Re: An identity crisis

On 2005-07-17, MonkFish <spam.me.and.die@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Sat, 16 Jul 2005 Whiskers writes:
>
> "If your computer is running Mac or Windows, you probably have a program
> called 'Outlook Express' already, which can handle both newsgroups and
> e-mail. It isn't a particularly good program, but it will get you started -
> it's the one most people get started with. "Thunderbird" is a good
> alternative for 'beginners'.
>
> "I deduce from your headers that you are using the web interface
> <http://www.ureader.co.uk> (or possibly the USA-based .com site)."
>
> Correct on both counts: I am using the web interface because Outlook Express
> is so crap I gave up on it years ago. I've gone back to have a look at the
> newsgroups jobby on the cursed thing, but am uncertain as to what I should
> put down as the 'NTTP'. Any suggestions?

Try this one for a start:

news.aioe.org

See their website <http://news.aioe.org/en/index.php> for details. That
server is free to use and no registration is required - but there are
limits about how many posts you can make in a day, and other things, so
make sure you understand the 'Policy' you can find under 'Documention' on
their website. The people operating the service are in Italy, so their
English isn't quite perfect.

If you don't like Outlook Express (and I agree with you about that), then I
suggest that you download one of these (all free):

Thunderbird <http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/>
40tude dialog <http://www.40tude.com/dialog/>
Super Gravity <http://gravity.tbates.org/super.html>
Noworyita News Reader <http://nnr.freeservers.com/>
Xnews <http://xnews.newsguy.com/>

(or try all of them <G>)

> The web-interface isn't too much of a bother. When you want to reply to a
> post, you click the 'reply to this message' link (I figured that one out all
> by myself; I'm so proud). That takes you to a screen with a message window
> and a "subject" line above. Underneath this, the original message is given
> so you can cut and paste sections into your reply.
>
> It works fine but doesn't include the '<' '>' so I have to put the excerpts
> in quotation marks myself.

I have now managed to log in there, and as you say, the 'reply to this ...'
button does indeed take you without fuss to a blank box for typing into,
with the message you are replying to helpfully displayed lower down the
page. Unfortunately, there are no options for properly quoting the text
you are replying to, which is a fundamental omission in the design. Ah
well, I suppose it is free (subject to the spam added to every message).

> As I say, it works fine - until a certain someone starts complaining about
> the fact that I don't include the '<' and '>' in my replies, which then
> means I have to subject myself to the public humiliation of admitting I
> don't know how to use some of the basic software that comes with Windows,
> which, for someone as vain as me, is very hurtful (poor me).

<Cough> No, it doesn't work fine, it's fundamentally flawed - but that is
no criticism of you, the mistake is in the design of the webisite.

In some newsgroups you will get a thorough pasting for not 'keeping to the
standards'.

> I was just trying to pass myself off as one of the "gang", as someone once
> put it; for once in my life I was quietly trying to fit in, God knows I was
> trying, hoping no one would notice my failure of 'netiquette' or, if they
> did, they'd have the common decency to look the other way.

snip

Hey, if I didn't think you were one of the gang, I wouldn't be trying to
help! At the moment I seem to be more at home talking about techy stuff
than about feelings.

I have read the rest of your reply, but I'm too obtuse to understand quite
what you mean, so I'll apologize if I've upset you, and say that I
sincerely hope that you will stick around.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~
.