uk.railway - gone

due to drug dealers ...

Recliner

2020-09-28 06:47:04 UTC

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

Uk.railway is alive and well, and much better now that the drugs spam has
all gone.

Joyce Whitchurch

2020-09-28 13:18:43 UTC

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

Uk.railway is alive and well, and much better now that the drugs spam has
all gone.

Indeed so: we're still around; just not on Google Groups. GG cannot
close down a Usenet group. You can still find u.r through other servers,
e.g. eternal september: <http://www.eternal-september.org/>.

If you're still pining for uk.transport.london, that's also still available.

No-one of course is pining for the drugs spam, which was (mostly)
injected through Google Groups. Perhaps GG have done us a favour.

--
Joyce Whitchurch, Stalybridge, UK
=================================

Recliner

2020-09-28 16:34:57 UTC

Post by Joyce Whitchurch

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

Uk.railway is alive and well, and much better now that the drugs spam has
all gone.

Indeed so: we're still around; just not on Google Groups. GG cannot
close down a Usenet group. You can still find u.r through other servers,
e.g. eternal september: <http://www.eternal-september.org/>.
If you're still pining for uk.transport.london, that's also still available.
No-one of course is pining for the drugs spam, which was (mostly)
injected through Google Groups. Perhaps GG have done us a favour.

Apart from not archiving our erudite thoughts for posterity.

Mark Goodge

2020-09-28 16:45:59 UTC

On Mon, 28 Sep 2020 16:34:57 -0000 (UTC), Recliner

Post by Joyce Whitchurch

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

Uk.railway is alive and well, and much better now that the drugs spam has
all gone.

Indeed so: we're still around; just not on Google Groups. GG cannot
close down a Usenet group. You can still find u.r through other servers,
e.g. eternal september: <http://www.eternal-september.org/>.
If you're still pining for uk.transport.london, that's also still available.
No-one of course is pining for the drugs spam, which was (mostly)
injected through Google Groups. Perhaps GG have done us a favour.

Apart from not archiving our erudite thoughts for posterity.

https://uk.railway.narkive.com/

Mark

Joyce Whitchurch

2020-09-28 19:26:34 UTC

Post by Mark Goodge

Post by Joyce Whitchurch
No-one of course is pining for the drugs spam, which was (mostly)
injected through Google Groups. Perhaps GG have done us a favour.

Apart from not archiving our erudite thoughts for posterity.

https://uk.railway.narkive.com/

Oh... That's handy. Thanks for the link.

--
Joyce Whitchurch, Stalybridge, UK
=================================

Recliner

2020-09-28 21:20:48 UTC

Post by Mark Goodge
On Mon, 28 Sep 2020 16:34:57 -0000 (UTC), Recliner

Post by Joyce Whitchurch

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

Uk.railway is alive and well, and much better now that the drugs spam has
all gone.

Indeed so: we're still around; just not on Google Groups. GG cannot
close down a Usenet group. You can still find u.r through other servers,
e.g. eternal september: <http://www.eternal-september.org/>.
If you're still pining for uk.transport.london, that's also still available.
No-one of course is pining for the drugs spam, which was (mostly)
injected through Google Groups. Perhaps GG have done us a favour.

Apart from not archiving our erudite thoughts for posterity.

https://uk.railway.narkive.com/

Thanks, I'd not seen that before.

m***@gmail.com

2020-11-01 18:31:21 UTC

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

Uk.railway is alive and well, and much better now that the drugs spam has
all gone.

If only their newsgroup was accessible to newcomers though. I don't think it is as I can't find an NZB file for it. Does anyone know?

Recliner

2020-11-02 11:10:35 UTC

Post by m***@gmail.com

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

Uk.railway is alive and well, and much better now that the drugs spam has
all gone.

If only their newsgroup was accessible to newcomers though. I don't think
it is as I can't find an NZB file for it. Does anyone know?

It's easily accessible to anyone using a newsreader and server. There are
free examples of both.

Brian Gaff (Sofa)

2020-09-29 07:47:49 UTC

I don't think any group can be deleted, but certainly many groups do get
filtered.
I'm intrigued, what would attract spam drug adverts to train groups? Seems
a little random.
Brian

--
--
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
***@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

2020-09-29 08:37:42 UTC

Post by Brian Gaff (Sofa)
I don't think any group can be deleted, but certainly many groups do get
filtered.
I'm intrigued, what would attract spam drug adverts to train groups? Seems
a little random.

