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fsxnet:usenet [14/05/2023 02:54] – created fsxNet Usenet gateway details avonfsxnet:usenet [25/04/2024 14:20] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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 ====== fsxNet Usenet Gateway ====== ====== fsxNet Usenet Gateway ======
  
-fsxNet offers a gated bi-directional feed of Usenet newsgroups to BBS. +fsxNet offers a free, gated, bi-directional feed of Usenet newsgroups to member BBS.
  
-This page displays the contents of a file called fsx-use.txt in the fsxNet Infopack. +This page displays the contents of a file called fsx-use.txt in the fsxNet Infopack. 
 + 
 +The service is powered by [[ http://news.bbs.nz | news.bbs.nz]] a NNTP server peered with 15+ global Usenet servers. You may be interested in the [[fsxnet:stats:usenet|latest gateway stats]] that are updated four times a day.
  
 The page is updated whenever a fsxNet Infopack is hatched out to to all BBS nodes connected to the FSX_INFO file base. This occurs weekly (Friday morning New Zealand time) and whenever the Zone Coordinator (ZC) opts to send it. The page is updated whenever a fsxNet Infopack is hatched out to to all BBS nodes connected to the FSX_INFO file base. This occurs weekly (Friday morning New Zealand time) and whenever the Zone Coordinator (ZC) opts to send it.
 +
 +<file fsx-use.txt>
 +
 +== fsxNet Usenet Gateway Overview ===========================================
 +
 +The Gateway currently stores the most recent 3000 messages per newsgroup.
 +
 +News is polled hourly and nodes are fed as fresh news is tossed to
 +the Gateway system. Traffic can be CRASHed to a node or put on HOLD for
 +it collect. The default setting is HOLD. If you would like to change
 +that please contact your Network Coordinator.
 +
 +The feed is bi-directional so posts from your node to the Gateway will be
 +processed and sent out via the Gateway within the hour.
 +
 +At present the focus is on offering the Usenet Big 8 and some alt.* groups
 +
 +comp.*   Computer-related discussions  comp.software, comp.sys.amiga,
 +humanities.*  Humanities topics   humanities.music.composers.wagner
 +misc.*   Miscellaneous topics     misc.education, misc.forsale, misc.kids
 +news.*   Newsgroup-related matters. 
 +rec.* Recreation and entertainment  rec.music, rec.arts.movies,
 +sci.* Science-related discussions   sci.physics, sci.research, sci.skeptic
 +soc.* Social discussions  soc.college.org, soc.history.what-if 
 +talk.* Talk about various controversial topics and discussions with no obvious
 +categorization talk.religion, talk.politics, talk.bizarre, talk.origins
 +
 +Further newsgroups will be added over time and updates posted to FSX_BOT
 +and/or FSX_GEN echomail areas. If there are specific newsgroups you would
 +like the fsxNet Usenet Gateway to carry - please email your requests to 
 +avon@bbs.nz or discuss them in FSX_GEN :)
 +
 +== Terms of Use =============================================================
 +
 +* Users of this service must be nodelisted fsxNet members.
 +
 +* Use of this service implies acceptance of these Terms of Use.
 +
 +* Nodelisted fsxNet members are responsible for the content their system
 +  generates via the fsxNet Usenet Gateway
 +
 +* The use of the fsxNet Usenet Gateway for illegal purposes is not permitted.
 +
 +* You must not post binary files, either in full or in part via this service,
 +  this is a text based service only.
 +
 +* Posted content must not contain or reference material that is deceptive,
 +  fraudulent, defamatory, malicious, harmful or discriminatory.
 +
 +* You must not use this service to bully, taunt, harass, intimidate,
 +  or threaten any person(s). 
 +  
 +* It is prohibited to use this service to spam. New Zealand has, and enforces
 +  under law, The New Zealand Spam Law (2007), where substantial penalties
 +  exist.
 +
 +* Members deemed to be engaged in any such activities, as noted above, will
 +  be de-listed by the Network Coordinator and may risk facing further legal
 +  action.
 +  
 +* The provision of this service is not guaranteed. Available newsgroups may
 +  change over time. Requests to carry certain groups are welcome but the
 +  decision to do so (or not) is solely that of the Network Coordinator.
 +  
 +* The Network Coordinator is Paul Hayton (21:1/101)
 +  
 +* The Terms of Use are subject to change. Please ensure you review them
 +  regularly.
 + 
 + 
 +== Best Practice ============================================================
 +
 +* Posts should be made using an alias and not a real name to avoid giving 
 +  spammers and/or trolls a 'free ride'.
