OT-news.individual.net questions

I have a few questions about news.individual.net -(1) I am using that now to
read RCTY, but I can't find where I can customize the way I read the
messages, like we had on AOL, where you get the posts as they come in, and
once you read them, they're gone; (2) also, how many days of messages to
display. Is it possible to do that on this server? (3) Also, can you
personalize your signature?

I looked thru their FAQ's but these weren't in there. Any help will sure be
appreciated. I was so used to the way AOL did the newsgroups, that I'm
floundering around outside of AOL.

Rusty in CT
and
Dusty the Dog

"rusty1215" wrote in message
...
I have a few questions about news.individual.net -(1) I am using that now
to read RCTY, but I can't find where I can customize the way I read the
messages, like we had on AOL, where you get the posts as they come in, and
once you read them, they're gone; (2) also, how many days of messages to
display. Is it possible to do that on this server? (3) Also, can you
personalize your signature?

I looked thru their FAQ's but these weren't in there. Any help will sure
be appreciated. I was so used to the way AOL did the newsgroups, that I'm
floundering around outside of AOL.

Rusty in CT
and
Dusty the Dog


Check here for instructions on how to configure Outlook Express for reading
newgroups. http://news.individual.net/configura...tlook5_en.html

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 15:16:30 -0500, "rusty1215"
wrote:

I have a few questions about news.individual.net -(1) I am using that now to
read RCTY, but I can't find where I can customize the way I read the
messages, like we had on AOL, where you get the posts as they come in, and
once you read them, they're gone; (2) also, how many days of messages to
display. Is it possible to do that on this server? (3) Also, can you
personalize your signature?

I think you're confusing two different things, the news server and the
news reader. When you were using AOL, both of these were provided by
AOL, so you didn't realize there were two different things.

Your server now is news.individual.net. You can't configure how to
display messages, because they just put them out there and let people
configure how to visualize them with their news readers. One thing I
like about news.individual.net is that they keep messages for weeks,
so if you go away for vacation, you can get all the back messages if
you want.

Your news reader is now Outlook Express. Any configuring of how to see
the messages is done in Outlook Express. I used to use Outlook
Express, but now I'm using Free Agent, which has many more
possibilities of configuration. In any case, in Outlook Express, if
you go to the Tools menu, and choose the submenu "Options", you will
find all the things that can be configured. For instance you can
choose to mark all messages as "read" when you exit from the
newsgroup. This way, the ones you don't feel like reading, you can
just skip and they'll "disappear" the next time you open Outlook.

There are other options on the "View" menu that control whether you
group messages by "thread" or by date, and whether you view all
messages or just the ones that you haven't read. It's hard for me to
explain them, because my software is all in Italian and I don't know
how the translations are done.

In any case, when messages "disappear", it normally means that you
have just chosen not to see them. They're usually still on the server
for as long as your server chooses to keep them, and if you change
your news reader configuration, you can see again the ones that
"disappeared". Some services keep messages for only a few days, but
news.individual.net keeps them for weeks, as I said. Nothing you
configure can change how long the server keeps messages, because they
have to make the available to everybody, not just you.

I looked thru their FAQ's but these weren't in there. Any help will sure be
appreciated. I was so used to the way AOL did the newsgroups, that I'm
floundering around outside of AOL.

The help files you need would all be on Outlook Express. Look on their
help menu. Patience, soon you will be just as familiar with the new
system. If you really can't find the configurations you want on
Outlook Express, I suggest you download Forte Free Agent, which is a
very nice free news reader, and has a lot more possibilities for
configuration. However, that means that you have to invest a little
time learning all the things you can do and how to do them. There's
also a paid version that costs $29. What you do is download the paid
version for a 30-day free trial. At the end of the 30 days, you can
either choose to pay the $29 or keep the free version.

The home page for Forte Free Agent is:
http://www.forteinc.com/agent/index.php
--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

Click on view and go from there.Stella
"B Vaughan" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 15:16:30 -0500, "rusty1215"
wrote:

I have a few questions about news.individual.net -(1) I am using that now
to
read RCTY, but I can't find where I can customize the way I read the
messages, like we had on AOL, where you get the posts as they come in, and
once you read them, they're gone; (2) also, how many days of messages to
display. Is it possible to do that on this server? (3) Also, can you
personalize your signature?

I think you're confusing two different things, the news server and the
news reader. When you were using AOL, both of these were provided by
AOL, so you didn't realize there were two different things.

Your server now is news.individual.net. You can't configure how to
display messages, because they just put them out there and let people
configure how to visualize them with their news readers. One thing I
like about news.individual.net is that they keep messages for weeks,
so if you go away for vacation, you can get all the back messages if
you want.

Your news reader is now Outlook Express. Any configuring of how to see
the messages is done in Outlook Express. I used to use Outlook
Express, but now I'm using Free Agent, which has many more
possibilities of configuration. In any case, in Outlook Express, if
you go to the Tools menu, and choose the submenu "Options", you will
find all the things that can be configured. For instance you can
choose to mark all messages as "read" when you exit from the
newsgroup. This way, the ones you don't feel like reading, you can
just skip and they'll "disappear" the next time you open Outlook.

