SpamCop Newsgroups - How to access and use

Stolen from a news://news.spamcop.net/spamcop∞ posting;

"How to use the SpamCop Newsgroups" by Jeff G.
Rev. 0.90 2006/09/27 21:14 EST -0400

Yes, SpamCop has its own Newsgroups. They exist only on News Server news://news.spamcop.net∞, and are not propagated to Usenet like other Newsgroups. They are accessed by modern newsreader software AKA newsreaders using standard NNTP (News to News Transport Protocol) Port 119.

You can find newsreaders at http://www.newsreaders.com∞ or bring your own. Most of our readership (Windows users) already has a newsreader installed, in the form of Outlook Express (OE). The link news://news.spamcop.net∞ or running "msimn news://news.spamcop.net∞" in Windows should work to bring most of you to the list of newsgroups supported by news.spamcop.net, which are described as follows on http://www.spamcop.net/help.shtml#nntp∞ (See also SpamCopNewsGroups):

• SpamCop (spamcop) General Discussion of spam and SpamCop. [Linked to Mailing List SpamCop-List.]
• Geek talk (spamcop.geeks) Geeky issues not related to spam or SpamCop. [Linked to Mailing List SpamCop-Geeks.]
• Social room (spamcop.social) Anything that doesn't fit in the other groups. [Linked to Mailing List SpamCop-Social.]
• Spam lab (spamcop.spam) Posting and discussion of specific spam - often contains de-obfuscation 'workshops'. [Discussion has moved to the SpamCop Newsgroup, where most spam is only referred to by Tracking URL or Tracker.]

The other SpamCop Newsgroups are as follows (per the News Server):

• Control (control) Usenet control messages. [Stealthed because only someone with a working newsreader would want to use it.]
• Control Cancel (control.cancel) Usenet control messages [Stealthed because only someone with a working newsreader would want to use it. Cancels are not honored by the News Server.]
• SpamCop Help (spamcop.help) Help with spam and using SpamCop. [Stealthed in favor of the SpamCop Web Forums at http://forum.spamcop.net∞ . Linked to Mailing List SpamCop-Help.]
• SpamCop Mail (spamcop.mail) [Help with the SpamCop Email System; stealthed in favor of the SpamCop Email System & Accounts Web Forum at http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?showforum=4∞ . Linked to Mailing List SpamCop-Mail.]
• SpamCop Routing (spamcop.routing) Discussion about how SpamCop routes reports. [Stealthed for no discernable reason.]
  • (see Note #1)
• Test (spamcop.test) A place for test posts. [Stealthed because only someone with a working newsreader would want to use it.]

As with any News Server, in order to view the messages in a Newsgroup, you have to subscribe to that Newsgroup, generally after viewing some or all of the available Newsgroups. Methods of subscription vary according to which newsreader you are using.

If you have problems setting up a newsreader on your work computer, please try it at home, as many office firewall administrators have restricted access to Port 119 and many office computer administrators have restricted access to OE (Outlook Express), all in attempts to cut down on the use of Usenet at work (yes, Virginia, there is porn on Usenet). If you are an email administrator, you should be allowed to connect to news.spamcop.net (currently at IP Address 216.154.195.61) on NNTP Port 119 in order to more effectively protect your email system from the Internet, as well as protect the Internet from your email users and potential zombies.

Netiquette (Net Etiquette) applies equally to the SpamCop Newsgroups as to the SpamCop Web Forum and the rest of the Internet. A short list of links to articles about Netiquette follows:

• http://linux.sgms-centre.com/misc/netiquette.php∞
• http://www.river.com/users/share/etiquette/∞
• http://www.onlinenetiquette.com/netiquette_101.html∞
• http://www.epsilon3.com/home/humor/usenet_h.html∞
• http://www.newbie.net/home.html∞

More specifically to the SpamCop Newsgroups, the following rules apply:

• No top-posting.
• Reply in-line.
• Trim anything you're not replying to.
• text only, not binaries (except in spamcop.spam).
• No lines more than 80 characters long (except URLs). You may need to adjust your newsreader to avoid "format=flowed" in order to accomplish this.
• Re-wrap quoted text (for example, using OE-QuoteFix for with OE) to ensure that the quoting character ">" is leftmost on each line.
• Limit your language to the equivalent of a PG-13 rating.

If you are posting about a problem with email being blocked or bouncing, the complete block or bounce message (with two sets of headers, one from your ISP to you about the blockage or bounce, and one from you to your intended recipient) will be most helpful in allowing us to help you to understand and possibly rectify the situation. For each email address (you and your intended recipient(s)), you may munge the left side of the email address (before the @-sign), but please keep the right side of it (after the @-sign) intact. You should also review the "Why Am I Blocked FAQ" at http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=509∞ or the Index page here at CategorySpamCopBlockingList

You are welcome to participate in both the SpamCop Newsgroups and the SpamCop Web Forum.
For further information, please see SpamCopWhereToGetHelp

Enjoy!

--
Best Regards, Jeff G.
http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?act=findpost&pid=37585∞

Minor edits by WazoO in making the transition from newsgroup to Wiki
Additional Wiki Links added by DbieL

Note #1: per http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=9419&view=findpost&p=64440∞ , Don's (SpamCop Admin) latest request is to e-mail deputies[at]admin.spamcop.net about routing issues. Please read the referenced Forum link to see the requested form and content.

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CategorySpamCopNewsGroups
CategoryHowTo

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