 +  
 +* Likewise, it's highly recommended if you're using an email address in your
 +  posts, that you make it a disposable one or obfuscate it using the standard
 +  .invalid technique e.g. avon@bbs.nz.invaid 
 +  This also helps to negate your inbox being filled with spam from bots
 +  that harvest email addresses posted to newsgroups. You've been warned!
 +  
 +* Check your content before pressing send. Once sent, your message can not
 +  be recalled and will be publicly discoverable around the globe on assorted
 +  NNTP news servers within the hour.  
 +  
 +
 +== Getting Setup ============================================================
 +
 +Here's how to connect to the fsxNet Usenet + Games Gateway (21:1/10)
 +
 +1)
 +
 +Contact Paul aka Avon at either avon@bbs.nz or 21:1/101 and ask for your
 +fsxNet node number to be set up at the fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/10)
 +
 +2) 
 +
 +Create a new echonode entry in your BBS config for 21:1/10@fsxnet
 +
 +Use the settings below BUT - change ensure your 'Session Options'
 +are as follows: agency.bbs.nz:24557 
 +
 +This address and port number may differ from the usual address and/or port
 +you connect to for your fsxNet HUB. However the Gateway runs on a different
 +BinkP server to feed your BBS Usenet News compared to your usual fsxNet
 +echomail / netmail traffic fed from a fsxNet HUB.
 +
 +
 + Description │ fsxNet Usenet + Games    Zone │ 21
 +      Active │ Yes                       Net │ 1
 +Archive Type │ ZIP                      Node │ 10
 + Export Type │ Crash                   Point │ 0
 +   AllFix PW │                        Domain │ fsxnet
 +PKT Password │
 +Session Type │ BinkP
 +  Route Info │ 
 +Max PKT Size │ 512
 +Max ARC Size │ 2048
 + Use FileBox │ Yes
 +     FileBox │
 +TIC Password │                         
 +
 +
 +3)
 +
 +Send a netmail to Areafix at 21:1/10
 +
 +Place your areafix password in the subject line and try to send
 +a %HELP to the Gateway. Hopefully you will get a reply :)
 +
 +4) 
 +
 +Send a further netmail to Areafix at 21:1/10
 +
 +Place your areafix password in the subject line and try 
 +the following commands - note comments on the right do not need
 +to be entered in, they are just to explain what each command does.
 +
 +  %LIST              Request a list of areas available to you
 +  ALT.BBS            Connect area ALT.BBS
 +  %RESCAN            Request a rescan of all new areas - in this case
 +                     the alt.bbs newsgroup :)
 +  
 +5)
 +
 +Send a further netmail to Areafix at 21:1/10
 +
 +Place your areafix password in the subject line and add a list
 +(one per line) of each of the newsgroups you wish to have fed
 +to your system. Using the output of the %LIST command you issued
 +earlier is a great help with this :)
 +
 +For example you might want to do something like...
 +
 +  ALT.BBS.ADS
 +  ALT.BBS.ALLSYSOP
 +  SCI.FRACTALS
 +  SCI.GEO.CARTOGRAPHY
 +  SCI.GEO.EARTHQUAKES
 +  COMP.SYS.ACORN.GAMES
 +  COMP.SYS.ACORN.HARDWARE
 +  COMP.SYS.ACORN.PROGRAMMER
 +  REC.GAMES.BRIDGE
 +  REC.GAMES.PINBALL
 +  REC.MUSIC.CLASSICAL.RECORDINGS
 +  REC.MUSIC.DYLAN
 +  REC.MUSIC.ROCK-POP-R+B.1950S
 +  %RESCAN
 +  
 +...and send that off. In the end it's up to you to choose which
 +newsgroups you want. Send multiple netmails to the /10 Gateway until
 +you're happy with what you're getting sent to you :)
 +
 +**IF** you want them all then the command to use is
 + 
 +  %+ALL              Connect all available areas
 +  
 +  or
 +  
 +  %-ALL              Disconnect all areas
 +
 +If you also follow this command up with a 
 +
 +%RESCAN 
 +
 +on another line then hopefully you will get a reply with a lot
 +of messages that your BBS will auto create message areas for as 
 +they are imported :)
 +
 +== Important Stuff ==========================================================
 +
 +Using a Mystic system?
 +
 +1) As new bases are created it will create them using the settings you have 
 +defined for your fsxNet Zone 21 address. It's highly likely you will want to
 +assign a different ACS G group code to these messages so they are part of
 +a different message group you might want to call 'fsxNet Usenet' or similar.