What has actually changed in the last few days, to result in a sudden lack
of drug spam? Is it that uk.r is no longer carried by Google Groups, and now
requires you to access it (shock, horror) as a newsgroup, the old fashioned
way? Does this imply that all the drugs spam was being injected into the
group via Google Groups?

Anyway, it's nice to have a bit of peace and quiet.

Recliner

2020-09-29 09:19:13 UTC

Post by NY

Yes, we knew that all along. I wish Google had simply made it read-only
via GG for, say, three months, so it would still maintain a cooy of all
postings, but wouldn't allow posting via GG for that period of suspension.

It should also, of course, have banned the actual spamming accounts, though
I suppose they then just create new ones.

Post by NY
Anyway, it's nice to have a bit of peace and quiet.

Indeed!

Mark Goodge

2020-09-29 09:17:51 UTC

On Tue, 29 Sep 2020 08:47:49 +0100, "Brian Gaff $Sofa$"

The spammers tend to go for high traffic groups. Which, from their
perspective, makes sense. But, also, most of the spammers aren't making
that decision themselves - they're mostly just script kiddies using
someone else's software to post the spam. It's the software authors who
are making the choice of which groups to include in their default
targets. And sometimes, that can be a bit random.

Mark

Recliner

2020-09-29 09:19:13 UTC

Groups can be deleted from Google Groups, not Usenet. So uk.r is still
going strong, but can no longer accept posts from GG. That has affected
some legitimate posters, but deems to have blocked all the spammers. The
same happened to uk.transport.london a while ago.

The spammers presumably only run their spam-generating scripts against
groups with a lot of traffic, of which uk.r is one of the few remaining on
Usenet. Groups like uk.transport have too few posts to attract the
spammers, as they assume that few people will see their posts.

Arthur Conan Doyle

2020-09-29 13:12:29 UTC

Post by Brian Gaff (Sofa)
I'm intrigued, what would attract spam drug adverts to train groups? Seems
a little random.

I suspect it hasn't anything to do with the group topic, but more the current
activity. Usenet has been on life support for years now, so it becomes easy to
spot groups that are still active. A spam campaign targeting specific groups for
a short period of time is much harder to detect and block when compared to
posting the same message to multiple groups or crossposting.

Recliner

2020-10-09 07:59:07 UTC

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle

Post by Brian Gaff (Sofa)
I'm intrigued, what would attract spam drug adverts to train groups? Seems
a little random.

The drug spammers must be running out of busy groups to destroy: I see
they've now arrived in the uk.transport backwater. But at least uk.railway
remains blissfully clear of them.

Alex Farlie

2020-10-11 07:16:13 UTC

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

}
It's a shame there isn't a way to ask Google to reconsider given that uk.railway is clearly a USENET group, and thus unlike other types of Google Group doesn't necessarily have a moderator that can step in to remove spam content.

What is more annoying is that like with uk.transport.london, whilst blocking the group does block the spam or malware, it also denies access to the archive of many many legitimate posting that were made before a bunch of criminal and irresponsible spammers caused it to be blocked for everyone else.

I suspect that the blocking might even be automatic, based on the sheer volume of spam reported (given what happened on uk.transport.london). It's simply easier to block the whole group than it is to find and hold the individual spammers criminally responsible for their questionable activities, or potential abuse of Google Groups platform (Google's seeming inability to tackle spammers seems to be a ongoing issue, even more surprising given that there are credible anti-spam technology solutions actively avaialble and in use on other Google services like G-mail )

Recliner

2020-10-11 09:05:51 UTC

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

}
It's a shame there isn't a way to ask Google to reconsider given that
uk.railway is clearly a USENET group, and thus unlike other types of
Google Group doesn't necessarily have a moderator that can step in to remove spam content.
What is more annoying is that like with uk.transport.london, whilst
blocking the group does block the spam or malware, it also denies access
to the archive of many many legitimate posting that were made before a
bunch of criminal and irresponsible spammers caused it to be blocked for everyone else.
I suspect that the blocking might even be automatic, based on the sheer
volume of spam reported (given what happened on uk.transport.london).
It's simply easier to block the whole group than it is to find and hold
the individual spammers criminally responsible for their questionable
activities, or potential abuse of Google Groups platform (Google's
seeming inability to tackle spammers seems to be a ongoing issue, even
more surprising given that there are credible anti-spam technology
solutions actively avaialble and in use on other Google services like G-mail )

My guess is that Google Groups is an almost-forgotten legacy operation that
runs on a shoestring, with minimal staff. No Google high-flier is going to
want to waste their career in that backwater. Maybe one day Google will
just shut GG down altogether?

