On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:26:53 -0700, Gerry wrote:
On Aug 13, 8:00 pm, Dave Hinz wrote:
On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:53:01 -0700, Gerry wrote:
How does one do something like what is happening here? Surely some
asshole is not sitting typing out all these nonsensical posts! Does
not look like a program to just put random words from a dictionary
together either. I am computer ignorant and have no idea how to
"killfile" this stuff, either
Well, here's the deal. AOL gets you connected to the internet. They're
no different than any local dialup internet provider even though they
pretend to be. Once you make a connection to the internet, you're _in_.
Once you're in, any application you use can be used to access anything
on the internet.
AOL tries to hide this from you, because they want to pretend that the
Internet is just another keyword in AOL. It's not.
So. Once you dial in and get connected to the Internet, you can get
firefox as a browser, and access the REAL internet, not the AOL'ish
version. Download the firefox browser, install it, you'll be fine,
millions of us use it and it's completely legit.
Now, you have firefox. Open up AOL, get the connection to the internet,
then fire up Firefox. Welcome to the _real_ internet, not the "here's
what we want you to see" internet. You now have access to everything.
If you'ure running Windows, go tohttp://www.google.comand enter "forte
download" into the search box. Download and install it. This will get
you a newsreader that supports killfiles. Get it running, then ask for
help.
Once you're running forte' on the real internet, you can filter out all
the spam you want, including the crossposts that are the bane of
legitimate conversations.
So if I download "forte" it will do something to get rid of all the
senseless crap I'm seeing here? I'm already using Firefox. I no longer
use aol as my internet gateway
Sigh....Gerry...the internet is simply a pathway between multiple
fancy computers called Servers.
They are much like a phone company central office, directing traffice
hither and yon. Like a phone company...there are thousands and
millions of central offices, both public and private. And each one has
hundreds and thousands of people connected to them, each with their
own phone number. These phone numbers are called IP addresses. (IP
means internet protocol). The Internet provider issues them to you
when you sign up....or when you log in. Some stay the same, others,
may be issued to you each time you log in.
I use dialup...so my number changes each time I log in. Currently its
4.246.81.32
Thats the number assigned to me by Earthlink..the last time I logged
in. It will be something different the next time.
Static numbers....or dynamic numbers. Special methods are used to
convert these numbers to the web addresses you normaly use.
http://www.ipaddresslocation.org/ipa...paddress.shtml
Anyways...a "browser" is a piece of software that you use to access
this monsterously huge and growing network once you have logged in to
your provider. Some browsers...like the AOL program..is a custom and
is designed by the AOL people to make it easy for you to navigate
around inside of the AOL servers. Think of it as a special program to
help the retarded.
Other browsers..and there are many...are written for the non retarded.
Firefox etc etc. When you type in a web address or click on a
link...there is a ****load of stuff that happens before it pops up on
your screen. Your browser and the various servers between you and the
server that is hosting that address handles all of this like freaking
magic, and you never see the nuts and bolts, the gears and the giant
magnitos all spinning up and the lightening arcs and so forth as you
are connected to that address. Its really cool and awesome if you get
a peek of whats actually going on.
for fun...do a traceroute of your IP address....G
http://whatismyipaddress.com/staticp...ual-traceroute
Btw...this shows my computer 135 miles from where it actually
is...chuckle
Now...Usenet...is a special "network" living side by side...inside
actually, of the regular Internet. Usenet is where all the newsgroups
are. It takes special software to directly access Usenet.
Some internet providers or companies do some magic and convert Usenet
messages to a format you can use a regular browser with, such as
Google. However..this is again, a way to assist the retarded. Shrug
A News Reader, such as Forte Agent, etc etc are software programs that
allow you to access Usenet directly, rather than useing the retards
software. Some have more features than others. Some are easier to use
than others. There are News Readers for each different operating
system, such as Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix etc etc.
Agent has versions for Windows and Mac. Its quite easy to use and
setup, but doesnt have some of the geek features that the Linux/Unix
news readers do. Most of these features btw..you will NEVER use unless
you are a geek.
Anyways...Forte Agent IMHO..is one of the best Usenet news readers for
windows. It has the most common features in an easy to use program.
It does a fair job of providing "filters" but it doesnt do a lot of
the geek stuff the Linux/Unix newsreaders have. Shrug.
This is one of the rare occasions that having Geek Stuff may be nice.
However..I dont see the ongoing crap..because my internet providers
Usenet servers seems to be handling the crap all by itself, and Im not
seeing any of it.
(yes guys...this is an utter simplification and has serious
inaccuracies..but was written for an apparent newbie...shrug)
Gunner