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Usenet Newsgroups

Case newsgroups are accessible to anyone with a Case account. As an alumni you may access the Case news server, news.case.edu, while connected to the Internet via your regular service provider.

When you attempt to access a newsgroup, you will be prompted for you Case user-ID and password to log on.

What is a newsgroup?

A Newsgroup is a way of sharing news and information across networks that predates the World Wide Web. They are made up of bulletin boards where individuals make postings to share with the community. More efficient than mass emailing, a message on a newsgroup stays on the news server for all to see without clogging any one's mailbox. Newsgroups are frequently used to post important information. Case has several newsgroups that are restricted to the CASE community including cwru.net.general which is a newsgroup for making postings about the CASE technology environment.

There are thousands of newsgroups available on the internet with topics ranging from alt.tv.survivor to alt.politics.usa.constitution. Many of these will be available through your Internet Service Provider's news server, but most Case newsgroups are only available through news.case.edu.

How do I read a Newsgroup?

To read a newsgroup, you need to have a newsreader program. Fortunately most web browsers have a built in newsreader. When using the news reader first you need to enter the name of the newsserver in the settings; for Case this is news.case.edu. Then you simply type in the address for the newsgroup in your web browser's address bar. For example: news://cwru.net.general. If your web browser does not have a newsreader already, there are several you can download from the internet such as Collabra for Netscape. Users new to usenet will benefit from subscribing to news.newusers.questions which answers questions ranging from "netiquette" to more technical matters. Information on configuring some of the more popular newsreaders can be found in the links below.

Popular Case Newsgroups

More Newsgroups

Most newsreaders will download a current list of available newsgroups, but you can also get a good idea of the variety available by visiting the Reference to Newsgroups. New newsgroups are created every day, so this list may not be complete.

History

Many users today think of the World Wide Web and the Internet as being interchangeable. In reality, the WWW is only one of many protocols used on the Internet. Back in the era before the WWW (which most users didn't access until 1994-95), Usenet was one of the most popular features of the Internet. To many it still is. Usenet allows users to share thoughts and ideas with one another on a variety of topics ranging from the Internet itself to the X-Files. To participate, one subscribes to a newsgroup such as cwru.general, and then reads any or all of the messages posted to the group. Some users, known as "lurkers," may choose only to read the messages, while others will participate by submitting new and follow-up messages to the group.

Traditionally one accessed Usenet through stand-alone programs known as newsreaders. Now web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and E-mail programs such as Microsoft Outlook include built-in newsreaders as well. To read and post to newsgroups, you must merely subscribe to the groups that fit your interests. There are thousands to choose from. Refer to your newsreader's help instructions for more details.