• Re: Eternal September help

    From Ernest Major@21:1/5 to Zen Cycle on Thu Dec 28 21:00:53 2023
    On 28/12/2023 20:22, Zen Cycle wrote:

    - Poking around in the features I noticed some information in the header files, specifically there is an "organization" field. Mine is "A
    noiseless patient Spider", On some I've seen "What are you looking for?"
    What is "organization" such that it seems to allow random naming (I know
    mine is a reference to Whitman, but what the hell does that have to do
    with a Usenet organization?)

    I presume "A noiseless patient Spider" is the default "organisation"
    value in Thunderbird. I also presume that the purpose of the
    organisation field is to denote company, government department, academic institution, etc., and is not relevant to consumer internet.

    --
    alias Ernest Major

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  • From Zen Cycle@21:1/5 to All on Thu Dec 28 15:22:38 2023
    With the demise of Google Groups I've decided to finally quit being lazy
    and configure a news reader/mail client, going with Eternal September
    and Thunderbird, mostly because they're free. However, I have a few
    questions that I was hoping the more savvy and experienced users here
    might be able to help me with. I have searched various web references
    and user forums but haven't really found any explanations to the issues
    below:

    - I've noticed the message composition in Thunderbird seems to limit
    characters per line to 73 when it wraps, but it keeps the format of the
    message I'm responding intact, wrapping at the window width. I can't
    find a way to configure the message window to allow my typing to wrap at
    the window width.

    - Poking around in the features I noticed some information in the header
    files, specifically there is an "organization" field. Mine is "A
    noiseless patient Spider", On some I've seen "What are you looking for?"
    What is "organization" such that it seems to allow random naming (I know
    mine is a reference to Whitman, but what the hell does that have to do
    with a Usenet organization?)

    - I linked Thunderbird to my Hotmail account which is how I'm subscribed
    to the various Usenet groups. Messages I'm posting to Usenet through Thunderbird have placed a profile picture next to my posts as they
    appear in google groups that _isn't_ the profile picture associated with
    my Hotmail account. What's even more confusing is that email messages
    sent from Thunderbird via Hotmail _do_ show the profile picture
    associated with my hotmail account, as do messages to Usenet posted
    through Google Groups. IOW - When I post to Usenet through google
    groups, it uses my profile picture. When I post to Usenet using
    Thunderbird/ES it uses some picture I have no connection to. I have no
    idea what it's a picture of, appears to be a black and white photo of a
    guy playing a guitar. Could be worse, I suppose. I've not been able to
    find any information on how or why this is happening, let alone how to
    change it.

    None of these issues are of any critical importance to me. If There's a
    way to fix #s 1 and 3, great, if not, no big deal.

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  • From Pro Plyd@21:1/5 to Ernest Major on Thu Dec 28 21:28:39 2023
    Ernest Major wrote:
    On 28/12/2023 20:22, Zen Cycle wrote:

    - Poking around in the features I noticed some information in the header
    files, specifically there is an "organization" field. Mine is "A
    noiseless patient Spider", On some I've seen "What are you looking for?"
    What is "organization" such that it seems to allow random naming (I know
    mine is a reference to Whitman, but what the hell does that have to do
    with a Usenet organization?)

    I presume "A noiseless patient Spider" is the default "organisation" value
    in Thunderbird. I also presume that the purpose of the organisation field
    is to denote company, government department, academic institution, etc.,
    and is not relevant to consumer internet.


    Half right. It's the default org value header put there by ES

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  • From Zen Cycle@21:1/5 to jillery on Fri Dec 29 07:00:12 2023
    On 12/29/2023 1:08 AM, jillery wrote:
    On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 21:28:39 -0700, Pro Plyd
    <[email protected]d> wrote:

    Ernest Major wrote:
    On 28/12/2023 20:22, Zen Cycle wrote:

    - Poking around in the features I noticed some information in the header >>>> files, specifically there is an "organization" field. Mine is "A
    noiseless patient Spider", On some I've seen "What are you looking for?" >>>> What is "organization" such that it seems to allow random naming (I know >>>> mine is a reference to Whitman, but what the hell does that have to do >>>> with a Usenet organization?)

    I presume "A noiseless patient Spider" is the default "organisation" value >>> in Thunderbird. I also presume that the purpose of the organisation field >>> is to denote company, government department, academic institution, etc., >>> and is not relevant to consumer internet.


    Half right. It's the default org value header put there by ES


    Correct. For completeness, most Usenet servers have default values for headers fields, but will not overwrite whatever a user specifies. So
    Zen Cycle can specify whatever he wants in the org value header.

    And since it was mentioned, several posters have noted that ES has
    been dropping posts, and have had better results with Solani (news.solani.org).


