On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 03:25:48 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

i started using free agent in the 16 bit on windows 95, and liked it right >off the bat because of its simplicity and usability . . . it also became a >very convenient way to organize articles in the outbox for posting, and to >save downloaded articles, and because free agent is portable, make backups
of the whole program folder to removable media for archives, which in this >context shows i was using 1.11/16.235, 1.21/32.243, then 1.93/32.576 which >i'm still using . . . the installer (2.29 mb) is also widely available e.g.

https://web.archive.org/web/20051125104705/http://ftp3.forteinc.com/pub/agent/english/a32en193.exe

but 40tude dialog is the best newsreader ever, easy to setup and use, with >comprehensive scoring, multi-server, custom display etc., nothing compares; >even so, using free agent for posting became a habit that i've never broke >(and yes, free agent works fine in every version of windows from xp to 11)

Thanks for the link. I didn't know that version existed. I asked what
OS you used because the version I have will only run on 16 bit Win 3.1
and even then it's flakey and will General Protection Fault all over
the place: "X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent v0.55" and the splash
screen says "Beta Trial Release". It's a whopping 1.4 MB. _________________________________________________
This reg works for the one you linked to: CQ9PMH48-84YB7CZJ-ZGKHKS5J-6VRCTN8M-V7G88TUE

it goes from:
X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
before registration to:
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
after registration and the word "Free" is removed from the splash
screen. It works great on everything I've tried, including in Wine on
Linux.

I don't register it because I think having "Free Agent" in my headers
is old school cool, but maybe I'm just a wierdo.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 09:12:19 -0800, El Kabong <Quickdraw@HannaBarbera.com> wrote:

On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 03:25:48 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:
i started using free agent in the 16 bit on windows 95, and liked it right >>off the bat because of its simplicity and usability . . . it also became a >>very convenient way to organize articles in the outbox for posting, and to >>save downloaded articles, and because free agent is portable, make backups >>of the whole program folder to removable media for archives, which in this >>context shows i was using 1.11/16.235, 1.21/32.243, then 1.93/32.576 which >>i'm still using . . . the installer (2.29 mb) is also widely available e.g. >>https://web.archive.org/web/20051125104705/http://ftp3.forteinc.com/pub/agent/english/a32en193.exe
but 40tude dialog is the best newsreader ever, easy to setup and use, with >>comprehensive scoring, multi-server, custom display etc., nothing compares; >>even so, using free agent for posting became a habit that i've never broke >>(and yes, free agent works fine in every version of windows from xp to 11)

Thanks for the link. I didn't know that version existed. I asked what
OS you used because the version I have will only run on 16 bit Win 3.1
and even then it's flakey and will General Protection Fault all over
the place: "X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent v0.55" and the splash
screen says "Beta Trial Release". It's a whopping 1.4 MB. >_________________________________________________
This reg works for the one you linked to: >CQ9PMH48-84YB7CZJ-ZGKHKS5J-6VRCTN8M-V7G88TUE

it goes from:
X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
before registration to:
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
after registration and the word "Free" is removed from the splash
screen. It works great on everything I've tried, including in Wine on
Linux.
I don't register it because I think having "Free Agent" in my headers
is old school cool, but maybe I'm just a wierdo.

wow! that registration key worked on a test install of "a32en193.exe"
to the default diirectory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\" in w1124h2,
about agent "licensed to: me pirate, serial # 15462570, copyright (c) 1995-2002, forte, all rights reserved" ... first time i've ever seen
an actual licensed (or cracked) version of forte agent running on my
own pc...sent shortcut to desktop, right-click shortcut "properties", "shortcut" tab, "advanced", "run as administrator" and it appears to
run normally, downloaded groups list from "localhost" server, sample
headers from a known (active) group, downloaded some random articles,
set menu "options", "user and system profile", "smtp" 127.0.0.1, and
replied to article and sent dummy message (via omnimix) successfully!
i'll test it some more before using it but it seems to actually work
(it even has "undo", a feature which i'd long ago learned to ignore) . . .

