Using news groups

Using news groups

 A newsgroup is a forum on the Internet for discussions on a specified range of subjects.  Newsreaders are used to gain access to various types of newsgroups, to download and read news messages, and to post replies to them. Newsgroups are also called discussion groups.

To start the Microsoft Outlook application, click on the “Start” button and select “All Programs → Microsoft Office → Microsoft Office Outlook 2007”. If you have not previously set up a newsreader, Microsoft Outlook automatically sets up the Windows Mail Newsreader. This newsreader is a Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) newsreader, which you can use to download newsgroup content and then work with it when you are not connected to the Internet. Select “Go → News” from the menu.

If you do not find the “News” item in the “Go” menu of Microsoft Outlook, perform the following steps. On the Standard toolbar click the "Toolbar Options" arrow. Point to "Add or Remove Buttons", and then click "Customize". Click on the "Commands" tab. In the "Categories" list, click "Go". In the "Commands" list, click "News", and drag it and place it in the "Go" menu. You may then close the “Customize” window.

 

In Windows Mail, you can see that there is a default news account named “Microsoft Communities”. This indicates that you may subscribe to a newsgroup of your choice on the Microsoft news server.

Adding a News Account: Let us add a new account. Select “Tools → Accounts” from the menu. In the “Internet Accounts” window, click “Add”. In the window displayed, click on “Newsgroup Account” and then click “Next”.

Enter your name as you want it displayed and click “Next”. Now, enter your e-mail address. Click “Next”.

Here you are required to enter the Internet News Server Name. Enter the server name and then click “Next”. When “Congratulations” is displayed, click “Finish”. You can see this account under the “News” heading in the “Internet Accounts” window. Also, a folder with this name is created in the list of folders in the left panel.

Click “Close”. You see a window asking whether you would like to view a list of available newsgroups. Since this list needs to be downloaded from the news server, ensure that you are connected to the Internet and click “Yes”.

The list is downloaded and the “Newsgroup Subscriptions” window is displayed. On the “All” tab, you may click on the group you wish to subscribe to. Use “Ctrl+Click” to select multiple groups. Then click “Subscribe”. Now click “OK”. The names of the newsgroups appear in the folder list. To unsubscribe from a group, right-click on its name and select “Unsubscribe”. Click “OK” to confirm.

Click on a newsgroup name in the folder list to see a list of messages. You may read any message you wish by double-clicking on it. To print this message, select “File → Print” from the menu bar.

You may choose to reply to a message. Click “Reply Group” to send a reply to all members of a group and “Reply” to reply to the individual sender of the message. Select “File → New → News Message” to create a new message to send to the complete group.