Graeme Wall

2020-10-11 09:56:43 UTC

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

}
It's a shame there isn't a way to ask Google to reconsider given that
uk.railway is clearly a USENET group, and thus unlike other types of
Google Group doesn't necessarily have a moderator that can step in to remove spam content.
What is more annoying is that like with uk.transport.london, whilst
blocking the group does block the spam or malware, it also denies access
to the archive of many many legitimate posting that were made before a
bunch of criminal and irresponsible spammers caused it to be blocked for everyone else.
I suspect that the blocking might even be automatic, based on the sheer
volume of spam reported (given what happened on uk.transport.london).
It's simply easier to block the whole group than it is to find and hold
the individual spammers criminally responsible for their questionable
activities, or potential abuse of Google Groups platform (Google's
seeming inability to tackle spammers seems to be a ongoing issue, even
more surprising given that there are credible anti-spam technology
solutions actively avaialble and in use on other Google services like G-mail )

I suspect they lost interest when they discovered there was no easy way
to monopolise and monetise it

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

Certes

2020-10-11 10:25:39 UTC

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

}
It's a shame there isn't a way to ask Google to reconsider given that
uk.railway is clearly a USENET group, and thus unlike other types of
Google Group doesn't necessarily have a moderator that can step in to
remove spam content.
What is more annoying is that like with uk.transport.london, whilst
blocking the group does block the spam or malware, it also denies access
to the archive of many many legitimate posting that were made before a
bunch of criminal and irresponsible spammers caused it to be blocked for everyone else.
I suspect that the blocking might even be automatic, based on the sheer
volume of spam reported (given what happened on uk.transport.london).
It's simply easier to block the whole group than it is to find and hold
the individual spammers criminally responsible for their questionable
activities, or potential abuse of Google Groups platform (Google's
seeming inability to tackle spammers seems to be a ongoing issue, even
more surprising given that there are credible anti-spam technology
solutions actively avaialble and in use on other Google services like G-mail )

I suspect they lost interest when they discovered there was no easy way
to monopolise and monetise it

Google Groups rebranded Usenet and added new groups not found on Usenet.
Now that they have driven enough traffic to Google, the Usenet groups
can safely be removed.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish>

Recliner

2020-10-11 11:26:09 UTC

Post by CJB
due to drug dealers ...

}
It's a shame there isn't a way to ask Google to reconsider given that
uk.railway is clearly a USENET group, and thus unlike other types of
Google Group doesn't necessarily have a moderator that can step in to
remove spam content.
What is more annoying is that like with uk.transport.london, whilst
blocking the group does block the spam or malware, it also denies access
to the archive of many many legitimate posting that were made before a
bunch of criminal and irresponsible spammers caused it to be blocked
for everyone else.
I suspect that the blocking might even be automatic, based on the sheer
volume of spam reported (given what happened on uk.transport.london).
It's simply easier to block the whole group than it is to find and hold
the individual spammers criminally responsible for their questionable
activities, or potential abuse of Google Groups platform (Google's
seeming inability to tackle spammers seems to be a ongoing issue, even
more surprising given that there are credible anti-spam technology
solutions actively avaialble and in use on other Google services like G-mail )

I suspect they lost interest when they discovered there was no easy way
to monopolise and monetise it

Google Groups rebranded Usenet and added new groups not found on Usenet.
Now that they have driven enough traffic to Google, the Usenet groups
can safely be removed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish>

I assume Google tracks you and shows you ads if you use the GG web
interface. It can't do that if you use a dedicated usenet client, so Google
gets no benefit. So it prefers groups that can only be accessed via GG.

Arthur Conan Doyle

2020-10-11 11:09:55 UTC

Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was able
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.

Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of time.
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

Recliner

2020-10-11 11:32:43 UTC

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was able
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of time.
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

Unfortunately there are people who think that usenet groups are part of
Google Groups, and not something that existed long before Google was
invented. So when GG cuts off access to a usenet group, because of all the
drug spam that was being injected via GG, those people think the group is
dead and gone, hence the misleading title of this thread.

b***@nuttyella.co.uk

2020-10-11 16:02:42 UTC

On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

I'm curious as to which drug dealers are so dumb they think the demographic
on usenet would be the slightest bit interested in their wares. They'd be
far better off spamming snapchat or tiktok in some way.

