Newsgroups

Posting to Newsgroups

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Posting messages and replies to newsgroups is not difficult, since the process is very similar to sending email, which we already have learned how to do. In fact, posting to a newsgroup essentially IS sending email, just to a larger readership!

Posting, Mailing, or Both?

To reply to a previously posted newsgroup item, first display the item to be addressed and then select the "Message" pulldown menu (see figure below).

In this pulldown menu there are three choices that might be relevant for posting:

1. "Reply to Sender", which sends email only to the original poster, and does not post the message to the entire newsgroup.

2. "Reply to All", which posts the reply to the newsgroup and sends a personal mail message to the person who posted the message to which you are replying (assuming your posting is not a new one).

3. "Reply to Group", which posts the message to the newsgroup.

Which of these choices is appropriate depends on the nature of any original message that you may be replying to, and whether the response you are posting is of general interest to the newsgroup, or of interest only to the individual that you may be replying to.

Posting a Message

To post a new message to the currently selected newsgroup, click the "New Post" button at the top of the newsreader window. This gives the dialog box shown below.

Choosing one of the three reply options brings up a similar window, except the subject line is already filled in (with "Re:" followed by the original subject of the message you're replying to). The "Subject" and "Attachments" fields are identical to those for email messages. The addresses are also similar, except that now the message is being sent to a newsgroup address (news.newusers.questions in the example shown). As for mailing, multiple addresses may be included by separating them with commas.

Your message is typed into the bottom box. It is usually good form to copy at least the relevant parts of any message to which you are replying by clicking the "Quote" button. This will insert the message you were displaying when opening this dialog box, with each quoted line preceded by a ">" symbol to distinguish the original message from your response. (Note: your browser may be configured to quote the original by default; if so, the quoted message will already be in the box when it comes up.)

When you are finished filling in this dialog box, you are ready to post your message. However, if you are new to newsgroups, might we suggest that you read the next section of "netiquette" before posting any messages.