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Fast lightweight web-based newsreader

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  Fast lightweight web-based newsreader wjwlsn <ibillwilson@gmail.com> - 2014-03-04 02:02 -0500
    Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader Andy Burns <usenet.feb2014@adslpipe.co.uk> - 2014-03-04 07:23 +0000
      Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader wjwlsn <ibillwilson@gmail.com> - 2014-03-04 02:56 -0500
        Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-04 09:41 +0000
      Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader Stephen Thomas Cole <usenet@stephenthomascole.com> - 2014-03-04 19:55 +0000
    Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader Peter Percival <peterxpercival@hotmail.com> - 2014-03-04 12:42 +0000
      Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader "Dirk T. Verbeek" <dverbeek@xs4all.nl> - 2014-03-04 14:16 +0100
        Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader wjwlsn <ibillwilson@gmail.com> - 2014-03-04 10:01 -0500
          Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-05 12:44 +0000
          Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader "tdk" <forum.tdk@squte.com> - 2014-03-07 19:29 -0600
            Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader Anthony G <anthonyg@invalid.sdf.nospam.org> - 2014-03-08 02:49 +0000
              Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader Whiskers <catwheezel@operamail.com> - 2014-03-08 15:40 +0000
        Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-03-04 17:30 +0100
    Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader Whiskers <catwheezel@operamail.com> - 2014-03-04 17:14 +0000
    Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader "tdk" <forum.tdk@squte.com> - 2014-03-04 13:14 -0600
      Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader "wjwlsn" <ibillwilson@gmail.com> - 2014-03-07 15:41 -0600
        Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader "tdk" <forum.tdk@squte.com> - 2014-03-07 19:10 -0600
    Re: Fast lightweight web-based newsreader Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> - 2014-03-05 15:59 +1100

#1230 — Fast lightweight web-based newsreader

As I've been reacquainting myself with Usenet over the past few weeks,
I've been using a few different tools to read, post, and search through
various newsgroups to get a sense of what's out there. For reading and
posting, I'm typically using http://squte.com ... which is great for
those uses. However, it carries only a limited number of specific groups,
and is not set up for quick searching and scanning through the Usenet
group hierarchy. None of the newsreader apps I have are set up very well
for this either. Google Groups is good for searching, but is very painful
to use for scanning through several groups in quick succession.

So, I kept looking for free tools that would let me do this efficiently,
and I finally found it a few days ago:

http://www.newswebreader.com

This tool is largely text only, provides no means for posting and
replying, and its group archives are not very large. However, it appears
to carry the Big-8 group hierarchies in their entirety, along with many
others. The interface is pretty simple, seems well laid out, and allows
you to search for groups, and switch between them, very quickly. Give it
a try if you're looking for a free, simple, lightweight, web-based, and
read-only interface for your Usenet explorations.

Regards,
Bill

--
I drive a '74 AMC Hornet in my dreams. Also, I really like cheese.

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#1231

wjwlsn wrote:

> Google Groups is good for searching, but is very painful
> to use for scanning through several groups in quick succession.
> So, I kept looking for free tools that would let me do this efficiently

Another web reader that is an impressive proof of concept is

<http://news.julien-arlandis.fr>

it doesn't have a wide range of useful groups, Google should pension-off 
anyone who has ever worked on DejaNews/Google Groups and hire the guy ...

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#1232

Andy Burns wrote:
> Another web reader that is an impressive proof of concept is
>
> <http://news.julien-arlandis.fr>
>
> it doesn't have a wide range of useful groups, Google should pension-off
> anyone who has ever worked on DejaNews/Google Groups and hire the guy ...

Wow, you're not kidding. That's some beautiful work... I only wish my
French vocabulary wasn't so limited so I could be sure I understood
everything I just saw. :)

--
I drive a '74 AMC Hornet in my dreams. Also, I really like cheese.