Roland Perry

2020-10-11 16:19:34 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a
distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

What's going on here is that the people purporting to sell the drugs
(let's assume for now they aren't actually trying to propagate
drive-by-malware) are sold a package of 'places/people we'll spam for
you' by a broker.

It's the broker who adds Usenet to that portfolio, and frankly the
spammers don't have much of an incentive to try to reduce the price by
asking them to desist from spamming Usenet.

--
Roland Perry

Certes

2020-10-12 00:56:55 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a
distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the
beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

What's going on here is that the people purporting to sell the drugs
(let's assume for now they aren't actually trying to propagate
drive-by-malware) are sold a package of 'places/people we'll spam for
you' by a broker.
It's the broker who adds Usenet to that portfolio, and frankly the
spammers don't have much of an incentive to try to reduce the price by
asking them to desist from spamming Usenet.

Perhaps they have never heard of Usenet but target Google Groups, seeing
Google as a young trendy company with products attractive to drug users.
From their perspective, Google Groups used to run a forum called
uk.railway which has now been banned by Google and no longer exists.

Recliner

2020-10-12 02:06:24 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a
distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

What's going on here is that the people purporting to sell the drugs
(let's assume for now they aren't actually trying to propagate
drive-by-malware) are sold a package of 'places/people we'll spam for
you' by a broker.
It's the broker who adds Usenet to that portfolio, and frankly the
spammers don't have much of an incentive to try to reduce the price by
asking them to desist from spamming Usenet.

Yes, that's probably about it. I don't suppose they ever tried to track how
many orders they got via this channel (almost certainly zero).

b***@nuttyella.co.uk

2020-10-12 07:41:01 UTC

On Mon, 12 Oct 2020 01:56:55 +0100

Post by Roland Perry
It's the broker who adds Usenet to that portfolio, and frankly the
spammers don't have much of an incentive to try to reduce the price by
asking them to desist from spamming Usenet.

Can only be a good thing long term. I suspect the only people who access
this group via google is the spammers.

Recliner

2020-10-12 08:20:50 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Mon, 12 Oct 2020 01:56:55 +0100

Can only be a good thing long term. I suspect the only people who access
this group via google is the spammers.

No, there were legitimate users as well — hence this thread on uk.transprt.

One person who may or may not be missed is Marcus Potter. He kept telling
us how computer literate he was, so I wonder if he'll find a way back?

b***@nuttyella.co.uk

2020-10-12 09:07:15 UTC

On Mon, 12 Oct 2020 08:20:50 -0000 (UTC)

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Mon, 12 Oct 2020 01:56:55 +0100

Can only be a good thing long term. I suspect the only people who access
this group via google is the spammers.

No, there were legitimate users as well â hence this thread on uk.transprt.
One person who may or may not be missed is Marcus Potter. He kept telling
us how computer literate he was, so I wonder if he'll find a way back?

If his idea of computer literacy is just using a web browser then probably not.
But while aioe.org is still free to use there's no excuse for people with
a bit of IT nous not being on usenet.

Sam Wilson

2020-10-12 09:07:45 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a
distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

What's going on here is that the people purporting to sell the drugs
(let's assume for now they aren't actually trying to propagate
drive-by-malware) are sold a package of 'places/people we'll spam for
you' by a broker.
It's the broker who adds Usenet to that portfolio, and frankly the
spammers don't have much of an incentive to try to reduce the price by
asking them to desist from spamming Usenet.

Interestingly I’ve seen one Ketamine etc ad since the cut off, ostensibly
injected into Usenet from XSUsenet.com with no sign of Google in the Path:
header or elsewhere.

I don’t know who XSUsenet are and I’m not sure I want to poke too hard.

Sam

--
The entity formerly known as ***@ed.ac.uk
Spit the dummy to reply

MikeS

2020-10-12 14:36:04 UTC

Post by Sam Wilson

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

What's going on here is that the people purporting to sell the drugs
(let's assume for now they aren't actually trying to propagate
drive-by-malware) are sold a package of 'places/people we'll spam for
you' by a broker.
It's the broker who adds Usenet to that portfolio, and frankly the
spammers don't have much of an incentive to try to reduce the price by
asking them to desist from spamming Usenet.

