Bruce Horrocks <07.013@scorecrow.com> wrote:
> On 03/02/2024 08:05, David Kennedy wrote:
>> The easy way to avoid spam is to sign up to a better server.
>
> This.
>
> news.individual.net (aka the German server) zaps all of them.

Eternal-September is pretty good now thanks to the efforts of its admin guy
aka Ray Banana. I also sub to NIN on the rare occasion E-S goes down.

--
Cheers, Alan

On 3 Feb 2024 at 18:15:54 GMT, "Tyrone" <none@none.none> wrote:

> On Feb 3, 2024 at 1:06:00 PM EST, "Another John" <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> PS I'm going to try the Googlegroups Rule (first suggested by the very Alan B
>> above!). I actually tried looking for the headers, but couldn't find the way,
>> in Usenapp -- I'll try again because now I know they can be found! :-D
>
> Its the H to the right of the Reply arrow. At the top of the window section
> you are reading this in.

Welllll : blow me down! Thanks a lot.

I'm beginning to find that Usenapp might be as good as everyone says it is!
But I could have reached this conclusion a lot sooner if there had been a user
manual of some kind! I _like_ user manuals!

Thanks
John

On 3 Feb 2024 at 22:09:38 GMT, "Another John" <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:

> On 3 Feb 2024 at 18:15:54 GMT, "Tyrone" <none@none.none> wrote:
>
>> On Feb 3, 2024 at 1:06:00 PM EST, "Another John" <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> PS I'm going to try the Googlegroups Rule (first suggested by the very Alan B
>>> above!). I actually tried looking for the headers, but couldn't find the way,
>>> in Usenapp -- I'll try again because now I know they can be found! :-D
>>
>> Its the H to the right of the Reply arrow. At the top of the window section
>> you are reading this in.
>
> Welllll : blow me down! Thanks a lot.
>
> I'm beginning to find that Usenapp might be as good as everyone says it is!
> But I could have reached this conclusion a lot sooner if there had been a user
> manual of some kind! I _like_ user manuals!
>
> Thanks
> John

Have you read the FAQ?

https://www.usenapp.com/faq/

Am 03.02.24 um 21:23 schrieb Alan B:
> Bruce Horrocks <07.013@scorecrow.com> wrote:
>> On 03/02/2024 08:05, David Kennedy wrote:
>>> The easy way to avoid spam is to sign up to a better server.
>>
>> This.
>>
>> news.individual.net (aka the German server) zaps all of them.
>
> Eternal-September is pretty good now thanks to the efforts of its admin guy
> aka Ray Banana. I also sub to NIN on the rare occasion E-S goes down.

I use both and in addition https://solani.org/

This one had an issue with marking read using the key "N" to browse
through unread messages after changing to TB version 115.x.x

They are all three very good with over 30'000 groups and good spam
protection.

--
"Gutta cavat lapidem." (Ovid)

On Fri, 02 Feb 2024 20:46:13 GMT, Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>What haven't I twigged yet? I moved to Usenapp a couple of months ago. I'm
>not using it much because I find the interface impossible! (I used to use
>MT-Newswatcher.)
>
>So for example today I find that uk.comp.sys.mac has 1,325 articles. All but
>about 20 (I guess) are spam posts!

I'm using Forté's Agent, v 4-something, and I dumped three or four
days worth of posts from ucsmac today. There were less than fifty and
not one was spam.

True, I have about a million filters for posts but most of those are
for individuals I don't like such as Archaic Poo and BobAndCarole.

Perhaps the difference between us in is our choice of news-servers?

> Am I supposed to set 1,305 rules to avoid
>these?

No.

You are supposed to wait until your news server catches up with them
and blocks them.

Meanwhile, reading the Forté Agent help group would pass the time.
They often have discussions about filtering spam.

alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent and a.u.o-r.f-a.modified,
though that latter has few posts. It does have some history so it may
be useful.

>
>I *never* had this spam problem in MTNW ... although I readily admit that I
>set rules decades ago that would eliminate most of them (e.g. 'kil if an
>article has come from this domain").