thanks for the very helpful update . . . i couldn't find early "beta" references to forte agent, but found this:

(using Tor Browser 14.0.2) https://duckduckgo.com/?q=forte+agent+timeline+1995+beta

...
https://www.loganact.com/agent/agentfaq.html
Unofficial FAQ for alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
By William Guynes and Jeffrey Kaplan
v1.6 updated 7/28/99

[end quoted excerpt]

also found this in news:alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent . . . (ditto "howardknight")

http://al.howardknight.net/?STYPE=msgid&MSGI=<goqjqids5qp2c8pgu9ik93c5l4uc579i12@4ax.com>

Path: nnrp..!diablo1.usenet.blueworldhosting.com!nntp.comgw.net!peer03.ams4
!peer.am4.highwinds-media.com!news.highwinds-media.com!fx13.ams4.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
Subject: Releases Timeline - Forte Agent and Free Agent
Message-ID: <3jqjqip8nqg1t72d25kuiannicmmcp0uer@4ax.com>
User-Agent: ForteAgent/8.00.32.1272
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2024 16:14:07 +1300
...
Releases Timeline - Forte Agent and Free Agent >==============================================
For the columns to line up, this must be viewed in a fixed-pitch font. >Unfortunately a fixed-pitch font makes the graphic rather wide.
The columns line up without a fixed-pitch font in the HTML version here: ><URL:https://groups.google.com/g/alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent/c/gRkZvyXaDA0/m/v3TQdyIpAwAJ>
<URL:news:goqjqids5qp2c8pgu9ik93c5l4uc579i12@4ax.com>

The shaded area represents the period when FortΘ was part of Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.

áááááá~06-Jul-1995á-áForteáFreeáAgentá1.0 >áááááá+06-Jul-1995á-áForteáAgentá0.99ábuildá82 >áááááá|ááá+21-Nov-1995á-áForteáAgentá0.99c >áááááá|ááá|áá+06-Feb-1996á-áForteáAgentá0.99d >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá+01-May-1996á-áForteáAgentá0.99e >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá+01-Oct-1996á-áForteáAgentá0.99f >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá~21-Oct-1996á-áForteáFreeáAgentá1.1 >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á+05-Dec-1996á-áForteáAgentá0.99g >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá+20-Mar-1997á-áForteáAgentá1.0 >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|~25-Apr-1997á-áForteáFreeáAgentá1.11 >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá||+13-May-1997á-áForteáAgentá1.01 >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á+24-Jul-1997á-áForteáAgentá1.5 >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá..................................... >áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................+30-Aug-1999á-áForteáAgentá1.6
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..+17-Nov-1999á-áForteáAgentá1.7
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..~17-Nov-1999á-áForteáFreeáAgentá1.2
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..~23-Nov-1999á-áForteáFreeáAgentá1.21
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..|...+21-Mar-2000á-áForteáAgentá1.8ábuildá548
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..|...|..........áááááá+02-Aug-2001á-áForteáAgentá1.8ábuildá553
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..|...|..........áááááá|áááá+24-Jan-2002á-áForteáAgentá1.9
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..|...|..........áááááá|áááá|á+21-Mar-2002á-áForteáAgentá1.91
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..|...|..........áááááá|áááá|á|áááá*02-Aug-2002á-áForteáAgentáandáFreeáAgentá1.92ábuildá570
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..|...|..........áááááá|áááá|á|áááá*04-Aug-2002á-áForteáAgentáandáFreeáAgentá1.92ábuildá572
áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..|...|..........áááááá|áááá|á|áááá|ááá*24-Dec-2002á-áForteáAgentáandáFreeáAgentá1.93

^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ (a32en193.exe) *

áááááá|ááá|áá|áá|áááá|á|áá|||á|ááááá...................|..|...|..........áááááá|áááá|á|áááá|ááá|ááááááááááááá*06-Feb-2004á-áForteáAgentáandáFreeáAgentá2.0ábuildá640

