subject: Do It Right The First Time - Selecting A Quality Usenet Provider [print this page] The Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) is used for transporting Usenet articles between news servers and for reading and posting articles by end user client applications. Today, many Internet service providers no longer offer NNTP services to their customers. Other ISPs may offer free Usenet connections to their users, but with less than desirable quality. In these cases, customers looking to access Usenet newsgroups will need to subscribe to a premium service.
For cost savings and convenience, it is important that users select the right provider the first time around. Users should ensure that the provider meets their personal and professional needs before purchasing a monthly subscription. Users should look for the following qualities in their provider.
High Retention Rates - Because of the vast number of articles and discussions posted to Usenet every day, providers must allow for limited retention rates. Otherwise, there is simply too much information to store. Retention refers to the number of days that an article will remain on Usenet before it expires and is deleted. Free or low-cost providers tend to offer very short retention rates. A lot of information is therefore lost. Users should look for providers who offer retention rates of a year or longer.
High Completion Rates - High Completion refers to the percentage of articles a server actually has compared to the number of articles it could possibly have. Low quality providers will have low completion rates due to issues such as network congestion, down-time, poor quality servers and data loss. When selecting a provider, users should look for one that offers at least a 99% completion rate.
Proven Reliability - Usenet providers sometimes encounter downtimes. These downtimes can severely impact a users ability to research and post. Users should look for Usenet providers with a proven 99.9 percent uptime.
SPAM filtering - Some newsgroups may become flooded with spam. Quality Usenet providers will offer filters for these unsolicited messages. No provider can promise 100% spam removal, but those that provide filters provide a much cleaner browsing experience.
Features/User-Ability - Many Usenet providers offer a system features that enhance the users browsing experience. These features often include tools that allow users to sort by groups and only access the posts and articles from their saved groups. Users who plan on using Usenet frequently should consider providers with these features so that they can sift and organize their Usenet information more quickly and efficiently.
Multiple Simultaneous Connections - Quality Usenet providers allow for multiple simultaneous connections. This allows users to browse multiple newsgroup articles at the same time. It also provides users with faster connection speeds.
Cost
When it comes to Usenet providers, users often find they get what they pay for. High retention and completion rates and reliability are dependent on multiple high-powered servers. Redundant servers and equipment are also necessary. If one server goes down for any reason, a redundant server will guarantee continued uptimes with no data-loss. Not surprisingly, these high quality servers and redundant machines are expensive to purchase and maintain. Higher quality providers, therefore, must charge higher rates to uphold their exceptional service guarantees.
