[Info-vax] This is for the folks who get comp.os.vms via the Info-VAX mailing list

[Subcommandante XDelta]

On Wed, 29 Nov 2023 06:37:33 -0600, "Craig A. Berry"
<craigberry at nospam.mac.com> wrote:

>
>On 11/29/23 1:56 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>> bill wrote:
>> 
>>> Ken Robinson wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've put in a filter to kill any posts that come from Google groups
>>>
>>> Looks like my news server is doing that now and it is resulting in
>>> legitimate posts being dropped. 
>> 
>> Yes, considering VMS people to be technically competent, a surprising 
>> number of them use google groups :-(
>> 
>>> Considering how many free public
>>> and very inexpensive news servers are available I hope anyone
>>> expecting to actually use USENET leaves google groups.
>> 
>> +1
>
>As has been said many times (whenever this suggestion comes up), not
>everyone has NNTP access.  Corporate firewalls mostly block it, for one
>thing.

Everyone can have direct, unmediated (by corporate, or institutional
networks) NNTP access, if they have the will, and inclination, to do
so:

1. Private Internet access by whatever means (home internet, or
hotspot off their mobile phone internet)

2. A NNTP block account from a Usenet Newsgroup service provider -
fixed once off fee, lasts essentially forever if you are only
participating in text groups and not downloading binaries.

- or -

Use a free, quality, NNTP text newsgroup feed such as:

https://www.i2pn2.org/

https://www.eternal-september.org/

Anyone claiming they can only access via google groups merely wants
the convenience of participating with comp.os.vms during their working
hours.

Of course, I am happy to stand corrected (I've had a lot of practice,
historically) if someone presents a compelling technical scenario
where someone's only possible recourse to comp.os.vms is via google
groups. :-)