[end quoted excerpt, *emphasis added]

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 09:12:19 -0800, El Kabong <Quickdraw@HannaBarbera.com> wrote:

On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 03:25:48 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

snip

Thanks for the link. I didn't know that version existed. I asked what
OS you used because the version I have will only run on 16 bit Win 3.1
and even then it's flakey and will General Protection Fault all over
the place: "X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent v0.55" and the splash
screen says "Beta Trial Release". It's a whopping 1.4 MB. >_________________________________________________
This reg works for the one you linked to: >CQ9PMH48-84YB7CZJ-ZGKHKS5J-6VRCTN8M-V7G88TUE

it goes from:
X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
before registration to:
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
after registration and the word "Free" is removed from the splash
screen. It works great on everything I've tried, including in Wine on
Linux.

I don't register it because I think having "Free Agent" in my headers
is old school cool, but maybe I'm just a wierdo.

p.s. just to be sure, i restarted windows 11 24h2 and opened this "cracked" forte agent (still shows same version 1.93/32.576 but no longer shows "free agent mode for personal use only", but retained "me pirate serial#15462570") and afaict all of the unlocked features are functional, including undo, etc.

i also forwarded my previous reply to alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 20:24:06 +0000, 83ixc3 <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

[mucho snippage]

wow! that registration key worked on a test install of "a32en193.exe"
to the default diirectory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\" in w1124h2,
about agent "licensed to: me pirate, serial # 15462570, copyright (c) >1995-2002, forte, all rights reserved" ... first time i've ever seen
an actual licensed (or cracked) version of forte agent running on my
own pc...

I was in a warez release group in the late 1990's and one of our
brilliant crackers came up with a (long lost) keygen.

The copywrite holder has 3 years to file, and the statute of
limitations for software piracy is 5 years; I haven't done it for
20 years. I'm not proud of my misspent youth, but I don't deny it
either.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 22:04:10 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

p.s. just to be sure, i restarted windows 11 24h2 and opened this "cracked" >forte agent (still shows same version 1.93/32.576 but no longer shows "free >agent mode for personal use only", but retained "me pirate serial#15462570") >and afaict all of the unlocked features are functional, including undo, etc.

Do you have a list of all the features the registration unlocks?
Does anybody else following along know?

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 18:04:13 -0800, El Kabong <Quickdraw@HannaBarbera.com> wrote:

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 20:24:06 +0000, 83ixc3 <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

[mucho snippage]

wow! that registration key worked on a test install of "a32en193.exe"
to the default diirectory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\" in w1124h2,
about agent "licensed to: me pirate, serial # 15462570, copyright (c) >>1995-2002, forte, all rights reserved" ... first time i've ever seen
an actual licensed (or cracked) version of forte agent running on my
own pc...

I was in a warez release group in the late 1990's and one of our
brilliant crackers came up with a (long lost) keygen.

The copywrite holder has 3 years to file, and the statute of
limitations for software piracy is 5 years; I haven't done it for
20 years. I'm not proud of my misspent youth, but I don't deny it
either.

i didn't even know what cracked software was until some of it fell
into my lap . . . e.g. the adobe font library, acad 13 for windows,
aldus pagemaker, quark xpress, coreldraw, many others which had not
yet been released, 3dstudio, i've forgotten what else (it's been so
long since mid-1990s), but most of these premium software windfalls
proved so useful that no one was complaining about it (pcs and macs
were all the rage, and i'd been using dos since the trs-80, xt etc);

oddly enough, i started in early computer-aided design because like
my father (mechanical engineer/draftsman), consulting opportunities
for cad and desktop publishing, computer tech, training, etc., were
lucrative, so one thing led to another . . . next thing you know, i
was swimming in computer-related enterprise until about 1996, after
which i was retired from the system by circumstances beyond control,
been a hobbyist ever since no complaints (it'll be over soon enough)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 17:49:03 -0800, El Kabong <Quickdraw@HannaBarbera.com> wrote:

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 22:04:10 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:
p.s. just to be sure, i restarted windows 11 24h2 and opened this "cracked" >>forte agent (still shows same version 1.93/32.576 but no longer shows "free >>agent mode for personal use only", but retained "me pirate serial#15462570") >>and afaict all of the unlocked features are functional, including undo, etc.