I used to get spam in sci.crypt and a couple of others. I suspect
someone is trying to spoil that group. Recently, it has decreased a
lot.

>
>I can't see anything in Usenapp that would assist me to gradually (or rather
>better: at a stroke) kill all this dross.

Killing on Subject or Author is a waste of time. The spammers have
robots to generate fake, semi-random names and subjects. They can
vomit out new ones faster than you can create filters. Also, there are
more of them than you.

The best idea is patience. Or, maybe, dropping some servers or groups
until they get cleaner.

>
>I suppose I'm just a Dumb User, after all these years! :-)

Everyone is. Even the super-experts.

There's always something we don't know.

I recently asked for help for my new Mac's and their software though
I've been wading through I.T. and electronics for over three decades.
Over four, now.

*NEVER* feel bad about asking questions nor requesting aid, that's
what a Civilisation is for.

"Daddy? Why is the floor all wet, now" she asks after trying to flush
the Britannica. Her next question will be about why Kitty is hissing
and hiding.

No one ever knows everything, though I'm working on this. :)

J.

>
>John

There's too farking many of those buggers. We need some new names.
Or maybe fewer people?

J.

Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 3 Feb 2024 at 18:15:54 GMT, "Tyrone" <none@none.none> wrote:
>
>> On Feb 3, 2024 at 1:06:00 PM EST, "Another John" <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> PS I'm going to try the Googlegroups Rule (first suggested by the very Alan B
>>> above!). I actually tried looking for the headers, but couldn't find the way,
>>> in Usenapp -- I'll try again because now I know they can be found! :-D
>>
>> Its the H to the right of the Reply arrow. At the top of the window section
>> you are reading this in.
>
> Welllll : blow me down! Thanks a lot.
>
> I'm beginning to find that Usenapp might be as good as everyone says it is!
> But I could have reached this conclusion a lot sooner if there had been a user
> manual of some kind! I _like_ user manuals!

It’s already been requested.

<https://www.usenapp.com/forum/d/479-hoping-to-see-the-manual>

But in the meantime you can ask questions here or in the support forum if
you get stuck. You may also have noticed there’s a contact form in the faq
section. As I’ve said before the developer, André, is always very helpful
when users ask for help.

<https://www.usenapp.com/faq/>

--
Cheers, Alan

Jörg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.net> wrote:
> Am 03.02.24 um 21:23 schrieb Alan B:
>> Bruce Horrocks <07.013@scorecrow.com> wrote:
>>> On 03/02/2024 08:05, David Kennedy wrote:
>>>> The easy way to avoid spam is to sign up to a better server.
>>>
>>> This.
>>>
>>> news.individual.net (aka the German server) zaps all of them.
>>
>> Eternal-September is pretty good now thanks to the efforts of its admin guy
>> aka Ray Banana. I also sub to NIN on the rare occasion E-S goes down.
>
> I use both and in addition https://solani.org/
>
> This one had an issue with marking read using the key "N" to browse
> through unread messages after changing to TB version 115.x.x
>
> They are all three very good with over 30'000 groups and good spam
> protection.

I’ve used Solani too but I keep forgetting to use it and it times out my
account for lack of use! I must setup a regular reminder to post via
Solani.

--
Cheers, Alan

On 3 Feb 2024 at 09:12:01 GMT, "David B." <bdb@nomail.afraid.org> wrote:

> On 3 Feb 2024 at 08:57:28 GMT, "John Hill" <watcombeman@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 3 Feb 2024 at 08:05:43 GMT, "David Kennedy" <davidkennedygm@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 02/02/2024 20:46, Another John wrote:
>>>> What haven't I twigged yet? I moved to Usenapp a couple of months ago. I'm
>>>> not using it much because I find the interface impossible! (I used to use
>>>> MT-Newswatcher.)
>>>>
>>>> So for example today I find that uk.comp.sys.mac has 1,325 articles. All but
>>>> about 20 (I guess) are spam posts! Am I supposed to set 1,305 rules to avoid
>>>> these?
>>>>
>>>> I *never* had this spam problem in MTNW ... although I readily admit that I
>>>> set rules decades ago that would eliminate most of them (e.g. 'kil if an
>>>> article has come from this domain").
>>>>
>>>> I can't see anything in Usenapp that would assist me to gradually (or rather
>>>> better: at a stroke) kill all this dross.
>>>>
>>>> I suppose I'm just a Dumb User, after all these years! :-)
>>>>
>>>> John
>>>>
>>> As a PlusNet user I have Usenet via their servers which allows through the
>>> occasional spam post.
>>> I also have the Eternal September server for Usenet which only very
>>> occasionally [less than once a month] allows through Spam postings.
>>>
>>> The easy way to avoid spam is to sign up to a better server.
>>
>> Agree!! Ray does an excellent job of keeping Eternal September clean. He, and
>> other responsible server managers in collaboration, must spend HOURS keeping
>> their filters up to scratch.
>>
>> My thanks to them.
>>
>> I am also a Usenapp user, and I have a filter that marks GoogleGroups postings
>> red. Unusually, there was one this morning - but it was not spam, it was a
>> perfectly sensible posing from a real user.
>
> What was the Message ID of that GG post, please, John?

Message-ID: <f2faf15e-bee9-4f3f-b059-52a710816f97n@googlegroups.com>

>
>> And how he does if for free - that, I have no idea.
>
> Me neither! ;-)

--
Mony a mickle maks a muckle.

On 04.02.24 09:10, Alan B wrote:
> Jörg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.net> wrote:
>> Am 03.02.24 um 21:23 schrieb Alan B:
>>> Bruce Horrocks <07.013@scorecrow.com> wrote:
>>>> On 03/02/2024 08:05, David Kennedy wrote:
>>>>> The easy way to avoid spam is to sign up to a better server.
>>>>
>>>> This.
>>>>
>>>> news.individual.net (aka the German server) zaps all of them.
>>>
>>> Eternal-September is pretty good now thanks to the efforts of its admin guy
>>> aka Ray Banana. I also sub to NIN on the rare occasion E-S goes down.
>>
>> I use both and in addition https://solani.org/
>>
>> This one had an issue with marking read using the key "N" to browse
>> through unread messages after changing to TB version 115.x.x
>>
>> They are all three very good with over 30'000 groups and good spam
>> protection.
>
> I’ve used Solani too but I keep forgetting to use it and it times out my
> account for lack of use! I must setup a regular reminder to post via
> Solani.

The time is 2 months which I think is a bit too short.

--
"Roma locuta, causa finita." (Augustinus)

On 4 Feb 2024 at 09:08:05 GMT, "John Hill" <watcombeman@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> On 3 Feb 2024 at 09:12:01 GMT, "David B." <bdb@nomail.afraid.org> wrote:
>
>> On 3 Feb 2024 at 08:57:28 GMT, "John Hill" <watcombeman@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> On 3 Feb 2024 at 08:05:43 GMT, "David Kennedy" <davidkennedygm@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 02/02/2024 20:46, Another John wrote:
>>>>> What haven't I twigged yet? I moved to Usenapp a couple of months ago. I'm
>>>>> not using it much because I find the interface impossible! (I used to use
>>>>> MT-Newswatcher.)
>>>>>
>>>>> So for example today I find that uk.comp.sys.mac has 1,325 articles. All but
>>>>> about 20 (I guess) are spam posts! Am I supposed to set 1,305 rules to avoid
>>>>> these?
>>>>>
>>>>> I *never* had this spam problem in MTNW ... although I readily admit that I
>>>>> set rules decades ago that would eliminate most of them (e.g. 'kil if an
>>>>> article has come from this domain").
>>>>>
>>>>> I can't see anything in Usenapp that would assist me to gradually (or rather
>>>>> better: at a stroke) kill all this dross.
>>>>>
>>>>> I suppose I'm just a Dumb User, after all these years! :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> John
>>>>>
>>>> As a PlusNet user I have Usenet via their servers which allows through the
>>>> occasional spam post.
>>>> I also have the Eternal September server for Usenet which only very
>>>> occasionally [less than once a month] allows through Spam postings.
>>>>
>>>> The easy way to avoid spam is to sign up to a better server.
>>>
>>> Agree!! Ray does an excellent job of keeping Eternal September clean. He, and
>>> other responsible server managers in collaboration, must spend HOURS keeping
>>> their filters up to scratch.
>>>
>>> My thanks to them.
>>>
>>> I am also a Usenapp user, and I have a filter that marks GoogleGroups postings
>>> red. Unusually, there was one this morning - but it was not spam, it was a
>>> perfectly sensible posing from a real user.
>>
>> What was the Message ID of that GG post, please, John?
>
> Message-ID: <f2faf15e-bee9-4f3f-b059-52a710816f97n@googlegroups.com>
> <snip>