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#1233

On Tue, 04 Mar 2014 02:56:56 -0500
wjwlsn <ibillwilson@gmail.com> wrote:

> Andy Burns wrote:
> > Another web reader that is an impressive proof of concept is
> >
> > <http://news.julien-arlandis.fr>
> >
> > it doesn't have a wide range of useful groups, Google should pension-off
> > anyone who has ever worked on DejaNews/Google Groups and hire the guy ...
> 
> Wow, you're not kidding. That's some beautiful work... I only wish my
> French vocabulary wasn't so limited so I could be sure I understood
> everything I just saw. :)


How funny - I remember about a year ago, someone on a news.admin group
mentioned that web interface.  I just did some digging around trying to
locate that old post and never found it.  And here you've posted it!
That thing is gorgeous and I remember being impressed a year ago when I
first saw it.  Too bad it really only reads French groups at th emoment.

There are others, as several Usenet providers provide web access using
for example newsportal software or equivalent.
http://homeunix.nl/newsportal/thread.php?group=comp.misc works if you
are a customer of homeunix.nl, but they seem to offer free accounts.

Easynews seems to offer a web interface to its customers:
http://www.ngrblog.com/tag/free-usenet-browsers/

There's also this wildly out-of-date page, with a section on "Free
Web-based Newsreading Sites/Services"
http://www.newsreaders.com/web/

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#1247

Andy Burns <usenet.feb2014@adslpipe.co.uk> wrote:
> wjwlsn wrote:
> 
>> Google Groups is good for searching, but is very painful
>> to use for scanning through several groups in quick succession.
>> So, I kept looking for free tools that would let me do this efficiently
> 
> Another web reader that is an impressive proof of concept is
> 
> <http://news.julien-arlandis.fr>
> 
> it doesn't have a wide range of useful groups, Google should pension-off
> anyone who has ever worked on DejaNews/Google Groups and hire the guy ...

What's happened to GG in the last 6 months? It's absolutely terrible! I
mean, it was always terrible but now it has barely any functionality. Is it
just me being dense or is it now not possible to do an advanced search, by
group, by date etc?

-- 
Stephen Thomas Cole // Sent from my iPhone

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#1235

wjwlsn wrote:
> As I've been reacquainting myself with Usenet over the past few weeks,
> I've been using a few different tools to read, post, and search through
> various newsgroups to get a sense of what's out there. For reading and
> posting, I'm typically using http://squte.com ... which is great for
> those uses. However, it carries only a limited number of specific groups,
> and is not set up for quick searching and scanning through the Usenet
> group hierarchy. None of the newsreader apps I have are set up very well
> for this either. Google Groups is good for searching, but is very painful
> to use for scanning through several groups in quick succession.
>
> So, I kept looking for free tools that would let me do this efficiently,
> and I finally found it a few days ago:
>
> http://www.newswebreader.com
>
> This tool is largely text only, provides no means for posting and
> replying, and its group archives are not very large. However, it appears
> to carry the Big-8 group hierarchies in their entirety, along with many
> others. The interface is pretty simple, seems well laid out, and allows
> you to search for groups, and switch between them, very quickly. Give it
> a try if you're looking for a free, simple, lightweight, web-based, and
> read-only interface for your Usenet explorations.
>
> Regards,
> Bill

Anything is better that Google, but why, I wonder, not use a 
conventional news client?



-- 
Madam Life's a piece in bloom,
Death goes dogging everywhere:
She's the tenant of the room,
He's the ruffian on the stair.

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#1237

op 04-03-14 13:42 schreef Peter Percival:
> wjwlsn wrote:
>> As I've been reacquainting myself with Usenet over the past few weeks,
>> I've been using a few different tools to read, post, and search through
>> various newsgroups to get a sense of what's out there. For reading and
>> posting, I'm typically using http://squte.com ... which is great for
>> those uses. However, it carries only a limited number of specific groups,
>> and is not set up for quick searching and scanning through the Usenet
>> group hierarchy. None of the newsreader apps I have are set up very well
>> for this either. Google Groups is good for searching, but is very painful
>> to use for scanning through several groups in quick succession.
>>
>> So, I kept looking for free tools that would let me do this efficiently,
>> and I finally found it a few days ago:
>>
>> http://www.newswebreader.com
>>
>> This tool is largely text only, provides no means for posting and
>> replying, and its group archives are not very large. However, it appears
>> to carry the Big-8 group hierarchies in their entirety, along with many
>> others. The interface is pretty simple, seems well laid out, and allows
>> you to search for groups, and switch between them, very quickly. Give it
>> a try if you're looking for a free, simple, lightweight, web-based, and
>> read-only interface for your Usenet explorations.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Bill
>
> Anything is better that Google, but why, I wonder, not use a
> conventional news client?
>
>
>
Indeed also my question, a proper newsreader is so much more comfortable.
Maybe because some are behind a (corporate) firewall blocking the port(s)?
Or because some people have a 'modern' ISP that doesn't deliver the full 
gamut of the Internet experience, including things like an nntp, shell, 
jabber and proxy server?