Interestingly I’ve seen one Ketamine etc ad since the cut off, ostensibly
header or elsewhere.
I don’t know who XSUsenet are and I’m not sure I want to poke too hard.
Sam

Much of the drug etc spam on Usenet seems to arrive via Google so it
would be best if they drop all Usenet groups.

Usenet was designed to use with clients and there are still plenty of
free PC ones. I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting
the loss of access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free
Usenet clients to use on a phone.

Certes

2020-10-12 15:13:13 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

What's going on here is that the people purporting to sell the drugs
(let's assume for now they aren't actually trying to propagate
drive-by-malware) are sold a package of 'places/people we'll spam for
you' by a broker.
It's the broker who adds Usenet to that portfolio, and frankly the
spammers don't have much of an incentive to try to reduce the price by
asking them to desist from spamming Usenet.

Interestingly I’ve seen one Ketamine etc ad since the cut off, ostensibly
header or elsewhere.
I don’t know who XSUsenet are and I’m not sure I want to poke too hard.
Sam

Much of the drug etc spam on Usenet seems to arrive via Google so it
would be best if they drop all Usenet groups.
Usenet was designed to use with clients and there are still plenty of
free PC ones. I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting
the loss of access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free
Usenet clients to use on a phone.

Google Groups was as easy to search as any other website. Usenet isn't.

Roland Perry

2020-10-12 15:50:39 UTC

I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting the loss of
access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free Usenet
clients to use on a phone.

It's the archive search which is most important.

--
Roland Perry

b***@nuttyella.co.uk

2020-10-12 16:05:22 UTC

On Mon, 12 Oct 2020 16:50:39 +0100

I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting the loss of
access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free Usenet
clients to use on a phone.

It's the archive search which is most important.

If it leads to the end of "But 5 years ago you wrote this...","Yes but 7 years
ago you stated...." type threads that go on forever it can only be a good thing.

Anna Noyd-Dryver

2020-10-30 03:03:49 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Mon, 12 Oct 2020 16:50:39 +0100

I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting the loss of
access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free Usenet
clients to use on a phone.

It's the archive search which is most important.

If it leads to the end of "But 5 years ago you wrote this...","Yes but 7 years
ago you stated...." type threads that go on forever it can only be a good thing.

It rarely does; however it can be useful to find some obscure fact or quote
posted a decade ago.

Anna Noyd-Dryver

Recliner

2020-10-12 16:08:58 UTC

I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting the loss of
access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free Usenet
clients to use on a phone.

It's the archive search which is most important.

Yes. I'd be happy if GG still actively hosted the group on a read-only,
searchable basis. We don't need posts from GG, but it would be nice if GG
users could read posts from elsewhere.

Christopher A. Lee

2020-10-12 16:25:10 UTC

I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting the loss of
access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free Usenet
clients to use on a phone.

It's the archive search which is most important.

Which they broke many years ago.

MikeS

2020-10-12 16:52:52 UTC

I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting the loss of
access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free Usenet
clients to use on a phone.

It's the archive search which is most important.

TBH I cannot say I have ever wanted to search old Usenet posts but those
of you suffering withdrawal symptoms might like to take a look here
http://www.harley.com/usenet/usenet-tutorial/usenet-search-engines-nzb-files.html
For anyone really desperate there is also the expensive Giganews archive.

Anna Noyd-Dryver

2020-10-30 03:03:48 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

What's going on here is that the people purporting to sell the drugs
(let's assume for now they aren't actually trying to propagate
drive-by-malware) are sold a package of 'places/people we'll spam for
you' by a broker.
It's the broker who adds Usenet to that portfolio, and frankly the
spammers don't have much of an incentive to try to reduce the price by
asking them to desist from spamming Usenet.

Interestingly I’ve seen one Ketamine etc ad since the cut off, ostensibly
header or elsewhere.
I don’t know who XSUsenet are and I’m not sure I want to poke too hard.
Sam

Much of the drug etc spam on Usenet seems to arrive via Google so it
would be best if they drop all Usenet groups.
Usenet was designed to use with clients and there are still plenty of
free PC ones. I cannot understand why anyone in this thread is lamenting
the loss of access from Google Groups except perhaps the dearth of free
Usenet clients to use on a phone.

Google have what was the DejaNews archive, painstakingly created at the
time from several people's own private archives of early Usenet posts. It'd
be rather a shame to lose that.

