How do I use Usenet the way it was originally intended?

[bbhaag]

I would like to post a response to a discussion but I'm not sure how to do it. I've found a group that is still active and engaging so I want to join in but I'm not sure how to do it.
I'm not interested in grabbing binary files I already know how that works. How do I respond to a text based file in response to the discussion? I want a program that can read the discussions in a group and then be able to reply to them. Does that make sense?

I'm sorry if this sounds confusing. I'm not exactly sure how to put into words what I want to do but if anyone has some helpful input I would appreciate it.

[krackt]

you need a newsreader. forte free agent for winders or xpn for linux. that sort of thingo.

[justlooking]

Maybe the Google thing still works? https://groups.google.com/forum/#!overview

[nntpjunkie]

Newshosting's browser supports text group and you can read and reply as you see fit. If you don't use Newshosting, one free old school alternative is thunderbird - supports email and news accounts.

[sandman_1]

FYI, there are a lot of free text only news servers out there to use. You don't have to pay for a premium server to just use text groups.

[MysticRiffs]

I would like to post a response to a discussion but I'm not sure how to do it. I've found a group that is still active and engaging so I want to join in but I'm not sure how to do it.
I'm not interested in grabbing binary files I already know how that works. How do I respond to a text based file in response to the discussion? I want a program that can read the discussions in a group and then be able to reply to them. Does that make sense?

I'm sorry if this sounds confusing. I'm not exactly sure how to put into words what I want to do but if anyone has some helpful input I would appreciate it.

Believe it or not, your own ISP should have its own nntp: address for just such a purpose, and any news reader client is designed to fetch articles, allow you to create new articles, etc. The caveat here, though, is that you often need to ask your usenet provider (or your ISP) to switch your permissions for posting to the usenet on, before you're allowed to upload (posting messages counts as uploading as it's outbound traffic).

[bbhaag]

Thanks for the advice to far. I really appreciate it. I think I need to clarify a few things though. I use Highwinds to gain access to Usenet. So using my ISPs nntp or a free service is not really necessary. Google Groups is a big no. Google started out nice enough but they are one of the biggest privacy offenders on the web now.
What I'm looking for is a program that can read the articles in a group and then the ability to respond to them. I downloaded Grabbit the other night and successfully replied to a discussion but it left this awful plug in my post. See below...puke

--------------= Posted using GrabIt =----------------
------= Binary Usenet downloading made easy =---------
-= Get GrabIt for free from http://www.shemes.com/ =-

I want a program that can read the article and then the ability to reply to it with ease and no plugs for the program I'm using.
Does this even exist anymore or is it a thing of the past?

[user3240]

>I want a program that can read the article and then the ability to reply to it with ease and no plugs for the program I'm using.
Does this even exist anymore or is it a thing of the past?<

I don't think such programs exist anymore. I still have a version of Agent (1.91) from ten years ago. It is primarily a pure newsreader. Subsequent versions of Agent and others are primarily binary newsreaders. Sadly, discussion groups on Usenet have largely died out. Most of them are nothing but spam.

You might find an old version of Agent by searching the "old" archived software sites.

[piercerseth]

--------------= Posted using GrabIt =----------------
------= Binary Usenet downloading made easy =---------
-= Get GrabIt for free from http://www.shemes.com/ =-

Can't you turn that annoying ass footer off? Newsleecher does something similar and that I know can be disabled. Also, seconding thunderbird.

[justlooking]

Opera 12 has a built-in newsreader. It also has built-in IRC. I use that browser with a proxy.