FAQ - Dmoz/Computers/Usenet/Feed_Services

Archive-name:dmoz.org/Computers/Usenet/Feed_Services
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Last-modified:2008-02-19 02:10:41
URL:http://dmoz.org/Computers/Usenet/Feed_Services/faq.html
Category:Computers/Usenet/Feed_Services

Table of Contents

1  Why should I pay for a Usenet provider? What's the difference between these services and the news servers of ISPs?
2  So, why not using a public news server instead?
3  What do you mean by completion?
4  What is retention, then?
5  What exactly is a speed capped account?
6  What do you call a block account?
7  What is a metered account?
8  Is it important to have "free" headers?
9  What is a NZB file, then?
10  What exactly is an unlimited account? Is it really unlimited?
11  What is the purpose of SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption? Should I really bother to get my connections protected via encryption?
12  Is SSL encryption free, or should I pay an extra cost to enable this feature?
13  My Usenet access provider offers encrypted access, but my newsreader does not support this mode. Can I use SSL via another application that would act as a proxy?

1   Q: Why should I pay for a Usenet provider? What's the difference between these services and the news servers of ISPs?
A: If your ISP doesn't provide a news server, then you'll have to find another one. In such a case, don't forget to remind to your provider that they should provide a news server. Anyway, in all cases, a professional Usenet provider often has much longer retention rates and also offers binary newsgroups. These binary newsgroups are not often relayed on news servers of ISPs as they require much more resources than text only groups.
by stegozor at 2007-07-23 05:32:34
2   Q: So, why not using a public news server instead?
A: Because public news servers are offered by kind hearted volunteers for the benefit of all, especially those who can't find any other way to access Usenet. If you can afford a monthly bill, then it's best to go with a professional provider. By doing so, you'll let room for those who really need it on public servers and get much better retention rates and access to binary newsgroups which are seldom carried on public news servers given the resources they require.
by stegozor at 2007-07-23 03:38:51
3   Q: What do you mean by completion?
A: There's no central point on Usenet. News servers exchange messages they have with each other and during this process, some messages may get lost. Completion is the rate of present and available messages on a server compared to an average value. This value can also be measured with binary files: big files are usually split into many small parts, and if some of these are missing, then completion will be less than 100%. Although this was an issue in the early days of Usenet, nowadays it's nearly always better than 99% with correctly configured servers. Moreover, parity files (.par) and reposts are used when some binary parts are missing.
by kingdon at 2008-01-27 20:04:32
4   Q: What is retention, then?
A: A message posted across Usenet doesn't last forever. Each server stores it until it has to make room for new messages. The delay during which the message is kept on the server the server is called retention. This varies a lot depending on the server and the storage capacity allocated by the newsmaster. Generally, text groups have a much better retention rate since they require much less space, and professional access providers have better retention rates than ISP and Public news servers. Thanks to the drop of the cost of storage solutions, these retention rates tend to grow and some professional providers provide non expiring text articles.
by kingdon at 2008-01-27 20:05:34
5   Q: What exactly is a speed capped account?
A: Usually, it is possible to download as much as desired with such an account, but the speed, or more precisely the throughput of the connection will be limited to a given value. This lowers the network load for the provider, lowering costs.
by kingdon at 2008-01-27 20:06:36
6   Q: What do you call a block account?
A: When a customer purchases a given amount of download quota, with no time limit to use it, this is called a block account. These accounts are not renewed automatically. They are often useful as a secondary access, to fill missing parts on the main server.
by kingdon at 2008-01-27 20:07:23
7   Q: What is a metered account?
A: With a metered account you buy a download quota for a given period of time. Let's say you purchased X gigabytes per month. When you reach this limit, you may have to wait until the end of the month of or to pay to raise the limit. The throughput of the connection is not limited in this case.
by stegozor at 2007-07-23 04:02:23
8   Q: Is it important to have "free" headers?
A: Short answer: when using binary newsgroups with a metered or block account, it makes sense to choose a provider that doesn't count headers against the download quota. However, if you are using NZB files you won't download headers in any case, making this a non-issue.

Long answer: as stated previously, binary files are split into many smaller files, which may also be split into several messages after being converted into text format. In such a case, to find a given file, the user has to download thousands of headers from a newsgroup before being able to find the file he's looking for. When he finds messages carrying all the parts of the file he wants, he will download the body of these articles. Although the headers are just a few text lines for each message (poster, destination newsgroup, and routing information), downloading thousands of them may have an impact on the global download quota, if they are counted against the limit.

by kingdon at 2008-01-27 20:09:52
9   Q: What is a NZB file, then?
A: The acronym NZB comes from NewZBin, the name of the company that developed this open standard. Basically, a NZB file contains all the necessary information about parts of a binary file on a newsgroup, making downloading of thousands of headers unnecessary. When fed to a compatible newsreader, this newsreader will automatically retrieve relevant messages only, and combine and decode the desired file. The user often needs to merely look for a file on an automated NZB indexer, download the corresponding NZB file and open it with the newsreader. All the rest is fully automated.
by kingdon at 2008-01-27 20:02:03
10   Q: What exactly is an unlimited account? Is it really unlimited?
A: An unlimited account is supposed to be what it is called: you can stay connected as much as you want, download or upload as much as you want, all this with no speed limitations other than those of your ISP. However, if a customer uses too much resources the provider may limit the account in order to keep their network stable. For details, a customer has to see the terms and conditions of each company. Last but not least, unlimited posting doesn't mean that spamming is allowed: in such a case, the account is usually terminated with no prior warning.
by stegozor at 2007-07-23 04:25:21
11   Q: What is the purpose of SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption? Should I really bother to get my connections protected via encryption?
A: When a client is connected via an encrypted connection, it's almost impossible for eavesdroppers (such as your ISP) to figure out the content of exchanged data. All it is possible to know is that a given client is establishing a connection with a given server and how long this connection is active, nothing more. Based on the same principle than encrypted connections on the web (e.g. when connecting to an online payment service), the client software must support this feature. If it does not, compatible proxies like stunnel can also be used. Since SSL can be managed by open source software, free, open source clients can provide this feature and you don't necessarily have to pay for it (for instance, stunnel is open source).

Let alone the fact that decent security is always useful, such an encryption may also be useful if the usual Usenet port (119) is blocked or throttled by your ISP in order to save bandwith.

by kingdon at 2008-01-27 20:11:50
12   Q: Is SSL encryption free, or should I pay an extra cost to enable this feature?
A: It depends on the provider. Some do not offer SSL encryption at all, others ask for an extra cost, but more and more this encryption is provided at no extra cost. Technically speaking, it's not very hard to implement, it doesn't require much resources and free, open source software can be used to enable this feature on the server side. For instance, several volunteer run public news servers do provide it. But for companies, it's not only a technical decision, but also a commercial one...
by stegozor at 2007-07-23 05:40:15
13   Q: My Usenet access provider offers encrypted access, but my newsreader does not support this mode. Can I use SSL via another application that would act as a proxy?
A: Yes, Stunnel, a free (as in free speech) and cross-platform application does this quite easily and you can get it from stunnel.org. Once it's installed, you'll have to add the following lines in stunnel.conf which is a simple text file:

client = yes

[nntp]
accept = 127.0.0.1:119
connect = news.provider.here:port_number

Note that the port number is often 563. When this is done, setting up your newsreader to connect to the server named 127.0.0.1 using port 119 will be enough. Your login and password are managed as usual by the newsreader. The author of these lines has tested Stunnel with JM NZB, NZB-O-Matic, BNR2, and YencPowerPostA&A11b before writing this item.

by stegozor at 2008-02-19 02:06:35

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