Anna Noyd-Dryver

Certes

2020-10-30 11:03:52 UTC

Post by Anna Noyd-Dryver
Google have what was the DejaNews archive, painstakingly created at the
time from several people's own private archives of early Usenet posts. It'd
be rather a shame to lose that.

I wonder if any of the web archive sites such as archive.org would be
interested in expanding their remit. A problem is that they might have
to become selective to avoid storing copyrighted or obscene content but
omitting binaries should solve most of that (and save much space).

Bill Borland

2020-10-12 17:46:06 UTC

In article <rm16d1$eap$***@dont-email.me>, Sam Wilson <***@dummy.wislons.f
astmail.co.uk> writes
<big snip>

Post by Sam Wilson
I don’t know who XSUsenet are and I’m not sure I want to poke too hard.

XSUsenet.com is a news-reader (or do I mean "client"?) which (a) is free
and (b) carries binary groups like alt.binaries.pictures.rail.

--
Bill Borland

Eric

2020-10-12 19:29:27 UTC

Post by Bill Borland
astmail.co.uk> writes
<big snip>

Post by Sam Wilson
I don’t know who XSUsenet are and I’m not sure I want to poke too hard.

XSUsenet.com is a news-reader (or do I mean "client"?) which (a) is free
and (b) carries binary groups like alt.binaries.pictures.rail.

XSUsenet is not a news-reader (or any other sort of client), it is a
provider, which is why it can "carry" a binary group if it feels like it.
There is a free account type, but you can't post through it. I have
no direct experience, but it seems to live in the same market niche
as Giganews.

I have a suspicion that any usenet provider with paid accounts, binary
groups, and a VPN product is making most of its money from those who
want binary groups which are not at all like alt.binaries.pictures.rail .

Eric

--
ms fnd in a lbry

v***@gmail.com

2020-10-13 14:57:57 UTC

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Snapchat::bonalegit

Recliner

2020-10-11 20:38:48 UTC

Post by b***@nuttyella.co.uk
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
Or you could just use a different news server. Usenet is a distributed system
and thankfully, Google does not control it, they just offer access. I was

able

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
to add uk.railway from astraweb and downloaded over 1m headers.
Spam in unmoderated Usenet groups has been around since the beginning of

time.

Post by Arthur Conan Doyle
The traditional way of dealing with it is a newsreader than offers reasonable
keyword and baysean filtering.

I'm pretty sure their automated scripts simply target the few groups that
still have much traffic. They probably pay little attention to its subject,
though I notice that a few did seem to acknowledge that it was a uk group.
That's obviously something that might be automated, too.

We don't know, of course, how many of them actually have drugs to sell, or
if they're just after the punters' money. They might just be the successors
of the Nigerian princes with a fortune to share.

Scott

2020-10-13 17:47:56 UTC

On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC), Recliner

My sense of history is that Usenet predated the Internet.

Graeme Wall

2020-10-13 18:06:39 UTC

Post by Scott
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC), Recliner

My sense of history is that Usenet predated the Internet.

ITYM Usenet predated the World Wide Web

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

Recliner

2020-10-13 20:32:56 UTC

Post by Scott
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC), Recliner

My sense of history is that Usenet predated the Internet.

ITYM Usenet predated the World Wide Web

Yes, I was accessing usenet before the Web, more than 25 years ago. In the
early days of the Web, of course, there wasn't much available, and it was
hard to find. No one search engine could find everything, so I had a group
search utility that fired off searches on half a dozen different engines,
then aggregated and ranked their results. All via dial-up, of course. It
made each search a project in its own right

John Levine

2020-10-13 21:00:39 UTC

Post by Scott
My sense of history is that Usenet predated the Internet.

ITYM Usenet predated the World Wide Web

Both, really. In its first decade, Usenet traffic mostly went over
dial-up phone connections using uucp. I think I still have the Telebit
modem card I got because it had special coding to make uucp data
transfer faster. I unsoldered the UART chip and installed a socket for
a better one that made it easier or my 386 Unix box to keep up.

We had gateways to the Internet but in that era there weren't a lot of
usenet sites on the Internet. That changed around the time the Web
appeared.

--
Regards,
John Levine, ***@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

Mark Goodge

2020-10-13 18:54:42 UTC

On Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:47:56 +0100, Scott

Post by Scott
On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:32:43 -0000 (UTC), Recliner