On Thu, 24 Feb 2000, Adam Wendt wrote:
> I've been pondering this for a while and haven't been able to find any
> sufficient answers. How exactly does Usenet work?
News comes in. News goes out. Magic. ;-)
> Like if I was to install an nntp server I'd have to find another nntp
> server to sycronise with but how do I go about that?
If you want general Internet access, you call up an ISP and order an
Internet feed. If you want to run a mail server, you call up an ISP and order
a mail feed. Likewise, If you want to run a news server, you call up an ISP
and order a news feed. The news software itself handles the rest.
BTW, "synchronize" isn't really appropriate. Usenet is a
"store-and-forward" network. Mail originates from a machine, and is sent to
the next machine. That machine stores it locally, and sends a copy on to the
next machine. And so on. When you connect to a Usenet feed, you start
getting new messages. Old messages you cannot get, without explicitly
requesting them from a news spool which keeps older messages.
> I wouldn't think that I could just pick any old server cause they have
> access rules or something.
Correct. To continue my analogy, you can't dial in to an ISP without
signing up first, either. :)
> So if someone could please try to enlighten me or at least point me
> somewhere on the web where I can enlighten myself I would be very
> greatful.
http://www.supernews.com is an independent, commercial Usenet feed provider.
--
Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
| Linux: Something better then MS-Windows, for free! http://www.linux.com |
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