Do you have a list of all the features the registration unlocks?
Does anybody else following along know?

afaict, the registered version enables any menu options that are disabled
in the free version, and clicking on any of the disabled bulleted options
shows "this command is only available in the full version of agent", e.g.

*import messages, *undo, *redo, *paste header fields, *global search, *add
url to favorites, *add url to addresses, *check for new email, *reply to
all, *support question, *pick addresses, *spelling, *inbound email, *menus
and toolbars, *open address book, *open usenet filters, *open email filters,
and *open favorites folder (there could be more?) found "1.93" announcement:

(using Tor Browser 14.0.2) https://web.archive.org/web/20060313150821/https://www2.forteinc.com/news/bulletin.php?id=agent193gr

Forte
WHAT'S NEW
COMPANY
CONTACT US
DOWNLOAD
APN
AGENT
HOME
Agent and Free Agent 1.93 are Released
24-December-2002
Agent 1.93 and Free Agent 1.93 are now available from our download page. Agent 1.93 is a
free upgrade for all registered Agent users.
Language Translations
For the first time, Agent and Free Agent have been officially translated into Deutsch,
Franτais, and Italiano.
In the 1.92 release, we combined Agent and Free Agent into a single binary. 1.92 paved
the way for our translation efforts in 1.93. In turn, the 1.93 code base is paving the
way for Agent and Free Agent 2.0.
Today, we are releasing Agent 1.93 in English. Over the next few days, we will be
releasing the translations as they complete their final quality assurance (QA) cycles. We
apologize for this slight delay. Please monitor the Agent Development Alerts on our home
page for news on the release of the 1.93 translations.
We are also working on translations in Danish, Dutch, and Spanish. See our International
Users page for more details.
Agent Translation Teams
The success of Agent 1.93 rests squarely on the shoulders of the Agent Translation
Teams. These teams, comprised of Agent users worldwide, worked diligently to:
Translate our software, installer, release notes, and read.me files.
Iterate the design of our translation toolkit and our software release process.
Inform the Agent Team about the nuances of international communication, software,
and commerce.
In the coming weeks, we will publish User Profiles on several of the members of the
Agent Translation Team. These folks and their team members are continuing proof that the
greatest collaboration in the world exists right here in Usenet.
Enhancements and Bugs Fixes
In addition to translations, Agent 1.93 also contains many enhancements and bug fixes.
In particular, we listened to customer feedback and changed Agent's line counting
behavior. The final design was a collaboration between of the Agent Development Team and
the Agent Beta Team. Read the 1.93 Release Notes for full details.
Agent 2.0 Roadmap
In January, we will update our Product Roadmap to reflect the way in which Agent 2.0 is
being developed and released.

[end quoted plain text]

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 09:12:19 -0800, El Kabong <Quickdraw@HannaBarbera.com> wrote:

On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 03:25:48 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

snip

_________________________________________________
This reg works for the one you linked to: >CQ9PMH48-84YB7CZJ-ZGKHKS5J-6VRCTN8M-V7G88TUE

it goes from:
X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
before registration to:
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
after registration and the word "Free" is removed from the splash
screen. It works great on everything I've tried, including in Wine on
Linux.

p.p.s.

after registering this installed "C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\agent.exe", everything works fine ... apart from the chronic windows nagging "do you
want to allow this app from an unknown publisher to make changes to your device"; this was easily solved by copying the installed agent folder to another directory, in this case a portable flash drive, and no more "nag"

seems that windows 10/11 "user account control" helps protect the system
but also makes it inconvenient when using programs unfamiliar to windows

