Can anyone recommend a newsgroup reader?

[NewHampshireDem]

For my e-mail, etc. I use Outlook (yes, I know, but I do have good reasons), which does not have integrated newsgroup support. Can anyone recommend a good, free program for newsgroups?

Thanks in advance.

[bemildred]

1. A few:

http://www.fergusonenterprises.com/ne_html/ne-use.htm

Some more:

http://www.downseek.com/directory/129.asp

I never read news on Windoze, so cannot recommend.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. Use Agent

Forte has a freeware downloadable version called Free Agent, but the full version (Forte Agent) is a lot better.

http://www.forteinc.com/agent/index.php

It's become probably THE defacto standard newsreader, but there are other good ones too. I've used Forte Agent for years.

[RoyGBiv]

3. Agent or Thunderbird

Agent has a free version. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it works.

http://www.forteinc.com/main/homepage.php

You can try the full-featured version for, I think, a month, after which it reverts to the free version if you don't purchase a license.

Thunderbird has integrated Usenet -- I'm assuming that's what you mean by newsgroups -- support. If you don't want to use it as your e-mail application, just don't configure an e-mail address with it.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

[bvar22]

4. "Outlook" HAS a Newsgroup reader.

Open Outlook

Click on "TOOLS" from top menu bar.

Scroll down to "Newsgroups".

You may have to do some minor configuration, but I've used Outlook (Express) as a "News Reader" .

I recommend switching to Thunderbird.

[NewHampshireDem]

6. Outlook Express does, Outlook itself does not ...

Strange, isn't it? :shrug:

I know you can use OE and Outlook at the same time, but I'd prefer to keep my use of the 2 separate. My wife uses OE on my computer for her Univ of Pheonix classwork, so to keep from getting her stuff and my stuff confused, having a different program is preferrable.

[NuttyFluffers]

17. never knew that, OE and Outlook have that difference.

i'd second Mozilla Thunderbird. same email and newsgroup functions. almost identical except one is stable :P . seriously though, there might be a few functions difference, but what *exactly* do you need to separate things out like this for? is there a very specific feature on newsgroups you are looking for? because otherwise i'd just go 100% mozilla (firefox and thunderbird) and don't look back.

[Princess Turandot]

5. I use Free Agent or Outlook Express..

the only thing that I don't like about Free Agent (these features may be in the paid version) is the search function and problems accessing non Use-Net groups, such as the microsoft ones. I use Outlook Express for those. The one thing I like about OE is that I can go to the main server window and search for a topic, and see every group on one page. On Free Agent, you have to keep hitting the 'search again button'.

Whether you use Agent or OE, you need to give them a user name and email address. I assume you have browser based email addresses: use one that you don't mind getting a huge amount of SPAM on.

The setup is pretty easy. You are asked for your news server, which will be news.yourisp.com and and outgoing mail server which will be smtp.yourisp.com

Of the two, I probably prefer OE. It just works easier for me.And I don't download binary pics from it :)

[RoyGBiv]

7. Clarification ...

What do you mean by "them" when stating, "Whether you use Agent or OE, you need to give them a user name and email address"? Agent requires no such thing. A lot of Usenet servers require a manageable From: header, which is where the name and e-mail address are located, but unless you are participating in a moderated group that requires it or want people to be able to contact you directly from your posts on Usenet, this name and e-mail address need not be valid. I refuse to use OE (doing so is just asking for problems), so I'm not sure about it, but I doubt it is necessary there either.

[Princess Turandot]

8. I just double checked..

you are correct about Free Agent; one of the groups I looked at had almost no authors listed at all and I was able to eliminate the name & email I used on the program and post.

To set up a news account in OE, you do need to enter a name and something which looks like [e-mail]. They don't need to be real.
You also cannot eliminate your name or some ISP address after setting up the account, but they don't need to be real.

My main point was just that if you use an email account with a newsreader, to use a hotmail or other browser account, because of the SPAM. Some people do ask for responses to be sent to them rather than the news group.

[RoyGBiv]

15. Yes ...

Sorry if I distracted others from your main point, which is absolutely correct.

I have an e-mail account I use for Usenet because I moderate a group and must have some sort of method of being contacted. However, I "lovingly" refer to this account as my SPAM bucket. Even with two levels of SPAM filtering on it, I get a dozen or two garbage e-mails per day. Without those controls, the SPAM has gotten up to 500+ pieces of SPAM in a 24 hour period.

[ConsAreLiars]

9. Gravity is open source and free

http://mpgravity.sourceforge.net/

It was originally developed as shareware, then went open source and has been picked up by others and is actively supported by a community of programmers.

It is now up to version 2.7, I used an earlier version (2.5) for a while and had no complaints at all. Easy to configure and very easy to understand. Thunderbird is fine for casual newsgroup use, but Gravity is optimized for newsgroups - simple to start yet it has lots of options for more advanced users if you need them. I haven't reinstalled it since my Win98SE system died and was replaced, but if I ever want to spend more time on Usenet I would choose this over Forte Agent or Easynews (?) and a few others I had tried before Gravity.

[Wilber_Stool]

12. I've been using Easy News for about seven years now

If you're going to pay for a portal, Easy News is the way to go. 100% though put. No drooped posts, 10 gigs for 10 bucks and unused gigs roll over to the next month.

[ConsAreLiars]

13. I think maybe I meant XNews

and conflated it with the portal. I remember looking at EasyNews.com and it sounded good. The price seems fair for those who need it.

Best bet is to try a few different clients and see which is most comfortable.

[r_u_stuck2]

10. XNews

Use XNEWS.

This link tells you how to set it up.

http://www.slyck.com/xnews.php

It is small (671kb) You can get it from lots of places but here is one place.

http://www.onlythebestfreeware.com/program.asp?program_id=104

[Wilber_Stool]

11. Yep!

Xnews is good. Easy to use multipal servers.

[Osamasux]

14. NewsBin Pro

NewsBin Pro handles multiple servers much more gracefully. The upgrades are frequent and painless. The response to the user community is first rate. I had been using Free Agent, then Agent for years. I switched when they were slow to support Yenc and liked what I found. I didn't even bother installing Agent on the current machine.

http://www.newsbin.com

[Jersey Devil]

16. Ditto on Newsbin - also use, for downloading a program called Binary Boy

which does an excellent job of tracking and downloading files in the background.

http://www.binaryboy.com/