>I don`t think I use usenet either. OK, what is usenet? >Steve Larson >Redondo Beach, California
One can put spam blockers in one email address when using usenet. There are way to avoid spam when using usenet. Most of the spam I get on AOL is just directed to AOL members. People new to the Net just know pretty much about webpages, someone can fill you in on usenet better than I regarding how long it's been around. But in the hairy old days of the Internet before web pages became the norm, most people used usenet. A lot of people still do. There have to be over 1,000 discussion groups -- someone else can also fill you in better than I on how many there are. Maybe 5,000. You need a special newsgroup reader, though Netscape will do it as well. They operate similarly to this mailing list, except they do not come to your mailbox -- a usenet server is used. Different ISPs pick up different newsgroups, most ISPs (which have their own newsservers) do not pick up all of them. You go to the group (with a newsreader the newsserver is transparent, its like reading a web page bulletin board or discussion group), read, post responses, and they have threads like this mailing list (different discussion topics). They can be moderated or not, but most are not moderated. I've "belonged" to two for years -- the discussions get just as involved and/or off topic as they do here. Sometimes more so. They cover all topics, there are several on photography. I've found help with Access -- one can find a newsgroup on a particular application program like Access. I've found the photography ones to be of limited value, this list is better. But they have one just for buying and selling old camera equipment. I love usenet. Marnie aka Doe Google has a special search section just for searching usenet groups.
