Bye, bye AOLers!
Clix Pix
lot of Usenet newsgroups, I suspect, because for a long time many of
them were filled with AOLers. Well, soon, no more...
From the Washington POST:
AOL to Newsgroups: Goodbye!
A blog forerunner of sorts is biting the dust at America Online. The
Dulles-run online service notified users last week that it will soon
stop offering access to Usenet newsgroups. These discussion forums
predate the World Wide Web and once constituted the bulk of AOL's
Internet capability. But over the past several years, they have been
overshadowed by newer outlets, including Web message boards and blogs.
After AOL shuts down its newsgroup gateway sometime in February -- it
hasn't announced a date -- subscribers will have to switch to such
third-party services as Google's free Groups Web site
(groups.google.com).
-------------------------------------------
I remember when AOLers first had access to Usenet (not long after
Prodigy subscribers first did) and how after that Usenet grew
exponentially, especially on the Windows platform. However, as the
article points out, in recent times there has been a lot of
competition for people's attention and participation. Not only
web-based message boards and blog sites but also Yahoogroups and
private email lists have provided other ways for people to share their
concerns or mutual interests. In most instances these are perceived
as being "safer" than Usenet because of the need to register in order
to participate. Usually that keeps out the trolls and spammers.
The Googlegroups feature is OK but a bit cumbersome and less
convenient than being able to read and post to Usenet directly from
within one's own ISP. If someone has a GMail account (easy to get if
you've got a friend with some free invitations to share) that can work
hand-in-hand with Googlegroups for subscribing/posting to Usenet
newsgroups. I tried it and found it to be awkward and inconvenient.
Unfortunately for AOLers other newsreader services such as Agent (what
I'm using here) do not work with the AOL proprietary email features so
that's not an option if AOL is that person's only ISP, as it is for
many.
Bye, bye, AOLers...
--Connie
(who is wondering if WebTV will follow?)
signman
this change.
signman
Clix Pix
Well, if they hadn't already figured out AOL's limitations long since,
maybe this would kick them over the edge, but on the other hand, it
may be that Usenet newsgroups are not that important to them any more
and so they wouldn't switch from AOL to a real ISP. AOL is losing
subscribers right-and-left, though, so this could indeed be an impetus
to those who were on the fence to go ahead and drop AOL and move
elsewhere... Yes, there IS an internet beyond AOL! :-)
--Connie
Gary
"Clix Pix" <cli...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:57s001dqbo2n5s7ne...@4ax.com...
>Yes, there IS an internet beyond AOL! :-)
It always staggers me that people who use AOL use their awful browser,
thinking that they have to everything via AOL clients.
They should just configure their newsreader client to use a free Usenet
server, see here for more info:
http://freenews.maxbaud.net/
http://news.individual.net/config.html
Marie
(Interesting article snipped. 'Blog forerunner'??? - the expression 'apples
and oranges' comes to mind.)
> -------------------------------------------
>
> I remember when AOLers first had access to Usenet (not long after
> Prodigy subscribers first did) and how after that Usenet grew
> exponentially, especially on the Windows platform. However, as the
> article points out, in recent times there has been a lot of
> competition for people's attention and participation. Not only
> web-based message boards and blog sites but also Yahoogroups and
> private email lists have provided other ways for people to share their
> concerns or mutual interests. In most instances these are perceived
> as being "safer" than Usenet because of the need to register in order
> to participate. Usually that keeps out the trolls and spammers.
>
> The Googlegroups feature is OK but a bit cumbersome and less
> convenient than being able to read and post to Usenet directly from
> within one's own ISP. If someone has a GMail account (easy to get if
> you've got a friend with some free invitations to share) that can work
> hand-in-hand with Googlegroups for subscribing/posting to Usenet
> newsgroups. I tried it and found it to be awkward and inconvenient.
>
> Unfortunately for AOLers other newsreader services such as Agent (what
> I'm using here) do not work with the AOL proprietary email features so
> that's not an option if AOL is that person's only ISP, as it is for
> many.
>
> Bye, bye, AOLers...
> --Connie
> (who is wondering if WebTV will follow?)
Actually, having used AOL a number of times (never paid a penny for it, mind
you. Generally got the odd free month here and there as a result of
purchasing new products*) I would imagine Googlegroups would be an
improvement. AOL's newsreader is seriously dreadful. The most appalling
piece of software
I've ever had the misfortune to encounter.
I've always been quite lucky with Googlegroups. Never found it that
cumbersome.
*You'll probably remember that my account was riean...@aol.com or the
reverse...Bella would probably have insisted that her name came first (as
I'm sure Harry would have in similar circumstances!)
'rie & Bella the Cat
Clix Pix
<ga...@franklin49deeleetdisbit.neinspamfreeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>They should just configure their newsreader client to use a free Usenet
>server, see here for more info:
>http://freenews.maxbaud.net/
>
>http://news.individual.net/config.html
>
The problem is that they CAN'T do that; AOL's newsreader client is a
piece of junk, just like their proprietary email client. There is no
way to take advantage of a different sort of newsreader server.
--Connie
Clix Pix
<be...@globalnet.complicated.uk> wrote:
>
>*You'll probably remember that my account was riean...@aol.com or the
>reverse...Bella would probably have insisted that her name came first (as
>I'm sure Harry would have in similar circumstances!)
LOL! Oh, undoubtedly..... he has his own email account but I've never
let him loose on Usenet!!! :-)
And, yes, I think that Google's service is a much better one than
AOL's newsreader client; I still prefer Outlook Express or Agent --
especially Agent.
--Connie
Gary
> The problem is that they CAN'T do that; AOL's newsreader client is a
> piece of junk, just like their proprietary email client. There is no
> way to take advantage of a different sort of newsreader server.
AOL block access to other newservers when using other clients? Pah!
Perhaps a proxy bypass is required?
Asserti...@webtv.net
cares which ISP someone chooses? Some people like comcast, aol, cox,
sbc, etc. It is none of my business which ISP someone chooses to use.
Blessed Be
Erika
<bgsound src="http://www.freewebs.com/hana_dan02/evanescence_hello.mid"
loop=infinite hidden="true">
<html><body bgcolor=ffffff></html><font color#000000></font>
signman
cares which ISP someone >chooses? Some people like comcast, aol, cox,
>sbc, etc. It is none of my business which ISP someone >chooses to use.
> Blessed Be
> Erika
Erika,
The reason the post was originally made was because AOL is/has terminated
their users' access of the Usenet newsgroups...of which
alt.support.eating-disorderd is one. Hence, unless AOLers who use this
group change their ISPs or can access the group via Google...they lose the
experience/strength/hope that is shared here.
signman
Clix Pix
>Erika,
>The reason the post was originally made was because AOL is/has terminated
>their users' access of the Usenet newsgroups...of which
>alt.support.eating-disorderd is one. Hence, unless AOLers who use this
>group change their ISPs or can access the group via Google...they lose the
>experience/strength/hope that is shared here.
>
>signman
>
Right you are, Signman, and thanks! Maybe Erika did not read the
initial post correctly, or she would have figured that out, as it was
pretty clearly spelled out in the article I quoted. The reason I
posted the information in the first place was to alert participants
here who don't have AOL so that they would understand why suddenly no
one was posting through AOL. Those who have AOL would have received
notification from the service that this was happening.
Since many people now choose to participate elsewhere (other web-based
forums, Yahoogroups listservs, LJ, etc.), I think all of Usenet has
seen a pretty dramatic drop in postings, regardless of the individual
newsgroups and their topics.
--Connie
