Here is how I just now figured out how to construct a non-redundant Google
Groups URL to a Usenet post from years ago. If you have a better method,
please share, as I post this merely to share to help others use Usenet as a
reference.
I just did this today for the alt-home-repair newsgroup, so all I'm doing
is documenting the steps for others to be able to leverage in the future.
1. I needed to look up an old URL on how to wind garage door torsion
springs so that I could cut and paste a short Google URL as a reference.
2. I knew the original thread was posted to alt.home.repair by me on Usenet
years ago, so I searched using this easily remembered URL.
http://tinyurl.com/alt-home-repair
3. That easily remembered URL, of course, takes you to the canonical GG
search URL which is the one to use (but it's harder to remember):
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.home.repair
4. My search was "Danny garage torsion" which came up with four thread
titles:
a. Lessons learned installing a torsion spring in a typical
residential garage
b. Update to the "lessons learned" garage door torsion spring DIY thread
(new lessons learned)
c. Garage door torsion spring relocation project (Status = Not going well)
d. Garage door torsion spring broken ... and ... I have no questions!
5. The initial URLs are messy because they include redundant terms:
a.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!ms...lt.home.repair
b.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!ms...lt.home.repair
c.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!ms...lt.home.repair
d.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!ms...lt.home.repair
6. Notice the unique ultimate characters:
a. LASTID=BRHYK3X71BAJ
b. LASTID=8Ff3HsrmASEJ
c. LASTID=Hk0mfwDsQooJ
d. LASTID=I0TP541gGk4J
7. Now you need a normal short URL, where a "normal" URL can be gotten
simply by looking up the *latest* page and choosing any URL found on that
latest page as of the current date.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.home.repair
The first URL (at the moment) uses this non-redundant syntax:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...ir/i9nfxKFjZE0
8. You'd think you can just cut the *last* argument out, to reconstruct the
desired non-redundant Google URLs (but you can't). So these won't work:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.home.repair/cut this out
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.home.repair/insert LASTID
a.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...r/BRHYK3X71BAJ
b.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...r/8Ff3HsrmASEJ
c.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...r/Hk0mfwDsQooJ
d.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...r/I0TP541gGk4J
But that doesn't work.
9. What you can do though, is cut TWO ID sections out:
a. LAST2IDs=738YR8CPsLI/BRHYK3X71BAJ
b. LAST2IDs=AGrGZc4i-RA/8Ff3HsrmASEJ
c. LAST2IDs=ifuMBLOoGXY/Hk0mfwDsQooJ
d. LAST2IDs=s0zBJNaT89Q/I0TP541gGk4J
10. Using those two sections, you reconstruct a Google URL:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...t.home.repair/ + LAST2IDs
a.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...I/BRHYK3X71BAJ
b.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...A/8Ff3HsrmASEJ
c.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...Y/Hk0mfwDsQooJ
d.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...Q/I0TP541gGk4J
11. When you go to those four URLs, you get *new* Google URLs for each:
a.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...ir/738YR8CPsLI
b.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...ir/AGrGZc4i-RA
c.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...ir/ifuMBLOoGXY
d.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...ir/s0zBJNaT89Q
12. So, one way to reconstruct a non-redundant Google Groups URL is to put
these three syntactical items together:
A. The base URL (
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/)
B. The newsgroup (alt.home.repair)
C. The penultimate ID
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/ + alt.home.repair/ + PENULTIMATEID