From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

Hey folks. I've been in here for a few years mostly as a lurker. But,
wanted to bring up a topic that may generate debate. In one newsgroup I
got some serious criticism for it, while others shrugged it off.

On another newsgroup, the people said it was a common occurance for them
and made recommendations.

What am I talking about?

People have a tendency, for good reason, to post links of an image
or video that they want to share. Whether it's a picture of their dinner
or some hardware, etc. I'm a rare type of computer user who dwells in
the command line of linux and rarely delve into the GUI. And, while I do
have an android tablet that has full multimedia features, I began
thinking of ways to share various content with fellow newsgroup users
friendly to my habits. And it dawned on me that binary newsgroups are a
perfect for my intentions. I did some searching for one of my
newsgroups, posted an image and tested it. Came out perfectly. Just had
to make sure the file was less than a megabyte. No problem, we have
utilities for that in the CLI.

I wrote a nice article about an experience and told them my image was in
a binary NG. Well, that turned out OKAY. Some people outright bitched
about it. Some acted as if the world's ending. Others simply added the
NG and saw my post, and remarked. One guy outright downloaded it and
posted it online with a link.

Over the years, one thing I noticed when reading old articles the web
links are most often dead. Either the site's permanently down or the URL
scheme has changed, maybe the account the user had no longer
exists. Sort of defeats the purpose of the link, and sort of gives the
sense that the content is from a different age.

At least, posting my content in a binary newsgroup will guarantee it'll
still be there tomorrow or a few years from now. Just search for the
subject and voila, download it. The newsgroup service I use has articles
that go back to 2003. I wish it went back further, as I have posts going
back to the mid-nineties.

I bring up this subject because I am working on some math for a topic in
this newsgroup and I intend on scanning the papers, cleaning it up, and throwing it into a binary newsgroup. I hope no one in here minds my
qwerky methods, but I'd dawned on me that I'd rather keep my usenet
content within usenet.

The file will most-likely be in pdf form and less than a
megabyte.

D
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On 24/07/2025 08:20, Daniel wrote:

Hey folks. I've been in here for a few years mostly as a lurker. But,
wanted to bring up a topic that may generate debate. In one newsgroup I
got some serious criticism for it, while others shrugged it off.

On another newsgroup, the people said it was a common occurance for them
and made recommendations.

What am I talking about?

People have a tendency, for good reason, to post links of an image
or video that they want to share. Whether it's a picture of their dinner
or some hardware, etc. I'm a rare type of computer user who dwells in
the command line of linux and rarely delve into the GUI. And, while I do
have an android tablet that has full multimedia features, I began
thinking of ways to share various content with fellow newsgroup users friendly to my habits. And it dawned on me that binary newsgroups are a perfect for my intentions. I did some searching for one of my
newsgroups, posted an image and tested it. Came out perfectly. Just had
to make sure the file was less than a megabyte. No problem, we have
utilities for that in the CLI.

I wrote a nice article about an experience and told them my image was in
a binary NG. Well, that turned out OKAY. Some people outright bitched
about it. Some acted as if the world's ending. Others simply added the
NG and saw my post, and remarked. One guy outright downloaded it and
posted it online with a link.

Over the years, one thing I noticed when reading old articles the web
links are most often dead. Either the site's permanently down or the URL scheme has changed, maybe the account the user had no longer
exists. Sort of defeats the purpose of the link, and sort of gives the
sense that the content is from a different age.

At least, posting my content in a binary newsgroup will guarantee it'll
still be there tomorrow or a few years from now. Just search for the
subject and voila, download it. The newsgroup service I use has articles
that go back to 2003. I wish it went back further, as I have posts going
back to the mid-nineties.

I bring up this subject because I am working on some math for a topic in
this newsgroup and I intend on scanning the papers, cleaning it up, and throwing it into a binary newsgroup. I hope no one in here minds my
qwerky methods, but I'd dawned on me that I'd rather keep my usenet
content within usenet.

The file will most-likely be in pdf form and less than a
megabyte.

D

I suspect many posters here are using free usenet servers, which generally don't carry the binary
groups. Also the space requirements for hosting binary groups encourages the server admins to set a
short retention compared to the text-only groups.