 +
 +Doing this using the global editor in the message base editor will allow you
 +to display all of your Usenet News in one message group and the smaller number
 +of fsxNet echoareas in another
 +
 +2) As new bases are created at the Gateway you may wish to re-issue arefix
 +commands such as %UNLINKED to identify those bases and/or keep an eye out
 +for posted updates from your friendly NC who will advise on FSX_GEN the 
 +general chat echoarea on fsxNet from time to time.
 +
 +3)
 +
 +** NOTE WELL **
 +
 +It's very important your system does not send Usenet traffic to 21:1/100
 +all traffic must be sent to 21:1/10
 +
 +If in doubt I strongly suggest you remove all past Usenet message bases 
 +from your system and set up from scratch using the above instructions 
 +and (if using Mystic and/or another BBS package) get your BBS to auto
 +create the new message bases as they arrive from the 21:1/10 Gateway
 +
 +Watch you do not have a connection to another gated Usenet feed coming in
 +to your system at the same time as you are setting up and attaching to 
 +21:1/10
 +
 +We have seen issues in the past with nodes obtaining x 2 usenet feeds and
 +sending messages coming in from one gate back out to the second gateway
 +because of identical echomail tags being used. If in doubt delink from 
 +any/all Usenet echomail groups another provider is feeing your BBS *before*
 +you start hooking up to the fsxNet Usenet + Games Gateway.
 +
 +If in doubt about the above, contact Avon at Agency BBS 21:1/101
 +or avon@bbs.nz
 +
 +
 +== Frequently Asked Questions ===============================================
 +
 +Got a question you think should be here? Let me know and I can include it :)
 +
 +== Miscellaneous ============================================================
 +
 +Use aliases not real names in Usenet message bases.
 +
 +Avoid ANSI posts to Usenet message bases - they never look good once sent
 +across as plain text to NNTP systems. 
 +
 +Using a Mystic BBS?
 +
 +Feel free to change message base type to 'Newsgroup' if you want to.
 +What this does is that it makes messages posted in each base set this 
 +way be addressed to 'All' as opposed to the name of the person your
 +replying to. The use of 'All' as the recipient is standard Usenet
 +convention. But you don't have to use it these days (as far as I know)
 +
 +If you do opt to do this - ensure your semaphore event types are also
 +looking for 'newsmail.out' and 'newsmail.in' (in addition to your other
 +existing semaphores) in order to export/import some of the messages sent
 +to/from the fsxNet Usenet Gateway to/from your node. It's probably easiest 
 +just to leave message base type set to 'Echomail'
 +
 +Did you know not may people read the last lines of these docs? :)
 +
 +No cats, fish, small bipeds or other mammals were harmed in the making
 +of these docs.
 +
 +Some assembly required, batteries not included!
 +
 +Cheers, Avon.
 +
 +Feel free to contact me at Agency BBS 21:1/101 or avon@bbs.nz
 +
 +== Helpful Areafix Commands =================================================
 +
 +  
 +  ALT.BBS            Connect area ALT.BBS
 +  ALT.BBS /R         Connect area ALT.BBS and rescan all messages
 +                     in the message base
 +  ALT.BBS /R=50      Connect area ALT.BBS and rescan at most 50 messages
 +  =ALT.BBS           Rescan the connected area ALT.BBS without having
 +                     to disconnect it first
 +
 +  -ALT.BBS           Disconnect area ALT.BBS
 +
 +  %+ALL              Connect all available areas
 +  %-ALL              Disconnect all areas
 +
 +
 +  %NOTIFY ON         Turn NOTIFY messages on
 +  %NOTIFY OFF        Turn NOTIFY messages off
 +
 +  %HELP              Request this message
 +  %LIST              Request a list of areas available to you
 +
 +  %QUERY             Request a list of areas for which you are active
 +  %UNLINKED          Request a list of areas to which you are not connected
 +
 +  %RESCAN            Request a rescan of all new areas
 +  %RESCAN=50         Request a rescan of at most 50 messages per area for
 +                     all new areas
 +  %PAUSE             or
 +  %PASSIVE           Temporarily disable all areas. This means that you won't
 +                     receive any echo mail anymore unless it is addressed to
 +                     you personally (only if the sysop on this node has
 +                     entered your name correctly in the Node Manager). You
 +                     will still be allowed to send echo mail to this system
 +                     in areas to which you are connected.
 +  %RESUME            or
 +  %ACTIVE            Make your node active again.
 +  
 +
 +</file>
 +
fsxnet/usenet.1684032860.txt.gz · Last modified: 14/05/2023 02:54 by avon

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