From Newsgroup: alt.privacy


certainly for more than three decades, unmoderated usenet newsgroups have been the untamed wild west of internet-accessible public forums,
as anyone could post plain text articles averting content moderation,
making unmoderated usenet the only public repository on planet earth
that has not been routinely subjected to moderation, i.e. censorship

newsreader filters are typically used to improve the signal-to-noise
ratio inherent in these uncensored message boards, by manually white-
listing helpful content while automatically ignoring everything else,
most all newsreaders have filtering options, allow multiservers, etc.

(using Tor Browser 15.0.11) >http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html

Last update: 05/06/2025
Introduction
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 / macOS)
SeaMonkey (Linux / Windows / macOS)
slrn (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Sylpheed (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Thunderbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
tin (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Xananews (Windows)
Xnews (Windows)
References and useful links

[end quote]

client-side newsreader filtering is essential to usenet's usefulness,
listing helpful content while automatically ignoring everything else

web-based usenet servers certainly have their usefulness too, telnet
is also very helpful, but for those who recall using "deja news" for
newsgroup browsing, searching, posting, replying, it worked reliably
up to until about twenty-five years ago, then "google groups" worked
for a couple of years, but after 2004 (twenty-two years ago), it was
clear to everyone that gg had become unreliable, no longer useful as
a usenet archive search engine, but did apparently work famously for
flooding usenet beyond all other servers combined, reigning champion

and yet, after forty-five long years, tiny usenet just won't go away,
hence has been the forum of choice for nonconformists, free thinkers, outsiders, specifically because unmoderated newsgroups are available,
and apart from server-side spam filters, expirations, removals, etc., uncensored content is posted intact . . . social media can't compete,
and some nntp newsservers carry binary groups, for those so inclined

usenet probably serves other purposes lesser known or even unheardof,
but in general terms, it's a means of communication unique to itself,
its audience many contributors but mostly lurkers, a silent majority,
so though it may seem as if no one is reading, be sure that they are

--- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy


D <J@M> posted:

certainly for more than three decades, unmoderated usenet newsgroups
have been the untamed wild west of internet-accessible public forums, as anyone could post plain text articles averting content moderation,
making unmoderated usenet the only public repository on planet earth
that has not been routinely subjected to moderation, i.e. censorship

newsreader filters are typically used to improve the signal-to-noise
ratio inherent in these uncensored message boards, by manually white- listing helpful content while automatically ignoring everything else,
most all newsreaders have filtering options, allow multiservers, etc.

(using Tor Browser 15.0.11) >http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html

Last update: 05/06/2025
Introduction
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 / macOS)
SeaMonkey (Linux / Windows / macOS)
slrn (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Sylpheed (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Thunderbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
tin (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Xananews (Windows)
Xnews (Windows)
References and useful links

[end quote]

client-side newsreader filtering is essential to usenet's usefulness,
listing helpful content while automatically ignoring everything else

web-based usenet servers certainly have their usefulness too, telnet
is also very helpful, but for those who recall using "deja news" for newsgroup browsing, searching, posting, replying, it worked reliably
up to until about twenty-five years ago, then "google groups" worked
for a couple of years, but after 2004 (twenty-two years ago), it was
clear to everyone that gg had become unreliable, no longer useful as
a usenet archive search engine, but did apparently work famously for flooding usenet beyond all other servers combined, reigning champion

and yet, after forty-five long years, tiny usenet just won't go away, hence has been the forum of choice for nonconformists, free thinkers, outsiders, specifically because unmoderated newsgroups are available,
and apart from server-side spam filters, expirations, removals, etc., uncensored content is posted intact . . . social media can't compete,
and some nntp newsservers carry binary groups, for those so inclined

usenet probably serves other purposes lesser known or even unheardof,
but in general terms, it's a means of communication unique to itself, its audience many contributors but mostly lurkers, a silent majority,
so though it may seem as if no one is reading, be sure that they are

