test 14 Jan '24 at 4:38 PM ET

On Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:38:31 -0500, Joe Gwinn wrote:

> Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
> Subject: test

Please use one of the many *.test groups for test posts.
Such as:
     alt.binaries.test
     alt.test
     comp.test
     free.test
     misc.test
     news.test
     rec.test
     soc.test
     us.test

On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:01:44 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
wrote:

>On Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:38:31 -0500, Joe Gwinn wrote:
>
>> Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
>> Subject: test
>
>Please use one of the many *.test groups for test posts.
>Such as:
>     alt.binaries.test
>     alt.test
>     comp.test
>     free.test
>     misc.test
>     news.test
>     rec.test
>     soc.test
>     us.test

People invariably say this, but could it not be that OP is testing
access to this particular group?

On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:39:05 +0000, Scott wrote:
> On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:01:44 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
> wrote:
>> On Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:38:31 -0500, Joe Gwinn wrote:
>>
>>> Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
>>> Subject: test
>>
>> Please use one of the many *.test groups for test posts.
>> Such as:
>>      alt.binaries.test
>>      alt.test
>>      comp.test
>>      free.test
>>      misc.test
>>      news.test
>>      rec.test
>>      soc.test
>>      us.test
>
> People invariably say this, but could it not be that OP is testing
> access to this particular group?

Whether the OP is testing either read access or posting access, the OP
does not need to post test messages to this newsgroup.

Read access

   If the OP is not seeing new posts, the OP can check this group on
   Narkive [1], NovaBBS [2], or (until 24 February) Google Groups [3].

   If they show no new posts, that is the reason.

   If they show new posts which the OP is not receiving, the OP should
   check the OP's filters.
    *  The first check is to (temporarily) disable filtering for the
       group and sample headers.
    *  If the OP is using this subject filter from another post
       {/?/?/?/?}
       that filter will catch _all_ posts, not only posts with question
       marks. The lesson is to test your filters on the group using
       Find Global (Ctrl+G) to make sure the filter does not catch
       other posts you do not want caught.

Posting access

   If the OP has nothing useful to post, the OP does not need to post.

   If the OP has something useful to post, then post that (not a test
   post). If that post goes out but does not show up after a wait of
   a few minutes and then getting new headers, follow the steps in
   'Read access' above.
    *  Check if that post is on Narkive [1], NovaBBS [2], or (until
       24 February 2024) Google Groups [3].
    *  Check one's filters as above.

____
FOOTNOTES

[1] This group on Narkive
    <https://alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent.narkive.com/>

[2] This group on NovaBBS
    <https://www.novabbs.com/computers/thread.php?group=alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent>

[3] This group on Google Groups
    <https://groups.google.com/g/alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent>

--
Kind regards
Ralph Fox
🦊

Empty vessels make the greatest sound.

On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 13:25:01 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
wrote:

>On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:39:05 +0000, Scott wrote:
>> On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:01:44 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
>> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:38:31 -0500, Joe Gwinn wrote:
>>>
>>>> Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
>>>> Subject: test
>>>
>>> Please use one of the many *.test groups for test posts.
>>> Such as:
>>>      alt.binaries.test
>>>      alt.test
>>>      comp.test
>>>      free.test
>>>      misc.test
>>>      news.test
>>>      rec.test
>>>      soc.test
>>>      us.test
>>
>> People invariably say this, but could it not be that OP is testing
>> access to this particular group?

Which was exactly the intent. If it turned out to be for instance an
Agent config problem or the like, I'd likely need this group to figure
out what to try. It turned out that I could post (receiving the bcc
email copy), but not receive.

I already had Hogwasher (which I tried but don't prefer), so I turned
it on, and found that nothing had been refreshed in any of the groups
I follow.

So I waited, and on the next day, everything that had been sent before
arrived, including my one test message.

My guess is that GigaNews was having problems. How did other
providers fare?

>Whether the OP is testing either read access or posting access, the OP
>does not need to post test messages to this newsgroup.
>
>Read access
>
>   If the OP is not seeing new posts, the OP can check this group on
>   Narkive [1], NovaBBS [2], or (until 24 February) Google Groups [3].

I didn't think of these at the time. Maybe next time.

>   If they show no new posts, that is the reason.
>
>   If they show new posts which the OP is not receiving, the OP should
>   check the OP's filters.
>    *  The first check is to (temporarily) disable filtering for the
>       group and sample headers.
>    *  If the OP is using this subject filter from another post
>       {/?/?/?/?}
>       that filter will catch _all_ posts, not only posts with question
>       marks. The lesson is to test your filters on the group using
>       Find Global (Ctrl+G) to make sure the filter does not catch
>       other posts you do not want caught.

The filters had not been a problem before, and I had not changed them,
so that didn't seem likely. But I did check that. My filters are
configured to mark things as already read, so I can easily look for
such cases.

>Posting access
>
>   If the OP has nothing useful to post, the OP does not need to post.

It was useful to me. And I was thinking only of solving the problem
at hand.