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=windows+run+as+administrator+unknown+publisher https://duckduckgo.com/?q=windows+user+account+control+unknown+publisher

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 19/11/2024 13:20, D wrote:

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:50:37 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

Path: news..!feeder2.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>
Newsgroups: news.software.readers
Subject: Paganini
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:50:37 +0000
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 3
Message-ID: <vhhqht$1gne9$1@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Injection-Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2024 11:50:38 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="0ce5c2ac6c0577c889c1e0f96297a095";
logging-data="1596873"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";
posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19fjBmQpkh1fsbIQ4bU1gKhW16xhRtjG8Y="
User-Agent: Betterbird (Windows)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:BhyyKRCpwhiC9UUkyrU/F59MdIU=
Content-Language: en-GB
Xref: news.. news.software.readers:4087

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

read-only test (using Tor Browser 14.0.2): http://put.hk/reader.jsp?server=paganini.bofh.team&btnsubmit=Go

Server: paganini.bofh.team (48687)
...
news.software.readers (274319)
http://put.hk/headline/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/0.html
..
http://put.hk/article/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/276288.html >> [Reply] [Source] [Threads (What's it?)] [Open by OE] [To Clipboard]
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>
Date: 19 Nov 2024 18:50:37 Hong Kong Time
Newsgroup: paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers
Subject: Paganini
NNTP-Posting-Host: null

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

[end quote]

No idea what all that means. but I'm not getting downloads.

--
Jim the Geordie

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:50:37 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

Path: news..!feeder2.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>
Newsgroups: news.software.readers
Subject: Paganini
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:50:37 +0000
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 3
Message-ID: <vhhqht$1gne9$1@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Injection-Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2024 11:50:38 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="0ce5c2ac6c0577c889c1e0f96297a095";
logging-data="1596873"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19fjBmQpkh1fsbIQ4bU1gKhW16xhRtjG8Y="
User-Agent: Betterbird (Windows)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:BhyyKRCpwhiC9UUkyrU/F59MdIU=
Content-Language: en-GB
Xref: news.. news.software.readers:4087

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

read-only test (using Tor Browser 14.0.2): http://put.hk/reader.jsp?server=paganini.bofh.team&btnsubmit=Go

Server: paganini.bofh.team (48687)
...
news.software.readers (274319) >http://put.hk/headline/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/0.html
..
http://put.hk/article/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/276288.html >[Reply] [Source] [Threads (What's it?)] [Open by OE] [To Clipboard]
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>
Date: 19 Nov 2024 18:50:37 Hong Kong Time
Newsgroup: paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers
Subject: Paganini
NNTP-Posting-Host: null

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

[end quote]

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

XPost: alt.free.newsservers

On 19/11/2024 13:48, Sn!pe wrote:

Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote in news.software.readers:

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?

A better place for this query would be alt.free.newsservers
[crosspost added]

Thanks
--
Jim the Geordie

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:27:45 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

On 19/11/2024 13:20, D wrote:

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:50:37 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

Path: news..!feeder2.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>

snip

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

read-only test (using Tor Browser 14.0.2):
http://put.hk/reader.jsp?server=paganini.bofh.team&btnsubmit=Go

Server: paganini.bofh.team (48687)
...
news.software.readers (274319)
http://put.hk/headline/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/0.html
..
http://put.hk/article/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/276288.html >>> [Reply] [Source] [Threads (What's it?)] [Open by OE] [To Clipboard]
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>
Date: 19 Nov 2024 18:50:37 Hong Kong Time
Newsgroup: paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers
Subject: Paganini
NNTP-Posting-Host: null

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

[end quote]

No idea what all that means. but I'm not getting downloads.

if your newsreader is "user-agent: betterbird (windows)", might ask in news:alt.comp.software.thunderbird , might also try another newsreader:

(using Tor Browser 14.0.2)
http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html

