Usenet server down?

[Alan]

Yeah, it is likely that we'll discontinue our relationship with Giganews/Supernews at the same time. We haven't officially provided that for quite a few years now.

That's too bad... I was hoping the limited Supernews service would at least be left in place. :(

Here's hoping Sonic could continue the Supernews access. I do use the binary groups at about 10 gigs per month but that was with the super fast sonic server. It would much less with the limited access on supernews but still valuable. Thanks for whatever you could do.

Though I understand Sonic's position on this, I, too, am also hoping to keep the limited Supernews (well, Giganews) access.

Regardless, thank you for the Usenet efforts up to now.

[nhdesign]

Some of my favorite quotes over the year. Interesting how many are Gandalf Parker. Had him in my file before I came to sonic.

Best usenet, better than sonic ever was, is panix.com, shell only account is $10 a month.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

They used to say that you can't see the forest for the trees.
Now it's that you can't see the Internet for the WWW.
- Gandalf Parker

-----------------------------------------------------------------
I knew DOS before it was spelled DoS
I knew UNIX before it was spelled L I N U X
and INTERNET before it was spelled W W W
- Gandalf Parker

-----------------------------------------------------------------
unix is for people who know why it works.
linux is for people who want to know why it works.
mac is for people who don't want to know why it works.
dos is for people who want to know why it doesn't work.
windows is for people who dont want to know why it doesn't work.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Linux: gawk, date, finger, wait, unzip, touch, nice, suck,
strip, mount, fsck, umount, make clean, sleep.
(Who needs porn when you have /usr/bin?)
- jimbo

-----------------------------------------------------------------
You used to have to figure out enough DOS to get to a UNIX
server. Then figure out enough UNIX to get to the Internet.
Now we have foolproof software all over.
Do you know the purpose of foolproof software?
(to get more fools on the net)
- Gandalf Parker

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The irony of the Information Age is that it has given new
respectability to uninformed opinion.
- John Lawton, 1995

-----------------------------------------------------------------
If you have trouble sounding condescending,
find a Unix user to show you how it's done.
- Scott Adams

-----------------------------------------------------------------
640K ought to be enough for anybody.
- Bill Gates, 1981

-----------------------------------------------------------------
As a general rule of thumb, the intelligence and computer
literacy rates between the two groups are inversely
proportional. HINT: If you think unix are the guys who guard
the sultan's harem, you may be an ix'er. On the other hand,
if you think windows are best used to let fresh air into your
house, you are probably a sheller.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Nine megs for the secretaries fair,
Seven megs for the hackers scarce,
Five megs for the grads in smoky lairs,
Three megs for system source;
One disk to rule them all,
One disk to bind them,
One disk to hold the files
And in the darkness grind them.
- gerg@netcom.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------


=================================================================
FROM THE ORIGINAL FORTUNES INSTALLED ON SunOS IN THE OLD DAYS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 19)
You are conservative and afraid of taking risks. You don't do
much of anything and are lazy. There has never been a
Capricorn of any importance. Capricorns should avoid standing
still for too long as they take root and become trees.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18)
You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive.
You lie a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to
be careless and impractical, causing you to make the same
mistakes over and over again. People think you are stupid.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
PISCES (Feb. 19 to Mar. 20)
Take the high road, look for the good things, carry the
American Express card and a weapon. The world is yours today,
as nobody else wants it. Your mortgage will be foreclosed.
You will probably get run over by a bus.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 19)
You are the pioneer type and hold most people in contempt. You
are quick tempered, impatient, and scornful of advice. You are
not very nice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20)
You are practical and persistent. You have a dogged
determination and work like hell. Most people think you are
stubborn and bull headed. You are a Communist.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
GEMINI (May 21 to Jun. 20)
Good news and bad news highlighted. Enjoy the good news while
you can; the bad news will make you forget it. You will enjoy
praise and respect from those around you; everybody loves a
sucker. A short trip is in the stars,
possibly to the men's room.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
CANCER (June 21 - July 22)
You are sympathetic and understanding to other people's
problems. They think you are a sucker. You are always putting
things off. That's why you'll never make anything of yourself.
Most welfare recipients are Cancer people.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
LEO (July 23 - Aug 22)
You consider yourself a born leader. Others think you are
pushy. Most Leo people are bullies. You are vain and dislike
honest criticism. Your arrogance is disgusting. Leo people
are thieves.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22)
Learn something new today, like how to spell or how to count to
ten without using your fingers. Be careful dressing this
morning. You may be hit by a car later in the day and you
wouldn't want to be taken to the doctor's office in some of
that old underwear you own.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
LIBRA (Sept 23 - Oct 22)
You are the artistic type and have a difficult time with
reality. If you are a man, you are more than likely gay.
Chances for employment and monetary gains are excellent. Most
Libra women are prostitutes. All Libra people die of Venereal
disease.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
SCORPIO (Oct 23 - Nov 21)
You are shrewd in business and cannot be trusted. You will
achieve the pinnacle of success because of your total lack of
ethics. Most Scorpio people are murdered.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 - Dec 21)
You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You have a reckless
tendency to rely on luck since you lack talent. The majority
of Sagittarians are drunks or dope fiends or both. People
laugh at you a great deal.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
=================================================================

