Usenet General Info/FAQ

A:  Newsgroups (also called Usenet News) can be thought of as message boards / discussion forums which are stored on a central server and are available via any ISP which offers newsgroup access. When a post is made to a newsgroup from a user on a particular ISP, the post will “propagate” to every other ISP in the world which offers newsgroup service, via the Usenet network. This means that users may post messages and files to a specific newsgroup and these posts will be made available to anyone in the world who has newsgroup access with their ISP. There are thousands of newsgroups currently available which cover a wide range of topics. Also, there are newsgroups available which contain only binary files, such as movies, pictures, and sounds, which can be downloaded to your PC via the use of a Newsreader program.

For more information about PenTeleData newsgroup/Usenet services, click HERE.

A:  Using a piece of software called a “newsreader,” a user connects to the PenTeleData Usenet server and can then download a list of available posts (which are called “headers”) within newsgroups of interest. The posts themselves can contain text messages and/or binary files which your newsreader software will decode after the post is downloaded. Once you have found newsgroups which are of particular interest to you, you can use your newsreader software to “subscribe” to them. Subscribing allows you to quickly be able to access the newsgroups that interest you most instead of having to wade through the many thousands of available groups each time. Any time you want to see the most recent postings in your subscribed groups, simply retrieve the new headers for those groups.

A:  Any PenTeleData Dial-up, High-speed Cable, High-speed DSL, Individual Usenet Account, or Commercial Usenet Account is permitted access to the PenTeleData Usenet server. For more information regarding the services included with your PenTeleData account, click HERE.

A:  Due to its ease of use, we recommend Forte’ Free Agent for Usenet access. This program is available at no charge by going to www.forteinc.com.

Although any newsreader program can be used to access newsgroups, PenTeleData only offers technical support for the following:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP: Forte’ Free Agent, Microsoft Outlook Express, Netscape Communicator 4.7 and 7.x, and X-News.
Mac OS9: Outlook Express, Netscape Navigator, and Netscape Communicator.
Mac OSX: Outlook Express (when used in OS9 mode), Netscape Communicator 7.1.

A:  For instructions on how to configure some of the popular newsreader programs, click HERE.

A:  For instructions on how to make the appropriate changes to your current newsreader software, click HERE.

A:  Our Usenet server name is: usenet.ptd.net

Standard accounts (Dial-up, cable modem, and DSL) must use their complete PenTeleData email address as their username (i.e. Username: johndoe@ptd.net ) and the corresponding password in order to log into the PenTeleData Usenet server.

If you have an "Individual Usenet Account" or "Commercial Usenet Account," you must use the Usenet login and password which was assigned to you in order to log in to the PenTeleData Usenet server. Please ensure that you are using your "complete" login including "@ptd.net" (i.e. Username: news00000005@ptd.net )

A:  Since all PenTeleData Full Access accounts are allowed to have five email addresses, we suggest that you contact our Customer Service department at (800)804-5783 to add a Full Access email name to your account. If you want news access but you do not want to receive email through this newly created email box, you can lower your disk quota limits on that mailbox to the absolute minimums by clicking "Mail Quota Settings" on PenTeleData's "Account Management" Webpage. Click HERE to access the "Account Management" Webpage.

If your account does not currently include Usenet server access, you can still purchase an "Individual Usenet Account." For more details please visit the PenTeleData Services page by clicking HERE.

If you signed up for High-speed Cable through your local cable company office, or High-speed DSL service through your telephone company, please contact them directly to add an email address to your account.

A:  First, you will need to install newsreader software (See question #4). Next, you must configure your newsreader to connect to PenTeleData's Usenet server. To view detailed instructions regarding configuring your newsreader, click HERE.

A:  By default, your newsreader software will prompt you to download the list of available newsgroups upon completing the initial setup. For instructions on how to configure some of the more popular newsreader programs, click HERE.

A:  Yes. We currently have three newsgroups which our customers may access. The newsgroups are:

prolog.ads (Have something to sell? You can place classified ads in this group which may be viewed by other ProLog customers.)

prolog.general (This group is used for general inquiries and discussions regarding your ProLog service.)

prolog.help (Have a question about your service which you would like to discuss with other users? Use this group to post your technical inquiries for others to view and respond to.)

A:  Simply scroll through the list of available newsgroups and look for groups which may be of interest to you. When you find a newsgroup you would like to browse, simply double-click on the title of the newsgroup and your newsreader software will ask you if you would like to retrieve a list of available posts from that particular newsgroup. Answer "Yes" or "OK" to this question. After this process is completed, you will see a list of the available posts in the newsgroup you’ve selected. To read a particular post, simply double-click on it.