1.Introduction
2.Newsreaders
40Tude Dialog (Windows)
Betterbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Claws-Mail (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Evolution (Linux)
flnews (Linux, UNIX systems)
Gnus (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Gravity (Windows)
MacCafe (macOS)
MacSOUP (macOS = 10.14)
MesNews (Windows)
ModNewsreader (Android and its forks)
Pan (Linux)
SeaMonkey (Linux / Windows / macOS)
slrn (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Sylpheed (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Thunderbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
tin (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Xnews (Windows)
3.References and useful links

[end quote]

i use several newsreaders, 40tude dialog for downloading and archiving,
free agent for queue organization and posting, xananews for stats, etc.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

XPost: alt.comp.software.newsreaders

On 19/11/2024 14:50, D wrote:

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:27:45 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

On 19/11/2024 13:20, D wrote:

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:50:37 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

Path: news..!feeder2.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>

snip

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

read-only test (using Tor Browser 14.0.2):
http://put.hk/reader.jsp?server=paganini.bofh.team&btnsubmit=Go

Server: paganini.bofh.team (48687)
...
news.software.readers (274319)
http://put.hk/headline/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/0.html >>>> ..
http://put.hk/article/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/276288.html >>>> [Reply] [Source] [Threads (What's it?)] [Open by OE] [To Clipboard]
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>
Date: 19 Nov 2024 18:50:37 Hong Kong Time
Newsgroup: paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers
Subject: Paganini
NNTP-Posting-Host: null

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

[end quote]

No idea what all that means. but I'm not getting downloads.

if your newsreader is "user-agent: betterbird (windows)", might ask in news:alt.comp.software.thunderbird , might also try another newsreader:

(using Tor Browser 14.0.2)
http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html

1.Introduction
2.Newsreaders
40Tude Dialog (Windows)
Betterbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Claws-Mail (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Evolution (Linux)
flnews (Linux, UNIX systems)
Gnus (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Gravity (Windows)
MacCafe (macOS)
MacSOUP (macOS = 10.14)
MesNews (Windows)
ModNewsreader (Android and its forks)
Pan (Linux)
SeaMonkey (Linux / Windows / macOS)
slrn (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Sylpheed (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Thunderbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
tin (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Xnews (Windows)
3.References and useful links

[end quote]

i use several newsreaders, 40tude dialog for downloading and archiving,
free agent for queue organization and posting, xananews for stats, etc.

Fine. I do that too: Gravity, Xnews and Dialog, but I would prefer to
use Thunderbird/Betterbird.
That is not the question here.
I like the server Paganini and have been using it regularly for a while
with setting SSL/TLS Port 563.
It stopped working today, which was my original post.
However, I went back and 'undid' SSL/TLS and the port went to 119 and lo-and-behold, down came the posts.
Should I leave it there or do I gain anything by using SSL?
I can also use eternal-september, but it can be flaky although that is
happy with SSL/TLS.
Confused.
--
Jim the Geordie

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 18:04:29 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

On 19/11/2024 14:50, D wrote:

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:27:45 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

On 19/11/2024 13:20, D wrote:

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:50:37 +0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

Path: news..!feeder2.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>

snip

..
http://put.hk/article/paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers/276288.html
[Reply] [Source] [Threads (What's it?)] [Open by OE] [To Clipboard]
From: Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk>
Date: 19 Nov 2024 18:50:37 Hong Kong Time
Newsgroup: paganini.bofh.team/news.software.readers
Subject: Paganini
NNTP-Posting-Host: null

Is my go-to newsserver Paganini down this morning?
--
Jim the Geordie

No idea what all that means. but I'm not getting downloads.

if your newsreader is "user-agent: betterbird (windows)", might ask in
news:alt.comp.software.thunderbird , might also try another newsreader:

(using Tor Browser 14.0.2)
http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html

1.Introduction
2.Newsreaders
40Tude Dialog (Windows)
Betterbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Claws-Mail (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Evolution (Linux)
flnews (Linux, UNIX systems)
Gnus (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Gravity (Windows)
MacCafe (macOS)
MacSOUP (macOS = 10.14)
MesNews (Windows)
ModNewsreader (Android and its forks)
Pan (Linux)
SeaMonkey (Linux / Windows / macOS)
slrn (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Sylpheed (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Thunderbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
tin (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Xnews (Windows)
3.References and useful links

[end quote]

i use several newsreaders, 40tude dialog for downloading and archiving,
free agent for queue organization and posting, xananews for stats, etc.