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#1239

Dick T. Verbeek wrote:
> op 04-03-14 13:42 schreef Peter Percival:
>> wjwlsn wrote:
>>> ... quick searching and scanning through the Usenet
>>> group hierarchy. None of the newsreader apps I have are set up very well
>>> for this either. Google Groups is good for searching, but is very painful
>>> to use for scanning through several groups in quick succession.
>>>
>>> So, I kept looking for free tools that would let me do this efficiently,
>>> and I finally found it a few days ago:
>>>
>>> http://www.newswebreader.com
>>>
>>
>> Anything is better that Google, but why, I wonder, not use a
>> conventional news client?
>>
>
> Indeed also my question, a proper newsreader is so much more comfortable.
> Maybe because some are behind a (corporate) firewall blocking the port(s)?
> Or because some people have a 'modern' ISP that doesn't deliver the full
> gamut of the Internet experience, including things like an nntp, shell,
> jabber and proxy server?
>

Yes, firewall blocking and/or lack of a fast, local nntp server are both
reasons to use a web-based client like the one I suggested. In addition,
that site works well for quick "catchup" from any device with a browser,
without having to install a proper newsreader (which may not be possible
for the device in question, or may not be desirable for other reasons).

Another consideration for me was the ability to scan many newsgroups very
quickly for signs of life without disturbing my newsreader setup, which
is biased towards maintaining current the groups to which I've chosen
to subscribe for the long term.

--
I drive a '74 AMC Hornet in my dreams. Also, I really like cheese.

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#1260

On Tue, 04 Mar 2014 10:01:15 -0500
wjwlsn <ibillwilson@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, firewall blocking and/or lack of a fast, local nntp server are both
> reasons to use a web-based client like the one I suggested. In addition,
> that site works well for quick "catchup" from any device with a browser,
> without having to install a proper newsreader (which may not be possible
> for the device in question, or may not be desirable for other reasons).

I'm lucky: my corporate day-job computer is locked down pretty tight,
but they missed one loophole - I can run apps off of a USB drive.  I
picked up Sylpheed/GTK, PuTTY, and Thunderbird pendrive versions from
http://pendriveapps.com and I can participate via a halfway decent NTTP
client (not perfect, but hey, I'm at work).  I'd be out of luck if it
ever occured to them to check which ports are open on the router though.

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#1361

wjwlsn wrote: 

> works well for quick "catchup" from any device with a browser, 

This is the main issue with using newsreaders on different devices. Each one keeps 
its own list of read articles, so you end up constantly re-reading the same posts. 
I used to solve this by ssh-ing into a box that had slrn on it. This worked well, 
but most people wouldn't want to leave a PC on all the time on the off-chance they 
might want to read a newsgroup. 
Another possible solution would be to use a news-to-mail service and then read it 
via an IMAP server. IMAP keeps track of read messages so this might be more convenient 
than using news readers. 

The only news-to-mail service I know of is http://www.usenet-replayer.com/, but 
it doesn�t seem to work anymore. 



-- 
regards
~tdk
View this thread at http://squte.com/node/4926#comment-16631

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#1362

On Fri, 7 Mar 2014 19:29:01 -0600, tdk <forum.tdk@squte.com> wrote:
> wjwlsn wrote: 
>
>> works well for quick "catchup" from any device with a browser, 
>
> This is the main issue with using newsreaders on different devices. Each one keeps 
> its own list of read articles, so you end up constantly re-reading the same posts. 
> I used to solve this by ssh-ing into a box that had slrn on it. This worked well, 
> but most people wouldn't want to leave a PC on all the time on the off-chance they 
> might want to read a newsgroup. 
> Another possible solution would be to use a news-to-mail service and then read it 
> via an IMAP server. IMAP keeps track of read messages so this might be more convenient 
> than using news readers. 
>
> The only news-to-mail service I know of is http://www.usenet-replayer.com/, but 
> it doesn�t seem to work anymore.