Thanks,

Joe Gwinn

>   If the OP has something useful to post, then post that (not a test
>   post). If that post goes out but does not show up after a wait of
>   a few minutes and then getting new headers, follow the steps in
>   'Read access' above.
>    *  Check if that post is on Narkive [1], NovaBBS [2], or (until
>       24 February 2024) Google Groups [3].
>    *  Check one's filters as above.
>
>____
>FOOTNOTES
>
>[1] This group on Narkive
>    <https://alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent.narkive.com/>
>
>[2] This group on NovaBBS
>    <https://www.novabbs.com/computers/thread.php?group=alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent>
>
>[3] This group on Google Groups
>    <https://groups.google.com/g/alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent>

On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:48:42 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
wrote:

>On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 13:25:01 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
>wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:39:05 +0000, Scott wrote:
>>> On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:01:44 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
>>> wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:38:31 -0500, Joe Gwinn wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
>>>>> Subject: test
>>>>
>>>> Please use one of the many *.test groups for test posts.
>>>> Such as:
>>>>      alt.binaries.test
>>>>      alt.test
>>>>      comp.test
>>>>      free.test
>>>>      misc.test
>>>>      news.test
>>>>      rec.test
>>>>      soc.test
>>>>      us.test
>>>
>>> People invariably say this, but could it not be that OP is testing
>>> access to this particular group?
>
>Which was exactly the intent. If it turned out to be for instance an
>Agent config problem or the like, I'd likely need this group to figure
>out what to try. It turned out that I could post (receiving the bcc
>email copy), but not receive.
>
>I already had Hogwasher (which I tried but don't prefer), so I turned
>it on, and found that nothing had been refreshed in any of the groups
>I follow.
>
>So I waited, and on the next day, everything that had been sent before
>arrived, including my one test message.
>
>My guess is that GigaNews was having problems. How did other
>providers fare?

Yes, GigaNews apparently had problems.

I'm not sure that they fixed everything. This afternoon, I
received my first Giganews messages for the last few days.

The group receving a dozen or three dozen spam emails every
day had just one spam for the 13th and a handful for the 14th.

>
--
Rich Ulrich

On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 22:55:02 -0500, Rich Ulrich
<rich.ulrich@comcast.net> wrote:

>On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:48:42 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
>wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 13:25:01 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:39:05 +0000, Scott wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:01:44 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> On Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:38:31 -0500, Joe Gwinn wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
>>>>>> Subject: test
>>>>>
>>>>> Please use one of the many *.test groups for test posts.
>>>>> Such as:
>>>>>      alt.binaries.test
>>>>>      alt.test
>>>>>      comp.test
>>>>>      free.test
>>>>>      misc.test
>>>>>      news.test
>>>>>      rec.test
>>>>>      soc.test
>>>>>      us.test
>>>>
>>>> People invariably say this, but could it not be that OP is testing
>>>> access to this particular group?
>>
>>Which was exactly the intent. If it turned out to be for instance an
>>Agent config problem or the like, I'd likely need this group to figure
>>out what to try. It turned out that I could post (receiving the bcc
>>email copy), but not receive.
>>
>>I already had Hogwasher (which I tried but don't prefer), so I turned
>>it on, and found that nothing had been refreshed in any of the groups
>>I follow.
>>
>>So I waited, and on the next day, everything that had been sent before
>>arrived, including my one test message.
>>
>>My guess is that GigaNews was having problems. How did other
>>providers fare?
>
>Yes, GigaNews apparently had problems.
>
>I'm not sure that they fixed everything. This afternoon, I
>received my first Giganews messages for the last few days.
>
>The group receving a dozen or three dozen spam emails every
>day had just one spam for the 13th and a handful for the 14th.

The plot thickens.

I wonder if GigaNews was testing a new spam filter, to suppress the
current floods of junk.

Joe Gwinn

On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:39:05 +0000, Scott wrote:

> People invariably say this, but could it not be that OP is testing
> access to this particular group?

In over 25 years I have never experienced problems with just one
newsgroup. The OP could have asked about the problem instead of sending
an ordinary test message.

--
s|b

On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 12:40:09 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
wrote:

>On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 22:55:02 -0500, Rich Ulrich
><rich.ulrich@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:48:42 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 13:25:01 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 20:39:05 +0000, Scott wrote:
>>>>> On Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:01:44 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> On Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:38:31 -0500, Joe Gwinn wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
>>>>>>> Subject: test
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Please use one of the many *.test groups for test posts.
>>>>>> Such as:
>>>>>>      alt.binaries.test
>>>>>>      alt.test
>>>>>>      comp.test
>>>>>>      free.test
>>>>>>      misc.test
>>>>>>      news.test
>>>>>>      rec.test
>>>>>>      soc.test
>>>>>>      us.test
>>>>>
>>>>> People invariably say this, but could it not be that OP is testing
>>>>> access to this particular group?
>>>
>>>Which was exactly the intent. If it turned out to be for instance an
>>>Agent config problem or the like, I'd likely need this group to figure
>>>out what to try. It turned out that I could post (receiving the bcc
>>>email copy), but not receive.
>>>
>>>I already had Hogwasher (which I tried but don't prefer), so I turned
>>>it on, and found that nothing had been refreshed in any of the groups
>>>I follow.
>>>
>>>So I waited, and on the next day, everything that had been sent before
>>>arrived, including my one test message.
>>>
>>>My guess is that GigaNews was having problems. How did other
>>>providers fare?
>>
>>Yes, GigaNews apparently had problems.
>>
>>I'm not sure that they fixed everything. This afternoon, I
>>received my first Giganews messages for the last few days.
>>
>>The group receving a dozen or three dozen spam emails every
>>day had just one spam for the 13th and a handful for the 14th.
>
>The plot thickens.
>
>I wonder if GigaNews was testing a new spam filter, to suppress the
>current floods of junk.

And it worked! Nothing at all came through, hence no spam came
through!
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"