Fine. I do that too: Gravity, Xnews and Dialog, but I would prefer to
use Thunderbird/Betterbird.
That is not the question here.
I like the server Paganini and have been using it regularly for a while
with setting SSL/TLS Port 563.
It stopped working today, which was my original post.
However, I went back and 'undid' SSL/TLS and the port went to 119 and >lo-and-behold, down came the posts.
Should I leave it there or do I gain anything by using SSL?
I can also use eternal-september, but it can be flaky although that is
happy with SSL/TLS.
Confused.

the paganini sysadmin uses "user-agent: mozilla thunderbird" and is
active in many news server newsgroups, e.g. news:news.admin.peering, news.software.nntp,news.admin.net-abuse.usenet,alt.free.newsservers,
etc., and their "info" page suggests port 563 should be operational:

(using Tor Browser 14.0.2) https://duckduckgo.com/?q=paganini.bofh.team+port+563

...
https://www.bofh.team ¢ info.txt
https://www.bofh.team/info.txt
***** ***** Accept from / Send to: paganini.bofh.team NNTP Port: 119 NNTPS >Port: 563 Hostname: paganini.bofh.team (Resolves to both IPv4 and IPv6)

^^^

IPv4 IP: 94.23.43 ...
...
https://www.bofh.team/info.txt >***************************************************************** >*****************************************************************
Accept from / Send to: newsfeed.bofh.team
Port: 433
Hostname: newsfeed.bofh.team (Resolves to both IPv4 and IPv6)
IPv4 IP: 178.33.140.132
IPv6 Address: 2001:41d0:306:1f3f::3
Path Token: newsfeed.bofh.team
Article: no bin, text only (first choise)
Article: all, except warez,porn,illegal (second choise)
Contact: Ivo Gandolfo - usenet {at} bofh dot team
Abuse: usenet {at} bofh dot team >***************************************************************** >*****************************************************************

***************************************************************** >incoming.conf:

peer newsfeed.bofh.team {
hostname: newsfeed.bofh.team
streaming: true
}

*****************************************************************

innfeed.conf

peer newsfeed.bofh.team {
ip-name: newsfeed.bofh.team
port-number: 433
streaming: true
}

*****************************************************************

newsfeeds:

$asnNOBINARY=\
!control*,!junk,!local*,@unidata.*,\
!ka.*,\
@alt.bin*,\
@alt.dvdnordic.*,\
@alt.*pedophil.*,\
@*.bain*,\
@*.biana*,\
@*.biinaries*,\
@*bina*,\
@*.bineries*,\
@*.binia*,\
@*.binries*,\
@*.cd.image*,\
@*.files.images*,\
@*.mp3*,\
@*music.bin*,\
@*.pictures*,\
@*porno.images*,\
@unidata.*,\
@*.warez*

$asnBINARY=\
!control*,!junk,!local*,@unidata.*,\
!ka.*,\
@alt.dvdnordic.*,\
@*porno.images*,\
@*.warez*

# HEY! DON'T USE IF..ENDIF in the newsfeeds file! it's invalid!
# just copy/paste do you want to use! ;)

IF (NOT WANT BIN) THEN

# USE THIS IF YOU DONT WANT BINARY FEED >newsfeed.bofh.team/newsfeed.bofh.team\
:*,$asnNOBINARY/!local\
:Af,Ap,Tm:innfeed!

