News client
Encyclopedia
A newsreader is an application program
that reads articles on Usenet
(a distributed discussion system, which groups its content into a hierarchy of subject-related newsgroups, each of which contains multiple threads or discussions). Newsreaders act as clients which connect to a news server
, via the Network News Transfer Protocol
(NNTP), to download articles and post new articles. In addition to text-based articles, Usenet is increasingly used to distribute binary files, generally in dedicated "binaries" newsgroups.
Newsreaders that help users to adhere to the established conventions of Usenet, known as netiquette
, are evaluated by the Good Netkeeping Seal of Approval
(GNKSA).
There are several different types of newsreaders, depending on the type of service the user needs — whether intended primarily for discussion or for downloading files posted to the alt.binaries hierarchy. Although Usenet originally started as a text-based messaging system without any file attachment ability, many Usenet users today do not participate in Network News Transfer Protocol
discussion groups, as was common during the 1980s and 1990s before the emergence of website forums, and only use Newsgroups for downloading files such as music, movies, software and games. Therefore, their needs call for a streamlined client for quickly grabbing binary attachments, and without the extraneous clutter of text reading and posting features for which file downloaders have little use. As NZB
files have largely replaced the inefficient and time-consuming process of having to download headers, many of the more recently-developed binary downloading clients have dropped header support entirely.
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
that reads articles on Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
(a distributed discussion system, which groups its content into a hierarchy of subject-related newsgroups, each of which contains multiple threads or discussions). Newsreaders act as clients which connect to a news server
News server
A news server is a set of computer software used to handle Usenet articles. It may also refer to a computer itself which is primarily or solely used for handling Usenet. A reader server provides an interface to read and post articles, generally with the assistance of a news client. A transit...
, via the Network News Transfer Protocol
Network News Transfer Protocol
The Network News Transfer Protocol is an Internet application protocol used for transporting Usenet news articles between news servers and for reading and posting articles by end user client applications...
(NNTP), to download articles and post new articles. In addition to text-based articles, Usenet is increasingly used to distribute binary files, generally in dedicated "binaries" newsgroups.
Newsreaders that help users to adhere to the established conventions of Usenet, known as netiquette
Netiquette
Netiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums. These rules were described in IETF RFC 1855. However, like many Internet phenomena, the concept and its application remain in a state of flux, and vary...
, are evaluated by the Good Netkeeping Seal of Approval
Good Netkeeping Seal of Approval
The Good NetKeeping Seal of Approval or GNKSA is a designation that indicates a piece of Usenet newsreader software meets a set of usability and formatting standards...
(GNKSA).
There are several different types of newsreaders, depending on the type of service the user needs — whether intended primarily for discussion or for downloading files posted to the alt.binaries hierarchy. Although Usenet originally started as a text-based messaging system without any file attachment ability, many Usenet users today do not participate in Network News Transfer Protocol
Network News Transfer Protocol
The Network News Transfer Protocol is an Internet application protocol used for transporting Usenet news articles between news servers and for reading and posting articles by end user client applications...
discussion groups, as was common during the 1980s and 1990s before the emergence of website forums, and only use Newsgroups for downloading files such as music, movies, software and games. Therefore, their needs call for a streamlined client for quickly grabbing binary attachments, and without the extraneous clutter of text reading and posting features for which file downloaders have little use. As NZB
NZB
NZB is an XML-based file format for retrieving posts from NNTP servers. The format was conceived by the developers of the Newzbin.com Usenet Index. NZB is effective when used with search-capable websites. These websites create NZB files out of what is needed to be downloaded...
files have largely replaced the inefficient and time-consuming process of having to download headers, many of the more recently-developed binary downloading clients have dropped header support entirely.
Types of clients
- Traditional newsreaders are designed primarily for reading/posting text posts; limited and often cumbersome binary attachment download functionality. Examples: most email clients such as Outlook and Netscape, as well as more specialized newsreaders such as Forté AgentForté AgentForté Agent is an email and Usenet news client used on the Windows operating system. Agent was conceived, designed and developed by Mark Sidell and the team at Forté Internet Software in 1994 to address the need for an online/offline newsreader which capitalized on the emerging Windows GUI framework...
and XnewsXnewsXnews is a freeware Usenet newsreader created by Luu Tran. It is written in Delphi, and it is 100% GNKSA 2.0 compliant. Some of its features were inspired by the program NewsXpress....
. - Binary grabbers/pluckers are designed specifically for easy and efficient downloading of multi-part binary post attachments; limited or nonexistent reading/posting ability. These generally offer multi-server and multi-connection support. Most now support NZBs, and several either support or plan to support automatic Par2PAR2PAR2 may refer to:* Parchive , an error correction system for computer files* Protease Activated Receptor 2, a G-protein coupled receptor protein...
processing. Examples: GrabItGrabItGrabIt is a Windows-based freeware newsreader programmed and developed by Ilan Shemes.-History:Ilan Shemes has been making GrabIt changes since the program has been introduced...
, NewsBinNewsBinNewsbin Pro is a news client used on the Windows operating system. Written in 1995 and distributed as Shareware, it was one of the first news clients dedicated to downloading binary content from Usenet...
, Newsleecher. - NZB downloaders are essentially binary grabber clients without header support; they can only load 3rd-party NZBs to download binary post attachments. Lacking support for viewing an NNTP server's grouplist or headers, they cannot browse groups or read/post text messages. Examples: NZB-O-Matic, SABnzbd, Ninan.
- Binary posting clients are designed specifically and exclusively for posting multi-part binary files. Example: PowerPost.
- Combination client — a jack-of-all-trades that fully supports text reading/posting, as well as hassle-free multi-segment binary downloading and automatic Par2PAR2PAR2 may refer to:* Parchive , an error correction system for computer files* Protease Activated Receptor 2, a G-protein coupled receptor protein...
processing. Being the most complex and feature-rich, these also tend to be the most difficult to learn. Example: Usenet ExplorerUsenet ExplorerUsenet Explorer is a news client for the Microsoft Windows operating system . It is designed to handle binary and text Usenet posts, and is capable of handling newsgroups as large as hundred million headers...
.