Well, I didn't research any of that so maybe it's all wrong these days! Anyway, my usenet server
does not host binary groups so I won't be able to see your file.

Mike.

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Thu, 24 Jul 2025 00:20:51 -0700, Daniel wrote:

I hope no one in here minds my
qwerky methods, but I'd dawned on me that I'd rather keep my usenet
content within usenet.

Qwerky - I'm all for it.

I don't have access to binary newsgroups at the moment, but would be
happier paying for that access, rather than using social media, which I
don't like and don't use.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On 24/07/2025 18:34, David Entwistle wrote:

On Thu, 24 Jul 2025 00:20:51 -0700, Daniel wrote:

I hope no one in here minds my
qwerky methods, but I'd dawned on me that I'd rather keep my usenet
content within usenet.

Qwerky - I'm all for it.

I don't have access to binary newsgroups at the moment, but would be
happier paying for that access, rather than using social media, which I
don't like and don't use.

Or another alternative would be to use a free file hosting site like DropBox or OneDrive where you
can generate shared links to files. Like you, I don't like it when people link to e.g. Facebook
because I don't have a login. (Sometimes I'm not prompted to log in, so maybe that's down to
security settings - anyway it seems overly complex.)

I wouldn't pay for binary newsgroup access, unless I wanted the illegal (copywrited etc.) content or
the porn (which I don't).

Mike.

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Thu, 24 Jul 2025 16:39:11 +0100, Mike Terry <news.dead.person.stones@darjeeling.plus.com> wrote:

On 24/07/2025 08:20, Daniel wrote:

Hey folks. I've been in here for a few years mostly as a lurker. But,
wanted to bring up a topic that may generate debate. In one newsgroup I
got some serious criticism for it, while others shrugged it off.

On another newsgroup, the people said it was a common occurance for them
and made recommendations.

What am I talking about?

To "cut to the chase", it seems you are asking whether you can post
binary files in this NG. In my experience with text based NGs that
are unmoderated, opinion will be split, as you have said. Personally,
I do not mind binary files in this kind of group. The distinction
between text only and binary is somewhat archaic in this day and
age. But, that is my opinion.

As an ex-Unix type, I remember uuencode and how binary files
files were often encoded using uuencode, split into small chunks
as the full uuencodes file was too big for a single post and each
chunk posted as a separte text only message. There was a
nifty program (I forget the name now) that could take the
separate posts, remove headers, etc. and combine the
the chunks into the original file which could then be decoded
to get the image. I guess this is one way around post size
limitations while working in the text only universe. This was
superceded by yEnc. You can read all about it in


https://www.harley.com/usenet/usenet-tutorial/how-binary-files-are-handled.html

In principle, you can make your binary file a text file by
using a suitable enconding method (which has an easily
available decoder, of course!).

The file will most-likely be in pdf form and less than a
megabyte.

I know the feeling! I have a rather nifty classical mechanics
problem the solution to which involves rather lengthy algebra.
I have a scanned PDF of my calculations. It will be a pain to
show all that in pure text form.

I suspect many posters here are using free usenet servers, which generally don't carry the binary
groups. Also the space requirements for hosting binary groups encourages the server admins to set a
short retention compared to the text-only groups.

Well, I didn't research any of that so maybe it's all wrong these days! Anyway, my usenet server
does not host binary groups so I won't be able to see your file.

Yes, this is old news. I have pulled binary posts from Usenetserver as
old as ~3,800 days (~10 years).
--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. www.avast.com
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

Charlie Roberts <croberts@gmail.com> writes:

On Thu, 24 Jul 2025 16:39:11 +0100, Mike Terry <news.dead.person.stones@darjeeling.plus.com> wrote:

On 24/07/2025 08:20, Daniel wrote:

Hey folks. I've been in here for a few years mostly as a lurker. But,
wanted to bring up a topic that may generate debate. In one newsgroup I
got some serious criticism for it, while others shrugged it off.

On another newsgroup, the people said it was a common occurance for them >>> and made recommendations.

What am I talking about?

To "cut to the chase", it seems you are asking whether you can post
binary files in this NG. In my experience with text based NGs that
are unmoderated, opinion will be split, as you have said. Personally,
I do not mind binary files in this kind of group. The distinction
between text only and binary is somewhat archaic in this day and
age. But, that is my opinion.

