Usenet Info Center FAQ
This is the FAQ for the Usenet Info Center. The WWW version of
the FAQ can be found at http://www.clark.net/pub/usenet-i/www/info-center-faq.html
and the text version at ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/usenet-i/info/info-center-faq
This document is designed to tell you what the Usenet Info Center
is all about. Suggestions and/or corrections are always welcome.
Any comments except direct submissions should be sent to kevinatk@home.com,
NOT usenet-b@clark.net.
This Usenet Info Center Launch Pad (the starting point
for the www part) can be found at http://metalab.unc.edu/usenet-i/.
Various other information can be found at ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/docs/about-the-net/usenet-info-center.
This is a brand new version on the FAQ, certain information,
that was a hang over from when the project started, has been dropped.
The old FAQ should be available soon at the history archives.
Copyrighted 1995 by Kevin Atkinson. You may redistribute this
FAQ in any way as long as the content is not changed and this
notice stays on it.
- The Project:
- What is the Usenet Info Center?
- What is the Newsgroups Info Center?
- So what's available? (and where is it?)
- The Web Pages:
- My Goto Group Link doesn't Work!
- Do you know of any good news servers? (and the related questions)
- Why are there no pictures on your pages?
- Helping Out:
- With Spelling and Grammar
- By Submitting:
- Short Descriptions
- Long Descriptions
- Other Ways.
- Misc
- Were to get more info.
- Credits!
1.1) What is the Usenet Info Center?
The Usenet Info Center is a starting place for your information
on Usenet. I choose this more general name, rather then Usenet
Newsgroups Info Center, so that I would not limit my self to just
information on the Newsgroups.
1.2) What is the Newsgroups Info
Center?
The Newsgroups Info Center is the main part of the Usenet Info Center,
the area where most of the effort is. The WWW version contains a
heritage browsable list of the newsgroups and a way to search for a
group of interest. The Newsgroups Info Center is one of the first big
attempts to gather all the useful information on a group in one
location; including a long description.
Specifically Newsgroups Info Center contains:
- A Short Description of the group.
- A Long Description of the group
- Any FAQ's that go with the group
- The Moderators name and e-mail address if moderated
- Where and how the group is archived, if at all.
- Its average volume
- Its average number of readers
- Any mailing lists it is gatewayed to
1.3) So what's available? (and where
is it?)
Lots! To name a few:
The Web Pages:
The most likely reason is that you don't have a news server set
up. To set up a news server check the docs for your browser. If
you still can't figure it out check any FAQ's that might have
the answer. It could also mean that your news server doesn't offer
that group.
NO! Not off hand. Check out the "How to Receive Banned Newsgroups
FAQ" for some light on this topic at http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/usenet/banned-groups-faq/faq.html
or http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/archive/usenet.banned-groups-faq.html
for some light on this subject. Please DO NOT ask me about this.
The only answer I will give you, if any, is to check out this
FAQ.
Well, because I don't have any. My pages would serve no real benefit
to having pictures (other than making it more attractive) so it
is a rather low priority. If you know of any good graphics or
would be willing to create some I would be more than willing to
look them over. If I like what I see there is a good chance of
them be incorporated into my pages in the near future.
Helping Out:
As you have probably figured out by now: I am a horrible speller.
I would appreciate any corrections you may have. I honestly don't
mind corrections, in fact I greatly appreciate them. I do however
hate it when people just give me a list of words that need corrections
with no clue as to where the mistake was.
If you do send corrections to me PLEASE at very least include:
- The Title or URL of the page with the mistakes
- The word or phrase that needs corrections
- The correction.
Send the corrections to kevinatk@home.com NOT usenet-i@clark.net.
Short Descriptions
I now have a way to overrule the descriptions I get for alt.*
groups or any of the other groups in the " Alternative Newsgroup
Hierarchies" post to news.lists.
If you are unhappy with the description for any of these groups
send the corrected descriptions to me a kevinatk@home.com and if
I like the new desc. better I will add it to the database. (There
is no special format you need to use, for now.)
Long Descriptions
Due to a problem at clark.net I lost all my scripts. If you have
a great description you are dying to send me send it directly
to me at kevinatk@home.com for the time being.
The former instructions will appear when the scrip is back on
line.
3.3)
Other Ways:
If you can think of some let me know...
Misc:
This FAQ only gives you the very basic information. The following
information pages are also available.
People who submitted a good number of descriptions:
Neil Pawson <Neil.Pawson@Smallworld.co.uk>
Daniel Barrett <barrett@astro.cs.umass.edu>
Mirroring my site / letting me use it:
Jonathan Magid <jem@bittyblue.oit.unc.edu> (WWW pages &
(metalab.unc.edu)
Mahesh Ramachandran <rr@eel.ufl.edu> (usenet.ufl.edu)
Giving me some sound advice:
Robert E. Maas <rem@btr.com> (desc-have, desc-still-needed)
Jeff Dege <jdege@winternet.com> (Suggesting change of name)
Steve Fenwick <scf@w0x0f.com> (Suggesting change of name)
Jim Jewett <jimj@eecs.umich.edu> (making me aware of news.g'.reviews)
Cameron Laird <claird@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> (pointing out 'g'_arc'.h')
All those people who corrected spelling and grammar errors
The authors of the Post on news.lists:
*.answers moderation team (List of Periodic Info' Postings, Part *)
David C Lawrence <tale@uunet.uu.net> (Mailing Lists Avail' in Usenet
List of Moderators for Usenet,
List of Active Newsgroups, Part *, &
Alternative 'group Hierarchies, Part *)
Brian Reid <reid@decwrl.DEC.COM> (USENET Readership report for *)
Gene Spafford <spaf@cs.purdue.edu> (Original author of List ' Mod',
List of Active 'groups, & Alt' 'group Hier')
John Gilmore <hoptoad!gnu> (Another Original author of
Alt' 'group Hier')
Other:
Thomas A Fine <fine@cis.ohio-state.edu> (faq's via WWW)
Jose Marques <Jose.Marques@las.ox.ac.uk> (faq's via WWW)