Set up computer to join a newsgroup

Svetlana Aksenova

Before you join a newsgroup you must setup your computer to access your ISP’s news server. With most ISPs the news server address is similar the mail server address. For example, a fictitious ISP, Myisp has a mail server address of mail.myisp.net, similarly their news server address is news.myisp.net. With most ISPs this same format is retained. If this doesn’t work, most ISPs list their news server address at their web site.

To setup your browser to access newsgroups is relatively simple. For the Internet Explorer keep reading below, for Netscape Navigator, Click Here

To setup newsgroups in Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 4 and higher in the main Explorer window from Tools pull down menu choose “Mail and News” and then “Read News.” This will open Outlook Express. Click on “Set up a Newsgroup account…” (in the center of the screen pictured below.)

Enter your news server name in the window as shown below

After completion of this procedure, download newsgroups from the account you added by clicking “Yes” in dialog box. Explorer will start downloading news groups, this will often take a few minutes. Once the groups have been retrieved you can either manually search through the groups or use the “Display Newsgroups which contain:” field and “GoTo” button to find specific topic area that interests you. As seen below,

Just double click on the groups you want to access and checkmark will be added next to the name as shown below.

Click “OK” and it will bring you to the main Outlook Express window. In the left side of the window you will see your newsgroups. Then you can double click on a header to view the article.