not confident a large-scale revival will ever take place but i damn sure hope it
does. i think the biggest impediment to that happening is the lack of a user-friendly and cross-platform client. i know some people think everything should be done the old way and that new users should be forced to adapt to the methodologies of old ones but that isn't exactly conducive to activity. harsh reality is people are used to shit like reddit, facebook, forums whatever, though
i don't see why a usenet client that is as easy to use as those platforms can't be developed. would like to spearhead that effort myself someday but i'm still a novice dev and have lots to learn.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Keith <user13263@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
;-D

not confident a large-scale revival will ever take place but i damn
sure hope it does. i think the biggest impediment to that happening
is the lack of a user-friendly and cross-platform client.

What would your's do better?

Isn't ThunderBird the current #1 in statistics about newsreaders?
Doesn't that prove that everyone and all their pets have easy access to
news? Maybe TB's developers can be nudged to add the features you miss?

i know some people think everything should be done the old way and
that new users should be forced to adapt to the methodologies of old
ones but that isn't exactly conducive to activity.

Do you know other newsreaders besides Newsgrouper?

The message of well defined (RFC) structure as the atom of the
communication is not a bad choice. Interoperability made the global
networks, not the locked in syndromes and the blingbling Big$$$ added
later to undo the possibility of world wide interaction beyond the
borders of their kingdoms.

harsh reality is people are used to shit like reddit, facebook, forums whatever,

They are designed to keep the user busy, so to steal their time. That's
a totally different mode of operation and mindset of their "kings".

though i don't see why a usenet client that is as easy to use as those platforms can't be developed. would like to spearhead that effort
myself someday but i'm still a novice dev and have lots to learn.

Looking at

<https://newsgrouper.org/>
<http://csiph.com/>

and telling them what could be better could be a start.

And look at the relevant RFCs and how easy it is to access news via
TELNET, NETCAT or with own simple code in your favourite language.

Look at the other things you can get via NNTP, e.g. mailinglists and
feeds.

And why the hell is not every forum just another custom newsreader? I'd
not need 1001 accounts and passwords and could read the same contents
with the client of my choice.

I dislike the idea that *my* main news client might look like Reddit.
But if such a client existed and its users do not behave in Usenet in
the way that drove me away from Fediverse, Reddit, StackExchange,
... then nothing would change for me. There already are lots of
newsreaders out there I never used. It'd just increase that list. And increased diversity may even be good. Unless they get too many annoying extensions. Not another EEE war, please!


[Nick Lucid] would frame it:

Conservation of energy[^W]interoperability may not be violated!
--
1. Hitchhiker 25: (59) Scarcely pausing for breath, Vroomfondel shouted,
"We don't demand solid facts! What we demand is a total absence of solid facts. I demand that I may or may not be Vroomfondel!"
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On Sat, 09 May 2026 01:53:32 GMT, Keith <user13263@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

D <J@M> posted:

certainly for more than three decades, unmoderated usenet newsgroups
have been the untamed wild west of internet-accessible public forums,
as anyone could post plain text articles averting content moderation,
making unmoderated usenet the only public repository on planet earth
that has not been routinely subjected to moderation, i.e. censorship
newsreader filters are typically used to improve the signal-to-noise
ratio inherent in these uncensored message boards, by manually white-
listing helpful content while automatically ignoring everything else,
most all newsreaders have filtering options, allow multiservers, etc.
(using Tor Browser 15.0.11)

http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html
Last update: 05/06/2025
Introduction
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 / macOS)
SeaMonkey (Linux / Windows / macOS)
slrn (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Sylpheed (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Thunderbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
tin (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Xananews (Windows)
Xnews (Windows)
References and useful links