    A user on another board I'm subscribed to noted the messages getting
    dropped by ES all seem to be from users posting directly through the GG interface.

    --
    Add xx to reply

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  • From David Dalton@21:1/5 to Zen Cycle on Mon Jan 1 04:18:00 2024
    On Dec 28, 2023, Zen Cycle wrote
    (in article <umklee$3vejo$[email protected]>):

    With the demise of Google Groups I've decided to finally quit being lazy
    and configure a news reader/mail client, going with Eternal September
    and Thunderbird, mostly because they're free. However, I have a few
    questions that I was hoping the more savvy and experienced users here
    might be able to help me with. I have searched various web references
    and user forums but haven't really found any explanations to the issues below:

    - I've noticed the message composition in Thunderbird seems to limit characters per line to 73 when it wraps, but it keeps the format of the message I'm responding intact, wrapping at the window width. I can't
    find a way to configure the message window to allow my typing to wrap at
    the window width.

    - Poking around in the features I noticed some information in the header files, specifically there is an "organization" field. Mine is "A
    noiseless patient Spider", On some I've seen "What are you looking for?"
    What is "organization" such that it seems to allow random naming (I know
    mine is a reference to Whitman, but what the hell does that have to do
    with a Usenet organization?)

    - I linked Thunderbird to my Hotmail account which is how I'm subscribed
    to the various Usenet groups. Messages I'm posting to Usenet through Thunderbird have placed a profile picture next to my posts as they
    appear in google groups that _isn't_ the profile picture associated with
    my Hotmail account. What's even more confusing is that email messages
    sent from Thunderbird via Hotmail _do_ show the profile picture
    associated with my hotmail account, as do messages to Usenet posted
    through Google Groups. IOW - When I post to Usenet through google
    groups, it uses my profile picture. When I post to Usenet using Thunderbird/ES it uses some picture I have no connection to. I have no
    idea what it's a picture of, appears to be a black and white photo of a
    guy playing a guitar. Could be worse, I suppose. I've not been able to
    find any information on how or why this is happening, let alone how to
    change it.

    None of these issues are of any critical importance to me. If There's a
    way to fix #s 1 and 3, great, if not, no big deal.

    One good place to ask for Eternal September help is the group eternal-september.support .

    --
    David Dalton [email protected] https://www.nfld.com/~dalton (home page) https://www.nfld.com/~dalton/dtales.html Salmon on the Thorns (mystic page) "And if I shed a tear I won’t cage it; I won't fear love;
    And if I feel a rage I won’t deny it; I won't fear love" (Sarah McLachlan)

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jan 1 11:48:51 2024
    On Mon, 1 Jan 2024 08:50:56 -0800, the following appeared in
    talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 1/1/24 6:37 AM, jillery wrote:
    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 04:18:00 -0330, David Dalton <[email protected]>
    wrote:

    On Dec 28, 2023, Zen Cycle wrote
    (in article <umklee$3vejo$[email protected]>):

    With the demise of Google Groups I've decided to finally quit being lazy >>>> and configure a news reader/mail client, going with Eternal September
    and Thunderbird, mostly because they're free. However, I have a few
    questions that I was hoping the more savvy and experienced users here
    might be able to help me with. I have searched various web references
    and user forums but haven't really found any explanations to the issues >>>> below:

    - I've noticed the message composition in Thunderbird seems to limit
    characters per line to 73 when it wraps, but it keeps the format of the >>>> message I'm responding intact, wrapping at the window width. I can't
    find a way to configure the message window to allow my typing to wrap at >>>> the window width.

    - Poking around in the features I noticed some information in the header >>>> files, specifically there is an "organization" field. Mine is "A
    noiseless patient Spider", On some I've seen "What are you looking for?" >>>> What is "organization" such that it seems to allow random naming (I know >>>> mine is a reference to Whitman, but what the hell does that have to do >>>> with a Usenet organization?)

    - I linked Thunderbird to my Hotmail account which is how I'm subscribed >>>> to the various Usenet groups. Messages I'm posting to Usenet through
    Thunderbird have placed a profile picture next to my posts as they
    appear in google groups that _isn't_ the profile picture associated with >>>> my Hotmail account. What's even more confusing is that email messages
    sent from Thunderbird via Hotmail _do_ show the profile picture
    associated with my hotmail account, as do messages to Usenet posted
    through Google Groups. IOW - When I post to Usenet through google
    groups, it uses my profile picture. When I post to Usenet using
    Thunderbird/ES it uses some picture I have no connection to. I have no >>>> idea what it's a picture of, appears to be a black and white photo of a >>>> guy playing a guitar. Could be worse, I suppose. I've not been able to >>>> find any information on how or why this is happening, let alone how to >>>> change it.

    None of these issues are of any critical importance to me. If There's a >>>> way to fix #s 1 and 3, great, if not, no big deal.