There are other options on the "View" menu that control whether you
group messages by "thread" or by date, and whether you view all
messages or just the ones that you haven't read. It's hard for me to
explain them, because my software is all in Italian and I don't know
how the translations are done.

In any case, when messages "disappear", it normally means that you
have just chosen not to see them. They're usually still on the server
for as long as your server chooses to keep them, and if you change
your news reader configuration, you can see again the ones that
"disappeared". Some services keep messages for only a few days, but
news.individual.net keeps them for weeks, as I said. Nothing you
configure can change how long the server keeps messages, because they
have to make the available to everybody, not just you.

I looked thru their FAQ's but these weren't in there. Any help will sure
be
appreciated. I was so used to the way AOL did the newsgroups, that I'm
floundering around outside of AOL.

The help files you need would all be on Outlook Express. Look on their
help menu. Patience, soon you will be just as familiar with the new
system. If you really can't find the configurations you want on
Outlook Express, I suggest you download Forte Free Agent, which is a
very nice free news reader, and has a lot more possibilities for
configuration. However, that means that you have to invest a little
time learning all the things you can do and how to do them. There's
also a paid version that costs $29. What you do is download the paid
version for a 30-day free trial. At the end of the 30 days, you can
either choose to pay the $29 or keep the free version.

The home page for Forte Free Agent is:
http://www.forteinc.com/agent/index.php
--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero
dot it.

Barbara and DA - Thanks so much for the info; as you can see below, I now
have a signature again, and I'm able to get around RCTY much better !
Thanks for showing me where to go on Outlook Express to set it up the way I
want it. I've been on AOL since 1998, but I just got DSL, and I'm like a
newborn baby trying to find my way around.

Barbara, I printed out your message for future 'adjustments'.

Thanks again to both of you.

--
Rusty from CT
and
Dusty the Shi-Poo

"rusty1215" wrote in message
...
Barbara and DA - Thanks so much for the info; as you can see below, I now
have a signature again, and I'm able to get around RCTY much better !
Thanks for showing me where to go on Outlook Express to set it up the way
I want it. I've been on AOL since 1998, but I just got DSL, and I'm like a
newborn baby trying to find my way around.

Barbara, I printed out your message for future 'adjustments'.

Thanks again to both of you.

--
Rusty from CT
and
Dusty the Shi-Poo

You are welcome. If you need more help, just ask.
DA

"rusty1215" wrote in
:

I have a few questions about news.individual.net -(1) I am
using that now to read RCTY, but I can't find where I can
customize the way I read the messages, like we had on AOL,
where you get the posts as they come in, and once you read
them, they're gone; (2) also, how many days of messages to
display. Is it possible to do that on this server? (3)
Also, can you personalize your signature?

none of that has anything to do with the news server. that is
all a function of your news reader. you are using Outlook
Express to read newsgroups, i see from your headers.
unfortunately, i think OE is garbage, so i don't really know how
to make it thread properly & drop read messages. it can be done,
i just can't help you you should be aware that OE sometimes
has glitches that cause it not to read news properly & can only
be fixed by deleting your profile, rebooting & setting up the
profile again. kind of a nusance because then it downloads all
the old threads still on the server as new & unread...
you could download a free dedicated news reader (i use Xnews),
which would be much easier to configure & use than OE. lots of
people love Free Agent, also.
lee

Lee, If OE doesn't work out, I'll try another news reader. It is still
quite confusing to me, but I hope it will start making sense pretty soon.

I am able to read the messages - that's the important thing ! Getting rid
of them once they're read is another thing . g

Thanks for your suggestions.

--
Rusty from CT
and
Dusty the Shi-Poo

I have been using Microsoft Outlook for many years now and I really have
never had a problem with it. I prefer it over Google. But with all the
computer troubles I have been having with explorer (long story), I have now
downloaded the Firefox browser and Thunderbird Mail program just today. I
found it very easy to set up. I also use individual.net. It is a little
different than what I am used to, but works fine. I am hoping that the
filters will work better than Outlook.
Diane
***********************************


"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"rusty1215" wrote in
:

I have a few questions about news.individual.net -(1) I am
using that now to read RCTY, but I can't find where I can
customize the way I read the messages, like we had on AOL,
where you get the posts as they come in, and once you read
them, they're gone; (2) also, how many days of messages to
display. Is it possible to do that on this server? (3)
Also, can you personalize your signature?

none of that has anything to do with the news server. that is
all a function of your news reader. you are using Outlook
Express to read newsgroups, i see from your headers.
unfortunately, i think OE is garbage, so i don't really know how
to make it thread properly & drop read messages. it can be done,
i just can't help you you should be aware that OE sometimes
has glitches that cause it not to read news properly & can only
be fixed by deleting your profile, rebooting & setting up the
profile again. kind of a nusance because then it downloads all
the old threads still on the server as new & unread...
you could download a free dedicated news reader (i use Xnews),
which would be much easier to configure & use than OE. lots of
people love Free Agent, also.
lee

I am able to read the messages - that's the important thing ! Getting rid
of them once they're read is another thing . g

Thanks for your suggestions.

Rusty, Top of the screen, view/current view/hide read messages.
DA