Newsgroups:  What the hell are they?

That's what I asked myself when I was first learning about the Internet back in 1995.  I had "heard" from friends there were pictures in the Newsgroups, but I had no idea how to get hem.  In fact I didn't even know where to start!  I learned the hard way by hitting the Search Engines and reading as much as I could.  I finally pieced everything together from various descriptions, articles, and advice columns.  It took me a couple of weeks to figure all out!  Back then it was nearly impossible to find just one good source to tell you what they are and how to use them.

In short Newsgroups (Also known as USENET) are binary discussion groups.  You can read more about the actual history of News Groups at Google's Basics of USENET.  In simple English these are elaborate "electronic bulletin boards".  A community of thousands of electronic bulletin boards where you can post and read articles about different topics.  Making sense so far?  Sure, but now you are asking "What about the pictures"?  Let's get to the pictures!  Okay here is where it gets interesting.  Because everything in the computer world is based on a binary numbering system (coded 1's and 0's) photographs can be encoded as ASCII Text!  All you have to do is Decode (un-encode) the text and viola - YOU HAVE PICTURES!  Sweet!

How to get the pictures - compiling the right software

You need software designed to encode and un-encode the pictures.  You can use the built in Newsagent in Microsoft's Outlook Express (Bet you didn't even know it was there) or you can purchase 3rd party software designed specifically for managing Newsgroups.  We recommend the later.  In our opinion the best program is made by a company called Forte and the software is called "AGENT".

CLICK HERE TO VISIT FORTE'S HOME PAGE

Fortunately there are two versions of the software:  Agent and Free Agent.  That's right you can download the Free Agent version for FREE!  It's the best place to start in your quest for smoking pics.  If you are serious about collecting pictures you absolutely must purchase the full version.  Although I won't get into the entire feature set (you can go to their page and read about it) I will tell you that the full version contains sorting and management features that stream line (speed up) your ability to weed out the crap from the good stuff.  And for every 1 good picture in the Newsgroups there are 99 bad ones.  It's a huge waste of time without the right software.

The best way to get started is to visit SmR-USENET and read their tutorial on using AGENT.  From their homepage you click on Tutorials (located in the Main Menu on the upper left part of the screen).  This is the fastest easiest way to learn "How to".  You'll also find a tutorial for Microsoft's Outlook Express and a couple of other programs listed.

A major advantage of Agent is it's ability to decode all the formats posted to the groups.  Trust me on this one... it really sucks to spend hours downloading only to find out what you have downloaded can not be decoded.  Do this a couple of times and the $29 cost of Agent won't seem like much at all (And no I don't make anything selling the Software).  In 2001-2002 a new format yEnc Binary Encoding and Decoding became widespread (Yes you need Agent not Free Agent to read this type of file).  The yEnc format saves a lot of download time as it is a very efficient way to encode the files.  Keep this in mind, you may be able to use shareware for a lot of things - but here it really pays to buy the Full Version.  Try Free Agent and see if Newsgroups are for you... then get the full version.  

How do I see the smoking pictures

Are you still using Internet Explorer or Netscape to view pictures?  Why?  Go to ACDSee and download their image management software.  Again a FREE version is available... the full version costs about $50.  It's fully Windows XP compatible - and in our opinion the very best tool of it's kind.  You can catalog, manage, sort, copy, transfer, etc. every kind of picture file quickly and easily.  If you have more than a 1,000 pictures this is an absolute MUST HAVE.  Once you download all the pictures from USENET you will need some way to quickly sort through all the crap and in our opinion this is the best way.

Danger Danger - viruses abound

Watch out!  There are two immediate dangers we must warn you about.

• VIRUSES - The newsgroups are full of Viruses.  Buy, install and keep your anti-virus software up-to-date.  If you don't have anti-virus software installed DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE USENET.  You will only be sorry.  Many "Bible Bangers" INTENTIONALLY post viruses to the types of groups you will want to download pictures from.  This "type" of person thinks they are going to save the world by disrupting NORMAL consenting adults in the pleasures they enjoy.

• GOVERNMENT - Think you are anonymous?  Think again!  There is some privacy (again with the right software) afforded to USENET surfers, but don't count on it.  Our advise is to never enter a group with content you wouldn't feel comfortable purchasing at your local adult bookstore.  There is a lot of sick shit out there - and yes it does get traded online.  USENET reaches an INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.  And what may be legal in the Netherlands - may not be legal in your home state.  There are documented cases of States Like Oklahoma going after website operators located in California.  Just always play it safe.

• TIME - Don't expect to find a lot of great pictures quickly.  You are going to have to weed through a ton of crap to get a few good ones.  As a general rule only 1% of the photographs are worth keeping.  So you are going to have to look at 1,000 to get the 10 good ones.  Most people would be better off just joining a good members sites.  But for those of you who want the FREE stuff... this is how it's done.

You would be well served to read the above warning again!

Okay so where do I find the Newsgroups?

Your internet provider has to offer a "Newsfeed".  Most ISP's have this service available as part of your subscription price.  Some do not.  The best way to find out is to contact your provider.  They will need to give information on configuring your Newsreader (i.e. Agent or Microsoft Outlook Express).  We can not do this for you!  Most ISP's also have online tutorials.  In addition you can subscribe to Newsgroup services.  Why would anyone subscribe?  Simple - to get full access.  While your ISP may have a "partial feed" to 10,000 groups a full service USENET provider will have access to all 60,000 plus groups.

Here are a couple of sources you may want to invegtigate:

• Newsgroups.st

• SuperNews

• Newsfeeds.com

• Bargin Newsfeeds

There are dozens of others.  Try Yahoo and search for "USENET" and you'll find the rest of them.  We are not recommending the above companies, these are just examples of the many services available.  We do not subscribe to any 3rd party newsgroup services.

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