A:  Simply select the post which contains the attachment you would like to download and issue a command to your newsreader to download the file. In most cases, you simply need to double-click on the post which contains the desired attachment and your newsreader will save the attachment to your hard drive automatically. Please refer to the "Help" menu within your particular newsreader software for more information.

A:  PenTeleData does not censor newsgroup access for our customers in any way. We leave it up to the customer to decide which newsgroups are appropriate to be read or downloaded. Be aware that since newsgroups are not censored in any way, there may be groups and topics which are inappropriate for some users.

A:  Moderated newsgroups are usually discussion forums which are regulated for content by a certain individual. Unlike non-moderated newsgroups, where postings are not censored and basically anything goes, you can be held responsible for your comments if they are posted to a moderated group. All moderated newsgroups will contain the word "moderated" in the title of the newsgroup (i.e. alt.computer.consultants.moderated).

A:  Based on the type of PenTeleData account that you have purchased, your monthly download limit may vary. You are permitted to download Usenet data, up to your limit, once a month. (Usenet Data: Any data that is transferred from the Usenet server to your computer. This includes all headers, text, binaries, or any other attachment that you download.) Your usage counter reset date is specified on the "Usenet Transfer Statistics" webpage. Any unused Usenet transfer data from your allotted monthly download limit, for the current monthly usage period, will not be carried over to the next month.

You can view your current transfer limit and your counter's reset date by logging in to our Usenet Transfer Statistics page. To access this page, you must first log into our "Account Management" page by surfing to www.ptd.net. On the right side of the page, click on “Account Management.” After you have logged in, click on "Usenet Transfer Statistics" to view your Usenet Transfer Statistics report. You can also access the "Account Management" page directly by clicking HERE.

Information regarding the monthly Usenet transfer limit associated with your specific account is also available on the PenTeleData Services page, which is located HERE.

A:  If you reach your allotted monthly download limit while in the middle of downloading a file, your current download will complete but you will not be able to access the newsgroups or download any more data until your current monthly usage cycle is completed.

A:  To check the statistics of your newsgroup account for the current monthly usage cycle, you must first log into our "Account Management" page by surfing to www.ptd.net and clicking on "Account Management" on the right side of the page.

Standard accounts (Dial-up, cable modem, and DSL) must use the beginning part of their PenTeleData email address as their username (everything before the @ptd.net) and the corresponding password to login to the PenTeleData Account Management page. *Please keep in mind that ONLY your Full Access email name is able to access the "Usenet Transfer Statistics" page even though you can log into "Account Management" with any of your email names.

if you have an "Individual Usenet Account" or "Commercial Usenet Account," you must use the Usenet login and password that was assigned to you. For example, if the username that you use to log in to the Usenet Server is 00000005@ptd.net , your login to the "Account management" webpage is simply 00000005.

After you have logged in, click on "Usenet Transfer Statistics" to view your Usenet Transfer Statistics report. You can also access the "Account Management" page directly by clicking HERE.

A:  Occasionally, when someone uploads file attachments to a newsgroup, the file will not be intact when it reaches the Usenet server for various reasons. In these circumstances, you will still see the file but it will be listed as incomplete by your newsreader. We strive to make as many binary attachments available as possible but there will always be exceptions beyond our control. If you really wanted to download the file, but it is incomplete, you can always post a message to the original poster and request that they "re-post" the incomplete file(s).

A:  Simply send your newsgroup request to and have the subject of the message: NEWSGROUP REQUEST or just click the following link: request newsgroup.

If the requested newsgroup is available on our server, we will gladly add the group for you. Please note that it may take several days for posts to appear in newly-added newsgroups.

A:  Yes. You simply need to configure your newsreader software with PenTeleData’s Usenet server settings. See question #7 for details.

A:  Yes. PenTeleData offers a product called an "Individual Usenet Account." This allows an individual without PenTeleData internet access to connect to our Usenet server from another online source. For more information about this service and pricing info, click HERE.

A:  You can call our Technical Support Department at (800)281-3564 to speak with a technician. Technical Support will attempt to answer any PenTeleData Usenet related question not covered here. You can also email your questions to support@corp.ptd.net.

For more online information regarding Usenet, we have provided links to various Usenet information sites below. Please note that PenTeleData does not offer support on these links. They are simply provided as a convenience to our customers.

General Usenet FAQ Part 1:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part1/

General Usenet FAQ Part 2:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part2/

FAQs for particular newsgroups:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/

Information about Moderated Newsgroups:
http://www.swcp.com/~dmckeon/mod-faq.html

A general Usenet reference page:
http://www.landfield.com/usenet/