[end quote]
client-side newsreader filtering is essential to usenet's usefulness,
listing helpful content while automatically ignoring everything else
web-based usenet servers certainly have their usefulness too, telnet
is also very helpful, but for those who recall using "deja news" for
newsgroup browsing, searching, posting, replying, it worked reliably
up to until about twenty-five years ago, then "google groups" worked
for a couple of years, but after 2004 (twenty-two years ago), it was
clear to everyone that gg had become unreliable, no longer useful as
a usenet archive search engine, but did apparently work famously for
flooding usenet beyond all other servers combined, reigning champion
and yet, after forty-five long years, tiny usenet just won't go away,
hence has been the forum of choice for nonconformists, free thinkers,
outsiders, specifically because unmoderated newsgroups are available,
and apart from server-side spam filters, expirations, removals, etc.,
uncensored content is posted intact . . . social media can't compete,
and some nntp newsservers carry binary groups, for those so inclined
usenet probably serves other purposes lesser known or even unheardof,
but in general terms, it's a means of communication unique to itself,
its audience many contributors but mostly lurkers, a silent majority,
so though it may seem as if no one is reading, be sure that they are

not confident a large-scale revival will ever take place but i damn sure hope it
does. i think the biggest impediment to that happening is the lack of a >user-friendly and cross-platform client. i know some people think everything >should be done the old way and that new users should be forced to adapt to the
methodologies of old ones but that isn't exactly conducive to activity. harsh >reality is people are used to shit like reddit, facebook, forums whatever, though
i don't see why a usenet client that is as easy to use as those platforms can't
be developed. would like to spearhead that effort myself someday but i'm still >a novice dev and have lots to learn.

e.g. "newsgrouper", and now "csiph", provides a convenient means for
posting to usenet newsgroups via any device with internet access and
a web browser . . . but posting to usenet is not the same as reading
from usenet, which sans the universal "ignore" filter is impractical
in moderately active newsgroups, to nearly impossible in more active
newsgroups . . . thus is why client-side filtering using a dedicated
newsreader is essential for no. 1) filtering out usenet's equivalent
to junk mail, ditto rogue phone calls/distractions/uninvited company,
by using one single asterisk "*" for any overview header text string
to set the ignore flag on all articles, in any newsgroup section [*],
not already whitelisted or blacklisted, all at the user's discretion

probably all newsreader clients allow "ignore" or "watch" filters in
their "add filter" menu . . . e.g. forte agent (which i still use to
post, but use 40tude for reading), set filter expression "author: *",
kill action "ignore thread", scope "global", priority "100" or lower,
this way only preapproved articles (contributors/topics/servers/etc.)
bypass the global ignore flag, and blacklisted/killfiled "troll farm
regulars" (some of their myriads of known aliases date back pre-1994)
are automatically deleted/moved to the junk folder, purged, purified

usenet is not for everyone . . . it's very old-fashioned, and yet it
remains popular, especially for those who can use usenet newsreaders,
meaning those inclined to avoid mainstream media in any form, social
media, television, radio, psyops, all of which they say, steer clear
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy


yeti <yeti@tilde.institute> posted:

What would your's do better?

Isn't ThunderBird the current #1 in statistics about newsreaders?
Doesn't that prove that everyone and all their pets have easy access to news? Maybe TB's developers can be nudged to add the features you miss?

simplicity in scope and a pleasing interface, will probably not be of much use to people already on a different client but that isn't the point. thunderbird for
example is bloated and email-first, you have to go out of your way to get usenet
working (havent used it in forever though my memory is fuzzy). would like to have
a webapp and desktop + mobile versions, seems a bit overambitious for one person
though and my skillset isn't yet up to snuff.

im only speaking hypothetically, i'd really like to develop a client someday it wouldn't be easy though.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Keith wrote:

not confident a large-scale revival will ever take place but i damn sure hope it
does. i think the biggest impediment to that happening is the lack of a user-friendly and cross-platform client.

I don't think that is the problem; IMO the problem is that the masses
who are preferring to use their browsers to read and post lack the 'motivation' to be able to deal w/ the trash which saturates the groups.

The result is that what would have been usenet reader/contributors are
much more inclined to use web forums, which are very popular and much
more easily admin/ed.