If you use a traditional news reader like slrn, you can always put the
.newsrc file in Dropbox to sync it. rsync might work as well, but I
haven't actually done it.

I use the Dropbox method to sync between my desktop and laptop. It works
quite well.

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#1375

On 2014-03-08, Anthony G <anthonyg@invalid.sdf.nospam.org> wrote:
> On Fri, 7 Mar 2014 19:29:01 -0600, tdk <forum.tdk@squte.com> wrote:
>> wjwlsn wrote: 
>>
>>> works well for quick "catchup" from any device with a browser, 
>>
>> This is the main issue with using newsreaders on different devices.
>> Each one keeps its own list of read articles, so you end up
>> constantly re-reading the same posts.  I used to solve this by
>> ssh-ing into a box that had slrn on it. This worked well, but most
>> people wouldn't want to leave a PC on all the time on the off-chance
>> they might want to read a newsgroup.  Another possible solution would
>> be to use a news-to-mail service and then read it via an IMAP server.
>> IMAP keeps track of read messages so this might be more convenient
>> than using news readers. 
>>
>> The only news-to-mail service I know of is
>> http://www.usenet-replayer.com/, but it doesn�t seem to work
>> anymore.
>
> If you use a traditional news reader like slrn, you can always put the
> .newsrc file in Dropbox to sync it. rsync might work as well, but I
> haven't actually done it.
>
> I use the Dropbox method to sync between my desktop and laptop. It
> works quite well.

Another option is to run a newsreader on a shell account.

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

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#1525

On 2014-03-04, Dirk T. Verbeek <dverbeek@xs4all.nl> wrote:
> op 04-03-14 13:42 schreef Peter Percival:
>>
>> Anything is better that Google, but why, I wonder, not use a
>> conventional news client?
>>
> Indeed also my question, a proper newsreader is so much more comfortable.
> Maybe because some are behind a (corporate) firewall blocking the port(s)?

Two things here, both relating to folks working on corporate equipment.

a) folks have a locked down PC and cannot install a proper newsreader
b) corporate firewalls nowadays do block port 119

I use leafnode myself and it would be very simple to filter out all
posts from Google Groups right there.  I haven't done that because  many
of the technically proficient posters on one newsgroup do indeed post from
a corporate PC and have no choice but to use GG.

> Or because some people have a 'modern' ISP that doesn't deliver the full 
> gamut of the Internet experience, including things like an nntp, shell, 
> jabber and proxy server?

Heck, my employer a dozen years ago ran their own news server, but that
cost money to run (probably not much in terms of man hours, but license
costs, hardware maintenance and server room space weren't cheap - no Linux
or cheap Intel/AMD servers in use there back then).  Management played
pass the parcel with the costs for a while but at the end of the day no
department wanted it on their budget so the service was chopped.


-- 
Paul Sture
Not the one on Facebook

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#1241

On 2014-03-04, wjwlsn <ibillwilson@gmail.com> wrote:
> As I've been reacquainting myself with Usenet over the past few weeks,
> I've been using a few different tools to read, post, and search through
> various newsgroups to get a sense of what's out there. For reading and
> posting, I'm typically using http://squte.com ... which is great for
> those uses. However, it carries only a limited number of specific groups,
> and is not set up for quick searching and scanning through the Usenet
> group hierarchy. None of the newsreader apps I have are set up very well
> for this either. Google Groups is good for searching, but is very painful
> to use for scanning through several groups in quick succession.

[...]

News.software.readers is the best place to ask for advice about usenet
clients.  There is some choice for Apple and Android tablets, but only
one is listed in Microsoft's app store for Windows 8 - I don't know if
any of the well-established Windows newsreaders will work on the
'Surface'.  Perhaps app developers will spot the niche and provide
greater choice eventually.

Usenet /should/ be particularly useful for users of portable devices,
being very low on resource requirements and allowing for 'off line'
reading and posting of articles.

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

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#1242

>  and is not set up for quick searching
There's a search box on the 404 page:   http://squte.com/404.html, but maybe there 
should be one on the main page.