No, I'm asking if people would mind that I post my files in a binary
newsgroup and tell you where to look.

It appears some others using free services won't have access to my file
if I do. My newsgroup service offers free read-only access to usenet and
they charge a nominal monthly for posting rights. But anyway, I got
banged up on bicycle snafu the other day dealing wiht a sprained wrist
on my writing hand so... It's going to be a few days before I can hold a
pencil comfortably and continue my work.

The file will most-likely be in pdf form and less than a
megabyte.

I know the feeling! I have a rather nifty classical mechanics
problem the solution to which involves rather lengthy algebra.
I have a scanned PDF of my calculations. It will be a pain to
show all that in pure text form.

I suspect many posters here are using free usenet servers, which generally don't carry the binary
groups. Also the space requirements for hosting binary groups encourages the server admins to set a
short retention compared to the text-only groups.

Well, I didn't research any of that so maybe it's all wrong these days! Anyway, my usenet server
does not host binary groups so I won't be able to see your file.

Yes, this is old news. I have pulled binary posts from Usenetserver as
old as ~3,800 days (~10 years).

My usenet server goes back to 2003.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

Mike Terry <news.dead.person.stones@darjeeling.plus.com> writes:

On 24/07/2025 18:34, David Entwistle wrote:

On Thu, 24 Jul 2025 00:20:51 -0700, Daniel wrote:

I hope no one in here minds my
qwerky methods, but I'd dawned on me that I'd rather keep my usenet
content within usenet.

Qwerky - I'm all for it.
I don't have access to binary newsgroups at the moment, but would be
happier paying for that access, rather than using social media, which I
don't like and don't use.

Or another alternative would be to use a free file hosting site like
DropBox or OneDrive where you can generate shared links to files.
Like you, I don't like it when people link to e.g. Facebook because I
don't have a login. (Sometimes I'm not prompted to log in, so maybe
that's down to security settings - anyway it seems overly complex.)

I wouldn't pay for binary newsgroup access, unless I wanted the
illegal (copywrited etc.) content or the porn (which I don't).

Mike.

I'm edging toward posting in a relevant binary newsgroup. I'm with you,
though, it took this long to consider a binary newsgroup as a storage repository for me because I only associate them for just those
things. Though, I'd never ever trust warez in this day and age. And I'm
not into porn anymore.

When I compose my post, I'll include my conclusion and those who
want to see my work and have access to binary newsgroups can get my
file.

I still need to find a binary group that fits this puzzle ng. Shouldn't
be hard.

D
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Fri, 25 Jul 2025 12:10:51 -0700, Daniel wrote:

But anyway, I got banged up on bicycle snafu the other day dealing wiht
a sprained wrist on my writing hand so... It's going to be a few days
before I can hold a pencil comfortably and continue my work.

hope you are feeling well soon.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

Mike Terry <news.dead.person.stones@darjeeling.plus.com> writes:

On 24/07/2025 18:34, David Entwistle wrote:

On Thu, 24 Jul 2025 00:20:51 -0700, Daniel wrote:

I hope no one in here minds my
qwerky methods, but I'd dawned on me that I'd rather keep my usenet
content within usenet.

Qwerky - I'm all for it.
I don't have access to binary newsgroups at the moment, but would be
happier paying for that access, rather than using social media, which I
don't like and don't use.

Or another alternative would be to use a free file hosting site like
DropBox or OneDrive where you can generate shared links to files.
Like you, I don't like it when people link to e.g. Facebook because I
don't have a login. (Sometimes I'm not prompted to log in, so maybe
that's down to security settings - anyway it seems overly complex.)

I wouldn't pay for binary newsgroup access, unless I wanted the
illegal (copywrited etc.) content or the porn (which I don't).

Mike.

By the way, email is always an option to send to those interested.

D
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Thu, 24 Jul 2025 00:20:51 -0700, Daniel wrote:

Hey folks. I've been in here for a few years mostly as a lurker. But,
wanted to bring up a topic that may generate debate. In one newsgroup I
got some serious criticism for it, while others shrugged it off.

I notice a poster to another newsgroup, which I read, posted a couple of images to:

https://imgbb.com/

I've not tried it, other than viewing the images posted.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2