When I ask a tech-ish question on usenet, I'm also 'prowling' web
forums, where it is likely for me to encounter my answer or a path to my answer. When that happens, I come back to the ng and contribute an
answer to myself. But, I actually post very very little on web forums,
much preferring usenet.
--
Mike Easter
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

yeti wrote:

Isn't ThunderBird the current #1 in statistics about newsreaders?
Doesn't that prove that everyone and all their pets have easy access to
news? Maybe TB's developers can be nudged to add the features you miss?

Tb has a LOT of deficiencies when it comes to news; in fact the dev/s
consider it to be a text/html MAIL user agent, as opposed to a 'proper'
news agent.

It is VERY poor in the filtering department, lacking scoring, wildcards, regex, etc. And, it is MY belief that the 'devs' of Tb do NOT even 'participate' in ng/s, nor care anything about it.

They can barely manage their own bugs, which hang around forever sometimes.

That being said, Tb is MY current news agent; mainly because I like its
rewrap feature and I am able to deal w/ its filtering deficiencies in my
own way.
--
Mike Easter
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> wrote:

yeti wrote:

Isn't ThunderBird the current #1 in statistics about newsreaders?
Doesn't that prove that everyone and all their pets have easy access to
news? Maybe TB's developers can be nudged to add the features you miss?

Tb has a LOT of deficiencies when it comes to news; in fact the dev/s consider it to be a text/html MAIL user agent, as opposed to a
'proper' news agent.

(((...)))

That being said, Tb is MY current news agent; mainly because I like
its rewrap feature and I am able to deal w/ its filtering deficiencies
in my own way.

Ok, I hoped TB were #1 of that list for better reasons.


I play the massive single user dungeon named Gnus. It's potent and not perfect, but using Emacs for other things too (mainly Org/Babel) some
synergies unfold and with ELisp as configuration language I have one
reason more to keep my brain busy.

Gnus has more functions than the keyboard can present in a safe way and
that turns the keyboard into a mines field. I curse a lot e.g. when
thinking the Gnus window isn't in focus and I want to close the assumed
to have the focus window via ^W and *b|nng* lots of subscribed groups may
just get cut away. The user interface is subterran.

Gnus' IRC channel (on Libera) mentions in its topic line:

| <cluck> gnus is to emacs users what emacs is to other users
--
MoersPigorVEVO
(DE) Walter Moers, Thomas Pigor (EN)
Ich hock in meinem Bonker I'm Sitting In My Bunker <https://youtu.be/np2ymo0iMfk> <https://youtu.be/grQf9OOphFs>
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On Sat, 09 May 2026 01:53:32 GMT, Keith wrote:

not confident a large-scale revival will ever take place but i damn sure
hope it does. i think the biggest impediment to that happening is the
lack of a user-friendly and cross-platform client.

I've had issues with Thunderbird on Linux and switched to Pan but TBird
isn't bad. However

https://individual.net/

"Discontinuation of the NetNews / Usenet service as of 30 September 2027
Access to the news server News.Individual.NET will not be possible beyond
this date."

I've used Individual.net but they have declared the era of usenet is over.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On Sat, 9 May 2026 15:54:41 -0700, Mike Easter wrote:

When I ask a tech-ish question on usenet, I'm also 'prowling' web
forums,
where it is likely for me to encounter my answer or a path to my answer.
When that happens, I come back to the ng and contribute an answer to
myself. But, I actually post very very little on web forums, much
preferring usenet.

To give the devil his due the reddit tech subreddits have a lot more
activity and often have useful information. Discord is another devil but
the Adafruit channel is very active. There are also the specialized
forums.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On 10 May 2026 18:50:48 GMT, rbowman wrote:

I've had issues with Thunderbird on Linux and switched to Pan but TBird isn't bad. However

https://individual.net/

"Discontinuation of the NetNews / Usenet service as of 30 September 2027 Access to the news server News.Individual.NET will not be possible beyond this date."

I've used Individual.net but they have declared the era of usenet is over.

I've mailed them, asking to reconsider. Everybody should do the same.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2