Thank you, John. :-)

You will, no doubt, note that I have now responded to the GG poster.

--
Kind regards,
David

On 04/02/2024 10:09, Jörg Lorenz wrote:
> On 04.02.24 09:10, Alan B wrote:
>> Jörg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.net> wrote:
>>> Am 03.02.24 um 21:23 schrieb Alan B:
>>>> Bruce Horrocks <07.013@scorecrow.com> wrote:
>>>>> On 03/02/2024 08:05, David Kennedy wrote:
>>>>>> The easy way to avoid spam is to sign up to a better server.
>>>>>
>>>>> This.
>>>>>
>>>>> news.individual.net (aka the German server) zaps all of them.
>>>>
>>>> Eternal-September is pretty good now thanks to the efforts of its admin guy
>>>> aka Ray Banana. I also sub to NIN on the rare occasion E-S goes down.
>>>
>>> I use both and in addition https://solani.org/
>>>
>>> This one had an issue with marking read using the key "N" to browse
>>> through unread messages after changing to TB version 115.x.x
>>>
>>> They are all three very good with over 30'000 groups and good spam
>>> protection.
>>
>> I’ve used Solani too but I keep forgetting to use it and it times out my
>> account for lack of use! I must setup a regular reminder to post via
>> Solani.
>
> The time is 2 months which I think is a bit too short.

*MUCH* too short!

--
David

On 2024-02-03 12:36:20 +0000, Alan B said:

> On 2024-02-03, Alan B <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>> Alan B wrote:
>>> On 2024-02-03, Mark <captain.black@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 2024-02-03 06:38:15 +0000, Alan B said:
>>>>
>>>>> Sn!pe <snipeco.2@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> TimS <tim@streater.me.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 02 Feb 2024 at 20:54:52 GMT, "Alan B"
>> <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 2024-02-02, Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> What haven't I twigged yet? I moved to Usenapp a couple of months
>>>>>>>>> ago. I'm not using it much because I find the interface impossible! (I
>>>>>>>>> used to use MT-Newswatcher.)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I agree MT-NW was easier to use.
>>>>>
>>>>> It can still be run on recent macOS versions via SheepShaver or other
>>>>> Classic Mac emulators such as the prebuilt UTM offering. I occasionally
>> run
>>>>> MT-NW via SS on my M1 Mac just for fun :)
>>>>
>>>> I wonder if you could do that with Pineapple?
>>>> <https://platinumball.net/pineapple/news/macosx/>
>>>
>>> No joy with OS 9 on SheepShaver, so wll try Mojave.
>>
>> Posting this message in Mojave. Will it or won't it work?
>
> Well, yes, but it thinks I'm running Mavericks! Apologies to the OP for this
> distraction :)

