of the newsgroup in which they are posted. This is a starting point for your newsgroup activities.
Other useful keywords for searching include: marketplace, forsale, jobs.
After discovering one or two newsgroups that you wish to read, from the main Netscape menu bar click on Window, select Netscape News. Now go to File, select Add Newsgroup and enter the newsgroup name that you desire. A new window will come up that will list the newsgroup that you added. To subscribe, click on the dot next to the name to toggle-on a check mark. You are now subscribed to that newsgroup, and there is no charge for this. To un-subscribe, toggle-off the check mark.
To read news, post articles, and reply to articles, one uses a newsreader program. The original UNIX program, rn (read news) has been extended to include threads so that articles, replies, replies to replies, etc., can be followed in tree-like fashion. The program accepts commands that allow the user to customize reading activity. Software available from on-line services facilitates the news reading function for most users today.
To read newsgroups in Netscape, click on Window, select Netscape News. A list of newsgroups will appear which can be modified by clicking on Options. In Options, you can select which newsgroups you want to have listed (Show All Newsgroups, Show Active Newsgroups, Show Subscribed Newsgroups) and which articles associated with those newsgroups are listed (Show All Messages, Show Only Unread Messages). There are toggle switches that will highlight unread articles (which can be turned back on after reading, if desired) and flags to mark articles of special interest.
To post an article, click on (highlight) the newsgroup in the Netscape News window, then click the To:News button. A window will come up that allows you to compose your article and click a button to send it to the newsgroup.
To reply to an article, click on (highlight) both the newsgroup and article to which you wish to reply in the Netscape News window. You may send a reply to the newsgroup by clicking the Re:News button, to the author's email by clicking the Re:Mail button, or to both by clicking the Re:Both button. After clicking the appropriate button, a window will come up in which you can compose your reply and click a button to send it to the newsgroup and/or the author.
Be alert to new software that will simplify and accelerate your newsgroup activities. Deja News is new software that provides quick, filtered searches of newsgroup topics as well as reading and posting functions. This is currently the Usenet vehicle of choice for many old newsgroup veterans. Deja News is entered from Netscape by choosing: File, Open Location, and typing the address:
The following list of newsgroups will have topics of interest to petroleum professionals. At present, the most active and germane is sci.geo.petroleum, but watch for new newsgroups as the Internet grows.
sci.geo.petroleum
sci.geo.geology
sci.engr.chem
sci.engr
misc.jobs.offered
houston.jobs.offered
misc.jobs.resumes
houston.jobs.resumes
It should be noted that many professional societies (such as AAPG) and industry organizations (such as PTTC) have discussion forums that serve the same purpose as newsgroups. These forums offer additional opportunity for public dialog on industry news, technical questions, and networking.
These exercises were created for Netscape Navigator Version 2.02, but other versions and other Web browsers will use similar techniques.
At the Netscape home page:
1. Click on Net Search button
2. Select Alta Vista (you may have to scroll down)
3. In the box that says "the Web", click on the little button to select "Usenet".
4. In the large box type oilfield and click on the Submit button.
Browse the list that comes up. Note the variety of newsgroup names in the list, and a wide range of article topics--perhaps pets, collectibles, jobs, in addition to some articles of interest to the petroleum industry. Can you find and read (click-on or highlight) the article with subject title "Oilfield Internet Surfers" posted to participants in the PTTC Internet Workshop?
Click on Back until you return to the original NetSearch page, then:
1. Select Yahoo! and then click on the big logo Yahoo!
2. In the Yahoo page, click on the underlined word options (options).
4. In the next screen, click the button next to Usenet. In the box, enter keywords as follows: seismic and landmark. Click Search.
Browse the list that comes up. You will note that the newsgroup sci.geo.petroleum dominates the list. We want to subscribe to that newsgroup.
1. Go to the menu bar at the top and click on Window and select Netscape News.
2. When the new window comes up click on File, select Add Newsgroup.
3. In the little window, enter sci.geo.petroleum and click OK.
4. Toggle the check-mark next to the sci.geo.petroleum on the list to subscribe.
Browse the list:
1. Click on the newsgroup (the left column) and then on a specific article (the right column). Look at several articles and note the discussion threads (or replies).
2. Click on the Previous and Next Buttons to move through the list.
3. Toggle the read-button on again next to an article that you have already read.
4. Click on Options and note how you can select buttons to: Show Subscribed Newsgroups, Show Active Newsgroups, Show All Newsgroups, Show All Messages, Show only Unread Messages.
Retain the sci.geo.petroleum newsgroup with an article selected in order to see how you would actively participate in the newsgroup discussion in the next exercise.
To post an article to the newsgroup sci.geo.petroleum, click on To:News button and see the window in which you would compose your article.
To reply to the article which you are reading (which is highlighted), you have three options. If you want to reply to the newsgroup: click on Re:News, and the window in which you would compose your reply will appear. If you want to reply to the author: click on Re:Mail, and the window in which you would compose your reply will appear. If you want to reply to both the newsgroup and the author: click on Re:Both, and the window in which you would compose your reply will appear.
Select File, Close, to leave newsgroup window. Go to the menu bar and select File, Open Location and enter:
To take advantage of the filtering capabilities of Deja News:
1. Click on the Power Search button
2. Click on Create a Query Filter. Note that you may use newsgroup names with a * as a wildcard for your filter, and that you can limit it to dates or date ranges, and author names. Try something related to your hobby. If you have no ideas, type rec.skiing.* and the date ranges from: 1995/10/01 to: 1996/04/01
3. Click the Create Filter button. Another window will come up after the search is completed, allowing you more search options, such as how your list is sorted. Your list will come up for reading by clicking on the highlighted, underlined "number of documents", however, you should limit your list further:
4. Enter keywords in the Search For box (type seniors and moguls) and click on Find.
This procedure should result in a reasonable number of articles to browse, but if it does not, simply re-create the query filter and/or enter more specific keywords (using Boolean logic) so that the search limits are more constrained, and your list is shorter.
To read an article, post an article, or reply to an article in Deja News:
Select an article from your list and it will come up in a window which also contains buttons which are convenient to 1) help you read your list (previous article, next article, current hit list, thread search), 2) get an author profile, 3) post an article, 4) reply to the newsgroup, 5) send an email reply to the author.
Copyright 1997 by the Rocky Mountain Region of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council
PTTC is partly funded by the U. S. Department of Energy, visit their Energy Technology Center on the Web.
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