Re: ISP vs "newsgroup server provider": [was: Re: Question for Agent (and other news reader) users]

On 12 Dec 2005 20:53:27 GMT, "Default User"
<defaultuserbr@xxxxxxxxx> said:

> Bob Cunningham wrote:

> > Please give examples showing the distinction between an
> > Internet service provider and a newsgroup server provider. I
> > have an ISP (Earthlink) who provide me with newsgroups,
> > e-mail service, and World Wide Web access. If I have a
> > "newsgroup server provider" separate from my ISP, how would
> > I go about identifying it?

> I used to have an ISP, PeoplePC, that provide web and email access, but
> did not provide newsgroup access. I had to use a separate newsgroup
> server provider. One of the big recent events was AOL dropping their
> news server access. Is this really news to you?

No.

But it doesn't alter my impression that if you asked most
AOL subscribers what Internet service provider they use,
they would answer "AOL", regarding AOL as the provider of a
variety of Internet services including access to newsgroups,
e-mail, and Web sites.

I wonder if news reports on the action used the words "news
server". One report ( http://tinyurl.com/5lmj2 ) says

AOL Pulls Plug on Newsgroup Service
By Brian McWilliams, Guest Columnist
January 25, 2005, 9:50 AM

[...]

America Online has quietly announced that it will
discontinue providing member access to Usenet
newsgroups next month. In recent days, AOL
subscribers who access keyword "Newsgroups" are
greeted with a pop-up message informing them of
the change: "Please Note: The AOL Newsgroup
service will be discontinued in early 2005."

Note that there's nothing in those remarks that suggests to
the reader that the AOL newsgroups access is anything more
than one of the Internet services provided by the Internet
service provider AOL.

Later in the report it says

AOL's Usenet implementation was non-standard from
the start. The service doesn't allow members to
connect directly to its network news transfer
protocol (NNTP) servers. Thus, AOL subscribers are
forced to use the service's internal and poorly
designed newsgroup reader rather than the array of
better third-party programs.

This emphasizes that to Joe or Jane Sixpack "newsgroup
server" is technical jargon having no need to enter into his
or her concept of what an Internet service provider is.

Note that the subject line with which I started this thread
is "ISP vs 'newsgroup server provider'". This was based on
someone's taking exception to my allusion to an Internet
service provider providing newsgroups. The exception-taking
comment was in effect that the Internet service provider
doesn't provide newsgroups: a newsgroup server does.

That's sorta like saying, "This isn't fruit: it's an apple".
.

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