Excellent! How is it? I used it briefly about 15 years ago!
--
Cheers ... Mark

On 2024-02-04, Mark <captain.black@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 2024-02-03 12:36:20 +0000, Alan B said:
>
>> On 2024-02-03, Alan B <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>>> Alan B wrote:
>>>> On 2024-02-03, Mark <captain.black@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> On 2024-02-03 06:38:15 +0000, Alan B said:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Sn!pe <snipeco.2@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> TimS <tim@streater.me.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 02 Feb 2024 at 20:54:52 GMT, "Alan B"
>>> <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On 2024-02-02, Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> What haven't I twigged yet? I moved to Usenapp a couple of months
>>>>>>>>>> ago. I'm not using it much because I find the interface impossible! (I
>>>>>>>>>> used to use MT-Newswatcher.)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I agree MT-NW was easier to use.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It can still be run on recent macOS versions via SheepShaver or other
>>>>>> Classic Mac emulators such as the prebuilt UTM offering. I occasionally
>>> run
>>>>>> MT-NW via SS on my M1 Mac just for fun :)
>>>>>
>>>>> I wonder if you could do that with Pineapple?
>>>>> <https://platinumball.net/pineapple/news/macosx/>
>>>>
>>>> No joy with OS 9 on SheepShaver, so wll try Mojave.
>>>
>>> Posting this message in Mojave. Will it or won't it work?
>>
>> Well, yes, but it thinks I'm running Mavericks! Apologies to the OP for this
>> distraction :)
>
> Excellent! How is it? I used it briefly about 15 years ago!

Not a patch on MacSOUP! It certainly runs OK though under Mojave but lacks the
ability to add optional headers such as X-No-Archive and X-Face. Anyway I'll
keep playing with it when I next fire up my Mojave VM. I might even discover
some 'hidden' features.

--
Cheers, Alan

On 2 Feb 2024 at 20:54:52 GMT, "Alan B" <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid>
wrote:

> On 2024-02-02, Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> What haven't I twigged yet? I moved to Usenapp a couple of months ago. I'm
>> not using it much because I find the interface impossible! (I used to use
>> MT-Newswatcher.)
>>
>> So for example today I find that uk.comp.sys.mac has 1,325 articles. All but
>> about 20 (I guess) are spam posts! Am I supposed to set 1,305 rules to avoid
>> these?
>>
>> I *never* had this spam problem in MTNW ... although I readily admit that I
>> set rules decades ago that would eliminate most of them (e.g. 'kil if an
>> article has come from this domain").
>>
>> I can't see anything in Usenapp that would assist me to gradually (or rather
>> better: at a stroke) kill all this dross.
>>
>> I suppose I'm just a Dumb User, after all these years! :-)
>
> Most of the spam I see comes via Google Groups so I have a rule that if
> Message ID contains googlegroups, Perform the following action: Delete. You can
> always create exceptions to this rule for those few genuine posters who use GG.
> I can send you a screen shot of my rules if you wish.

Alan: I did it - IT WORKED (of course :-) )

Thanks so much! My set of Newsgroups looks normal again (e.g.15 posts in ucsm
today, not, like, 357)

John (i.e. Another John)

On 5 Feb 2024 at 14:41:26 GMT, "Another John" <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:

> On 2 Feb 2024 at 20:54:52 GMT, "Alan B" <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> On 2024-02-02, Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> What haven't I twigged yet? I moved to Usenapp a couple of months ago. I'm
>>> not using it much because I find the interface impossible! (I used to use
>>> MT-Newswatcher.)
>>>
>>> So for example today I find that uk.comp.sys.mac has 1,325 articles. All but
>>> about 20 (I guess) are spam posts! Am I supposed to set 1,305 rules to avoid
>>> these?
>>>
>>> I *never* had this spam problem in MTNW ... although I readily admit that I
>>> set rules decades ago that would eliminate most of them (e.g. 'kil if an
>>> article has come from this domain").
>>>
>>> I can't see anything in Usenapp that would assist me to gradually (or rather
>>> better: at a stroke) kill all this dross.
>>>
>>> I suppose I'm just a Dumb User, after all these years! :-)
>>
>> Most of the spam I see comes via Google Groups so I have a rule that if
>> Message ID contains googlegroups, Perform the following action: Delete. You can
>> always create exceptions to this rule for those few genuine posters who use GG.
>> I can send you a screen shot of my rules if you wish.
>
> Alan: I did it - IT WORKED (of course :-) )
>
> Thanks so much! My set of Newsgroups looks normal again (e.g.15 posts in ucsm
> today, not, like, 357)

Good :) When GG blocks Usenet posting in a few weeks time, we'll all be able
to remove that filter. Sadly I fear the spammers and trolls currently using GG
will find other means to infest Usenet :(

--
Cheers, Alan