> scanning through the Usenet group hierarchy
By scanning do you mean being able to enter a group name and have it autocompete? 
or something else? 

> So, I kept looking for free tools that would let me do this efficiently

I think the nicest one that has a large range of groups is http://narkive.com, it 
also allows posting.
The owner answers questions on news.software.readers.

<rant>
The problem with this site is the same as most web newsreaders, they try to force 
usenet into a web-forum mould.
The best example of this is threading.

On usenet posts are highly threaded, and sub-threads often topic-drift or rot into 
flame-wars.
Good desktop usenet readers let you ignore sub-threads or mark them as read.
But web portals typically show all the posts in a thread in one long chronological 
list - like web forums - which makes it hard to skip or follow a sub-thread. 

Another problem is filtering out noise, any popular group attracts trolls and becomes 
unreadable without some kind of filtering, but AFAIK no web reader even allows killfiles 
and only one does any real filtering.
<end rant>




	
-- 
regards
~tdk
View this thread at http://squte.com/node/4926#comment-16150

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#1353

> > and is not set up for quick searching 
> There's a search box on the 404 page: http://squte.com/404.html, but maybe there 
> should be one on the main page. 
> > scanning through the Usenet group hierarchy 
> By scanning do you mean being able to enter a group name and have it autocompete? 
> or something else? 


I just realized I had never replied to this. I don't necessarily believe that squte 
needs a search box on the main page, but a search link in the "Map" box might 
be nice. As for "scanning through the Usenet group hierarchy", I should explain 
how the http://newswebreader.com site works for that. There's a tab labeled "All" 
that will let you list all the top-level groups (e.g., alt.*, comp.*) available 
on the site. From there, you can drill down very quickly to find any group you might 
be interested in (the site carries a *lot* of groups), and then quickly get to all 
the recent posts in those groups. 

Mind you, I'm not suggesting that anybody use that site for reading news, as it 
is kind of limited. However, if your goal is to quickly see what groups are out 
there, if they're still active, and what the recent posts have been like, then 
this is actually a pretty good tool. For example, I just checked out the first 10 
comp.lang.* groups (from c.l.ada through c.l.basic.visual.misc) in a little over 
one minute... and from this, I now know that c.l.ada and c.l.awk are very active, 
c.l.apl and c.l.asm.x86 are somewhat active, c.l.basic.visual.misc is kind of dead, 
and the rest are really dead. 

For somebody coming back to Usenet after a long hiatus, this might be a good way 
to find groups to start following right away, and possibly some that might be relatively 
easy to resuscitate. 
-- 
I drive a '74 AMC Hornet in my dreams. Also, I really like cheese.
View this thread at http://squte.com/node/4926#comment-16626

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#1360

> a search link in the "Map" box might be nice 

OK, I might do that. 

>  I should explain how the http://newswebreader.com site works for that 

Thanks for explaining. I don't have any better suggestions. 

-- 
regards
~tdk
View this thread at http://squte.com/node/4926#comment-16630

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#1254

On 4/03/2014 6:02 PM, wjwlsn wrote:
> As I've been reacquainting myself with Usenet over the past few weeks,
> I've been using a few different tools to read, post, and search through
> various newsgroups to get a sense of what's out there. For reading and
> posting, I'm typically using http://squte.com ... which is great for
> those uses. However, it carries only a limited number of specific groups,
> and is not set up for quick searching and scanning through the Usenet
> group hierarchy. None of the newsreader apps I have are set up very well
> for this either. Google Groups is good for searching, but is very painful
> to use for scanning through several groups in quick succession.
>
> So, I kept looking for free tools that would let me do this efficiently,
> and I finally found it a few days ago:
>
> http://www.newswebreader.com
>
> This tool is largely text only, provides no means for posting and
> replying, and its group archives are not very large. However, it appears
> to carry the Big-8 group hierarchies in their entirety, along with many
> others. The interface is pretty simple, seems well laid out, and allows
> you to search for groups, and switch between them, very quickly. Give it
> a try if you're looking for a free, simple, lightweight, web-based, and
> read-only interface for your Usenet explorations.
>
> Regards,
> Bill
>
> --
> I drive a '74 AMC Hornet in my dreams. Also, I really like cheese.
>

Lightweight and web based seem like contradictions in terms.

Sylvia.

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