Help, please

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Indeed it does; I've happily used both without any problems whatsoever
and have never felt the need to mess with Forte Agent or any of the
other stand-alones. Rather, I was just trying to pre-empt the "get a
real newsreader" chorus that usually pops up in other groups at the
mention of Outlook Express in particular ; )

Right on! A few months ago I decided to get a "real" newsreader so got
MicroPlanet Gravity, billed as "the world's most powerful newsreader."
What a mistake! The program is indeed powerful, it has more commands
that anyone can count, but it is so poorly designed that it is a real
headache. Commands on totally unrelated menus? Yep. Taking 5 clicks to
do what 1 click should accomplish? Yep. Disconnecting from the server
every 15 seconds? Yep.

Stay away!

--
Peter Aitken

flitterbit said:

Peter A said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Indeed it does; I've happily used both without any problems whatsoever
and have never felt the need to mess with Forte Agent or any of the
other stand-alones. Rather, I was just trying to pre-empt the "get a
real newsreader" chorus that usually pops up in other groups at the
mention of Outlook Express in particular ; )

Quoted message said:

Right on! A few months ago I decided to get a "real" newsreader so got
MicroPlanet Gravity, billed as "the world's most powerful newsreader."
What a mistake! The program is indeed powerful, it has more commands
that anyone can count, but it is so poorly designed that it is a real
headache. Commands on totally unrelated menus? Yep. Taking 5 clicks to
do what 1 click should accomplish? Yep. Disconnecting from the server
every 15 seconds? Yep.

Quoted message said:

Stay away!

I'm starting to think that mastering Gravity is one of those things that
certain segments of the tech population use as some kind of designator
of "in crowd" status so that they can then look down their noses at we
mere mortals who opt for something more user-friendly 😉 As far as I'm
concerned, whatever gets the job done with the least aggravation is
what'll be worth my time 😄

Considering that you're posting from the future, Gravity should be
easy.

--Bryan

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:16:23 -0500, flitterbit <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Rather, I was just trying to pre-empt the "get a
real newsreader" chorus that usually pops up in other groups at the
mention of Outlook Express in particular ; )

1. They are using that mantra for google groups readers now.

2. Before GG, when OE was still the whipping boy - I think they said
it because of security issues not because it couldn't do what stand
alone news readers do.

--

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies. Groucho Marks

sf said:

notbob said:

Steve Wertz said:

The Netscape browser does not include email or news client
software.

Netscape, as old timers remember it, is pretty much a dead horse. It
was purchased by AOL, so we know what that's now worth.

Quoted message said:

There is Mozilla Suite or Seamonkey for that integrated
browser/email/news 'experience'.

That should read, "Mozilla Suite, which has been renamed Seamonkey,
for...." Both Seamonkey, the suite, and Firefox and Thunderbird,
separate browser and mail client apps, are direct decendents of the
old Netscape and will make ol' "scapers" feel right at home. Either
are a great choice for Windows users who know better than to actually
use IE or OE.

I use an old version of Agent. I tried the latest version less than a
year ago and it took me an entire month to configure it to my liking.
That's why I didn't upgrade (which would have meant buying it again).
I'm not going to give monetary support to something that complicated
with so many features I don't want.

you have a slightly newer version of agent than i do. i tried to
upgrade a little and was also [censored] that they wanted me to pay full
price again. but this one is o.k., with the addition of newsproxy for
some additional killfile capabilities. i would definitely stay away
from any browser-based reader.

your pal,
blake

flitterbit said:

sf said:

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:44:00 -0500, flitterbit <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Aaah. Currently I use Thunderbird; I used to use Outlook
Express. I realize by some standards they aren't considered to
be "real" newsreaders, but they do the trick and are simple to
use. 😉

Flitterbit... they are "real" news readers, but they are not "stand
alone" news readers. Does that make any sense to you?

Indeed it does; I've happily used both without any problems
whatsoever and have never felt the need to mess with Forte Agent or
any of the other stand-alones. Rather, I was just trying to pre-empt
the "get a real newsreader" chorus that usually pops up in other
groups at the mention of Outlook Express in particular ; )

Those work well enough for basic news access. However, neither has very
robust filtering capability. I wanted to be able to handle the
cross-posting trolls. That's what finally drove me to search out a more
powerful newsreader. For Windows, Xnews is far and away the best at
filtering, but I didn't like the user interface. I'd become accustomed
to the multi-pane look I'd had with the old Netscape reader. I settled
on XanaNews as a compromise in looks and features.

Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Peter A said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Indeed it does; I've happily used both without any problems whatsoever
and have never felt the need to mess with Forte Agent or any of the
other stand-alones. Rather, I was just trying to pre-empt the "get a
real newsreader" chorus that usually pops up in other groups at the
mention of Outlook Express in particular ; )

Right on! A few months ago I decided to get a "real" newsreader so got
MicroPlanet Gravity, billed as "the world's most powerful newsreader."
What a mistake! The program is indeed powerful, it has more commands
that anyone can count, but it is so poorly designed that it is a real
headache. Commands on totally unrelated menus? Yep. Taking 5 clicks to
do what 1 click should accomplish? Yep. Disconnecting from the server
every 15 seconds? Yep.

Stay away!

I'm starting to think that mastering Gravity is one of those things that
certain segments of the tech population use as some kind of designator
of "in crowd" status so that they can then look down their noses at we
mere mortals who opt for something more user-friendly 😉 As far as I'm
concerned, whatever gets the job done with the least aggravation is
what'll be worth my time 😄

The Truthful Assh0le said:

flitterbit said:

Peter A said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...
> Indeed it does; I've happily used both without any problems whatsoever
> and have never felt the need to mess with Forte Agent or any of the
> other stand-alones. Rather, I was just trying to pre-empt the "get a
> real newsreader" chorus that usually pops up in other groups at the
> mention of Outlook Express in particular ; )
Right on! A few months ago I decided to get a "real" newsreader so got
MicroPlanet Gravity, billed as "the world's most powerful newsreader."
What a mistake! The program is indeed powerful, it has more commands
that anyone can count, but it is so poorly designed that it is a real
headache. Commands on totally unrelated menus? Yep. Taking 5 clicks to
do what 1 click should accomplish? Yep. Disconnecting from the server
every 15 seconds? Yep.
Stay away!

I'm starting to think that mastering Gravity is one of those things that
certain segments of the tech population use as some kind of designator
of "in crowd" status so that they can then look down their noses at we
mere mortals who opt for something more user-friendly 😉 As far as I'm
concerned, whatever gets the job done with the least aggravation is
what'll be worth my time 😄

Considering that you're posting from the future, Gravity should be
easy.

--Bryan

???? Excuse me? I just checked my system clock and it's accurate.

flitterbit said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

flitterbit said:

Peter A wrote:
> In article <[email hidden]>,
> [email hidden]
> says...
>> Indeed it does; I've happily used both without any problems whatsoever
>> and have never felt the need to mess with Forte Agent or any of the
>> other stand-alones. Rather, I was just trying to pre-empt the "get a
>> real newsreader" chorus that usually pops up in other groups at the
>> mention of Outlook Express in particular ; )
> Right on! A few months ago I decided to get a "real" newsreader so got
> MicroPlanet Gravity, billed as "the world's most powerful newsreader."
> What a mistake! The program is indeed powerful, it has more commands
> that anyone can count, but it is so poorly designed that it is a real
> headache. Commands on totally unrelated menus? Yep. Taking 5 clicks to
> do what 1 click should accomplish? Yep. Disconnecting from the server
> every 15 seconds? Yep.
> Stay away!
I'm starting to think that mastering Gravity is one of those things that
certain segments of the tech population use as some kind of designator
of "in crowd" status so that they can then look down their noses at we
mere mortals who opt for something more user-friendly 😉 As far as I'm
concerned, whatever gets the job done with the least aggravation is
what'll be worth my time 😄

Considering that you're posting from the future, Gravity should be
easy.

--Bryan

???? Excuse me? I just checked my system clock and it's accurate.

Replying to myself:

Strange, the time stamp on my last post is early by an hour; not sure
what's up.

Default User said:

flitterbit said:

sf said:

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:44:00 -0500, flitterbit <[email hidden]>
wrote:

> Aaah. Currently I use Thunderbird; I used to use Outlook
> Express. I realize by some standards they aren't considered to
> be "real" newsreaders, but they do the trick and are simple to
> use. 😉
Flitterbit... they are "real" news readers, but they are not "stand
alone" news readers. Does that make any sense to you?

Indeed it does; I've happily used both without any problems
whatsoever and have never felt the need to mess with Forte Agent or
any of the other stand-alones. Rather, I was just trying to pre-empt
the "get a real newsreader" chorus that usually pops up in other
groups at the mention of Outlook Express in particular ; )

Those work well enough for basic news access. However, neither has very
robust filtering capability. I wanted to be able to handle the
cross-posting trolls. That's what finally drove me to search out a more
powerful newsreader. For Windows, Xnews is far and away the best at
filtering, but I didn't like the user interface. I'd become accustomed
to the multi-pane look I'd had with the old Netscape reader. I settled
on XanaNews as a compromise in looks and features.

Brian

I definitely concur on the filtering issue, so I've just trained myself
to ignore the stuff I don't want to be bothered with, or to mark the
thread as read 😉

Joseph Littleshoes said:

Why would a browser NOT have e mail and news? I found several that
didn't have news, and at least one that used "Eudora" for e mail, im not
that fond of the Safari browser that came with my Mac, it don't have a
window for news groups, and its mail program seems needlessly complex.