I have a great deal more, but am only trying to fan the flames of the windows/shell wars:)

Copying Pasting that was a pain in the ass. how does one insert a pre-written text file into this window? One is not expected to use this interface to write, I hope.

[bob holtzm]

Firstly, thanks to Sonic for investing in, and continuing to offer Usenet access for as long as you have.

In light of its fading relevance, small user base, and other factors, I can understand Sonic's rationale for abandoning it, purely on rational terms.

On the flip side, it's still one of the services I still rely upon, and to me a feature that helps characterize and separate Sonic as a premium service provider. Having reliable access in one package has been a great convenience, and one of the key factors why I've remained a customer for ~8 years.

However, now that I'm being compelled to begin to rationalize my own terms with regard to ISP service, I can't dismiss the fact that the combined cost of Sonic's service, as well as a separate Usenet provider will likely force me to seek other pastures in order to make the best use of my limited budget.

Sonic has provided great service overall, and the technical support has been top notch when I've required it, which has been seldom, but in light of the coming changes, the value proposition had dramatically changed, and I'll be forced, albeit reluctantly, to seek other pastures. I've resisted other overtures for many years, but I guess the time has come.

The fact that Sonic ran it's own news server was the main reason I signed up many years ago and stuck with them all this time. It just ain't gonna be the same, guys.

[bob holtzman]

However, now that I'm being compelled to begin to rationalize my own terms with regard to ISP service, I can't dismiss the fact that the combined cost of Sonic's service, as well as a separate Usenet provider will likely force me to seek other pastures in order to make the best use of my limited budget.

Do you use Usenet for binary groups? I hope you know that you can get access to text-only groups for free.

where?

[kgc]

No promises, but we are discussing options for keeping news.sonic.net up and may have some more information sometime next week.

[jmunowitch]

Here's hoping Sonic could continue the Supernews access. I do use the binary groups at about 10 gigs per month but that was with the super fast sonic server. It would much less with the limited access on supernews but still valuable. Thanks for whatever you could do.

Though I understand Sonic's position on this, I, too, am also hoping to keep the limited Supernews (well, Giganews) access.

Regardless, thank you for the Usenet efforts up to now.

If I may ask, Where is the information on the Supernews access? I can not seem to find it.

[kgc]

Jim, we haven't official supported it for several years, but supernews.sonic.net is available. The streams are limited to 2 @ 64k. It is likely to go away at any time without notice from us (but feel free to use it in the meantime.) You'll need to auth with you sonic.net user/password. You might have to auth as 'user@sonic.net' not just 'user'.

[jmunowitch]

Great! Thank you.

[gus]

I have set up Thunderbird to work with eternal-september, but I'd really like to use tin for a number of reasons. I have gotten tin to get the articles, but I get an error writing to .newsrc and a .server?? file error. It doesn't show which articles are new. It appears to be indexing the articles, but fails to write to a required file.

Can someone list the files that need to be used or created, and what environment variable need to be set in my .profile? This would be great to get tin back.

Thanks in advance.
--
Bob Alman

[Guest]

Since Sonic hosts my business and personal website as well as being the best ISP I know, I'm not about to switch. However, I do hope you can reconsider this decision.

Ditto