ELSE

# USE THIS IF YOU WANT BINARY FEED >newsfeed.bofh.team/newsfeed.bofh.team\
:*,$asnBINARY/!local\
:Af,Ap,Tm:innfeed!

ENDIF

# HEY! DON'T USE IF..ENDIF in the newsfeeds file! it's invalid!
# just copy/paste do you want to use! ;)

[end quote]

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:50:29 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

[SNIP]

i use several newsreaders, free agent for queue organization and posting,

Interesting. What OS do you run Free Agent on? I use it on Win-OS/2
in ArcaOS.
https://www.arcanoae.com/arcaos/

Free Agent was released in 1995 and still works fine for text Usenet.
I've got a 16 bit Gopher client from 1993 that ain't broke, either.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:14:54 -0800, El Kabong <Quickdraw@HannaBarbera.com> wrote:

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:50:29 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

[SNIP]

i use several newsreaders, free agent for queue organization and posting,

Interesting. What OS do you run Free Agent on? I use it on Win-OS/2
in ArcaOS.
https://www.arcanoae.com/arcaos/

Free Agent was released in 1995 and still works fine for text Usenet.
I've got a 16 bit Gopher client from 1993 that ain't broke, either.

i started using free agent in the 16 bit on windows 95, and liked it right
off the bat because of its simplicity and usability . . . it also became a
very convenient way to organize articles in the outbox for posting, and to
save downloaded articles, and because free agent is portable, make backups
of the whole program folder to removable media for archives, which in this context shows i was using 1.11/16.235, 1.21/32.243, then 1.93/32.576 which
i'm still using . . . the installer (2.29 mb) is also widely available e.g.

https://web.archive.org/web/20051125104705/http://ftp3.forteinc.com/pub/agent/english/a32en193.exe

but 40tude dialog is the best newsreader ever, easy to setup and use, with comprehensive scoring, multi-server, custom display etc., nothing compares; even so, using free agent for posting became a habit that i've never broke
(and yes, free agent works fine in every version of windows from xp to 11)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:14:54 -0800, El Kabong <Quickdraw@HannaBarbera.com> wrote:

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:50:29 +0000, D <noreply@mixmin.net> wrote:

[SNIP]

i use several newsreaders, free agent for queue organization and posting,

Interesting. What OS do you run Free Agent on? I use it on Win-OS/2
in ArcaOS.
https://www.arcanoae.com/arcaos/
Free Agent was released in 1995 and still works fine for text Usenet.
I've got a 16 bit Gopher client from 1993 that ain't broke, either.

p.s. helpful article about free agent on "blueworld" newsserver
(message-id: <h8aob3l9sonb6vdl9e2p55aj903hliu7nl@4ax.com>) . . .

https://newsgrouper.org.uk/alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent >https://newsgrouper.org.uk/do/art_found?group=alt%2eusenet%2eoffline%2dreader%2eforte%2dagent&num=93258

From: Ralph Fox <-@-.invalid>
Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
Subject: Re: Where can I find a copy of Agent 1.93, 32-bit version
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:12:17 +0000

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:33:26 +0100, in message <b80ib3d2osej0ia66355e3nbj8iaglae3c@4ax.com>,
Alex Heney wrote:

I thought (from memory that earlier versions were all just "Agent",
and whether had registered.

Earlier versions:

Up to Free Agent version 1.21 and Agent version 1.91,
Free Agent was a separate download to Agent.
They were not all just "Agent".

Middle versions:

From version 1.92 to version 3.3, Free Agent and Agent
were the same "Agent" download. The difference was
whether one had registered.

Later versions:

From version 4.0 on, there is no Free Agent.

The oldest (and the only) version of Free Agent available on the
Forte web site is Free Agent 3.3. Yes, it is the same "Agent"
download as Agent. Yes, the difference between Free Agent and
Agent is determined by whether one has registered.

--
Cheers,
Ralph

[end quoted plain text]

been using it so much for decades that i'd forgotten why i had stopped
updating free agent at version 1.93 . . . it was the last best version

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)