If you like Netscape, then you will enjoy Seamonkey. It has a browser,
mail and news.

Becca

On 15 Aug 2007 16:34:59 GMT, "Default User" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

For Windows, Xnews is far and away the best at
filtering, but I didn't like the user interface. I'd become accustomed
to the multi-pane look I'd had with the old Netscape reader. I settled
on XanaNews as a compromise in looks and features.

How can you stand multipane? It's too busy visually, so I configured
my news reader to show only one pane at a time. Switching between
tree view and the message pane within a newsgroup is automatic and
when I want to change ngs, it's just a matter of selecting a tab.

--

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies. Groucho Marks

Rik Brown said:

merryb;1334121 said:

Ok, I need help! I've been reading all the complaints about Google, so
can someone kindly point me to a different source so I can participate
without Google? Excuse my ignorance, but using a computer is still
pretty new to me, and this is all I know!! I'm still trying to learn,
and most of you are very helpful. Someone had posted about a free
server the other day, but I can't remember where it was!! If someone
can help me out a little, then I can get away from your beloved
Google🙂 Thanks!!

I use TRAVEL.com which is free and has built in spam filters. I love
it!

That was a sneaky thing to do - you won't be getting my business.

--

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies. Groucho Marks

sf said:

On 15 Aug 2007 16:34:59 GMT, "Default User" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

For Windows, Xnews is far and away the best at
filtering, but I didn't like the user interface. I'd become
accustomed to the multi-pane look I'd had with the old Netscape
reader. I settled on XanaNews as a compromise in looks and features.

How can you stand multipane?

I only look at one pane at a time. Then I shift my gaze ever so
slightly when I need to look at the message tree or group tree.

Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

flitterbit said:

Strange, the time stamp on my last post is early by an hour; not sure
what's up.

They look ok to me.

Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Default User said:

flitterbit said:

Strange, the time stamp on my last post is early by an hour; not sure
what's up.

They look ok to me.

Brian

Thanks 🙂

Default User said:

For Windows, Xnews is far and away the best at
filtering, but I didn't like the user interface.

It's tied for the best at actual filtering, but there are other
newsreaders that allow you to do more actions on the filtered
posts.

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

Default User said:

For Windows, Xnews is far and away the best at
filtering, but I didn't like the user interface.

It's tied for the best at actual filtering

If I recall, slrn has essentially the same filtering system. You may be
referring to something else.

Quoted message said:

but there are other
newsreaders that allow you to do more actions on the filtered
posts.

I never really want to do anything but wish them into the cornfield.

Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Default User said:

Steve Wertz said:

but there are other
newsreaders that allow you to do more actions on the filtered
posts.

I never really want to do anything but wish them into the cornfield.

In my case, my filter rules chow my posts, and any follupts to my
post in a different color in the header pane. So If I', just
trying to catch up on a thread, I can immediately see if I need
to read any responses to my posts, and to hell with everyone
elses :-)

I can also set different flags (keep, watch, ignore, etc..) based
on who the poster is or anything else int he headers.

IOW, I use my score file/filters for things other than just
discarding posts/users.

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

Default User said:

Steve Wertz said:

but there are other
newsreaders that allow you to do more actions on the filtered
posts.

I never really want to do anything but wish them into the cornfield.

In my case, my filter rules chow my posts, and any follupts to my
post in a different color in the header pane. So If I', just
trying to catch up on a thread, I can immediately see if I need
to read any responses to my posts, and to hell with everyone
elses :-)

Yeah, my newsreader does that but not through the filtering system.
It's in the Options under Colours and Fonts.

Quoted message said:

I can also set different flags (keep, watch, ignore, etc..) based
on who the poster is or anything else int he headers.

I don't bother with that. I never want to keep anything.

Quoted message said:

IOW, I use my score file/filters for things other than just
discarding posts/users.

I'm pretty binary in that regard. It either stays or goes. Dumbasses
get killfiled because they waste my time. When pressed for time, I use
on-the-fly heuristics like, "this thread's dumb, skip the rest".

Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Steve Wertz said:

Joseph Littleshoes said:

Why would a browser NOT have e mail and news?

Many people want separate programs for each task.

Quoted message said:

The thing about Opera is it looks newer and fresher, i really don't see
how it can be better than what i have got. Look better but ... that is
of course why i ask...the Netscape never gave me any problems, and is
easy to configure, i guess im going to have to see if a closer look at
the opera browser is available.

Why not just try Seamonkey? It'll be the most like your current
Netscape Navigator, and it's free. It inclused borwser, new,
email (chat (kinda), RSS, and a few other things not normally
used).

-sw

I tried to download opera and while it down loaded fine when i tried to
open it would quit and i would get an error message that "opera quit
upon opening".

I guess ill stick to Netscape, its not broke, why try to fix it, but i
did like the look of Opera.
--
JL