    One good place to ask for Eternal September help is the group
    eternal-september.support .


    My understanding is Zen Cycle's expressed problems are related more to
    TBird than to ES. But I acknowledge your advice can't hurt, and might
    help.

    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    Eternal September isn't the best choice you could make. Giganews
    requires payment, but seems to work much better. Thunderbird requires
    some patience to set it up properly, but I think I have it under control.

    FWIW, I used Supernews (~$60/year) for about 15 years, until
    I decided to "go freebie". Supernews was *very* reliable,
    but I decided that even that little was more than I wanted
    to spend, especially considering the much-reduced traffic in
    the Usenet groups that interest me. As for T'Bird, I prefer
    Agent (paid version). There might still be a source for the
    free version; IIRC the only downside was a lack of killfile
    availability (but I could be mistaken; it's been quite a
    while).

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jan 1 17:08:28 2024
    On Mon, 1 Jan 2024 11:16:11 -0800, the following appeared in
    talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 1/1/24 10:48 AM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Mon, 1 Jan 2024 08:50:56 -0800, the following appeared in
    talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 1/1/24 6:37 AM, jillery wrote:
    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 04:18:00 -0330, David Dalton <[email protected]>
    wrote:

    On Dec 28, 2023, Zen Cycle wrote
    (in article <umklee$3vejo$[email protected]>):

    With the demise of Google Groups I've decided to finally quit being lazy >>>>>> and configure a news reader/mail client, going with Eternal September >>>>>> and Thunderbird, mostly because they're free. However, I have a few >>>>>> questions that I was hoping the more savvy and experienced users here >>>>>> might be able to help me with. I have searched various web references >>>>>> and user forums but haven't really found any explanations to the issues >>>>>> below:

    - I've noticed the message composition in Thunderbird seems to limit >>>>>> characters per line to 73 when it wraps, but it keeps the format of the >>>>>> message I'm responding intact, wrapping at the window width. I can't >>>>>> find a way to configure the message window to allow my typing to wrap at >>>>>> the window width.

    - Poking around in the features I noticed some information in the header >>>>>> files, specifically there is an "organization" field. Mine is "A
    noiseless patient Spider", On some I've seen "What are you looking for?" >>>>>> What is "organization" such that it seems to allow random naming (I know >>>>>> mine is a reference to Whitman, but what the hell does that have to do >>>>>> with a Usenet organization?)

    - I linked Thunderbird to my Hotmail account which is how I'm subscribed >>>>>> to the various Usenet groups. Messages I'm posting to Usenet through >>>>>> Thunderbird have placed a profile picture next to my posts as they >>>>>> appear in google groups that _isn't_ the profile picture associated with >>>>>> my Hotmail account. What's even more confusing is that email messages >>>>>> sent from Thunderbird via Hotmail _do_ show the profile picture
    associated with my hotmail account, as do messages to Usenet posted >>>>>> through Google Groups. IOW - When I post to Usenet through google
    groups, it uses my profile picture. When I post to Usenet using
    Thunderbird/ES it uses some picture I have no connection to. I have no >>>>>> idea what it's a picture of, appears to be a black and white photo of a >>>>>> guy playing a guitar. Could be worse, I suppose. I've not been able to >>>>>> find any information on how or why this is happening, let alone how to >>>>>> change it.

    None of these issues are of any critical importance to me. If There's a >>>>>> way to fix #s 1 and 3, great, if not, no big deal.

    One good place to ask for Eternal September help is the group
    eternal-september.support .


    My understanding is Zen Cycle's expressed problems are related more to >>>> TBird than to ES. But I acknowledge your advice can't hurt, and might >>>> help.

    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    Eternal September isn't the best choice you could make. Giganews
    requires payment, but seems to work much better. Thunderbird requires
    some patience to set it up properly, but I think I have it under control. >>>
    FWIW, I used Supernews (~$60/year) for about 15 years, until
    I decided to "go freebie". Supernews was *very* reliable,
    but I decided that even that little was more than I wanted
    to spend, especially considering the much-reduced traffic in
    the Usenet groups that interest me. As for T'Bird, I prefer
    Agent (paid version). There might still be a source for the
    free version; IIRC the only downside was a lack of killfile
    availability (but I could be mistaken; it's been quite a
    while).

    Actually, killfiles (or "filters" on T-bird), can easily be manually
    done by "delete". This shortcut is available for all, but it's more >satisfying to explicitly block repeat offenders.

    OK. I never tried T'Bird as a Usenet client; if it works for
    you that's fine.

    Just an aside... IMHO T'bird is so poor as a mail client, as
    compared to Pegasus Mail, that I'm seriously considering
    going back now that PMail conforms to the bogus "security"
    requirements of gmail.

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)