How to use News Groups

Would you like to send a message to a group of like minded old toy enthusiasts, asking if they have seen a certain toy, or offering to sell a valuable toy to an audience eager to buy it? Is there a long lost you wish you could find again?

If so, then you should also check out "news groups" called rec.toys.vintage! A "news" group is found in a "system" called USENET. USENET is part of the Internet, but it works by using email rather than "home pages." USENET is like a collection of email organized by subject. There are over 40,000 different interest subjects to choose from! The subject area called "rec.toys.vintage" is a group of people who send email to each other concerning the purchase and sale of old toys. For modern and recent toys, you should also subscribe to the group "rec.collecting.toys." It contains a lot of information about new toys being released.

To get to this USENET "news system" check out the documentation provided by your Internet provider, and see if they offer a "news server." If they do, write down that news server domain name (e.g. news.compunet.com). You can use a Web browser program like Netscape to read USENET news (in Netscape for example, click the Window word on the top bar, and select Netscape News).

But I really like a special news reader program called Forte Free Agent News Reader. Go to www.forteinc.com and get an evaluation copy of Free Agent. You will love it! It is the best "news reader" for USENET that you'll ever find. After you install Free Agent on your PC, check under the Options selection item in the main selection bar in Free Agent, and you will find a place to enter the name of your news server. If you want to use the "news" section of Netscape, go to Netscape's Window option on the top bar and click on Netscape News. Go into Options in News and enter the name of the news server. In either case, that's when you'll put the domain name of your Internet provider's "news" server (e.g. "news.compunet.com"). Once you do that, "subscribe" to the group called "rec.toys.vintage" and you will be in touch with many other vintage toy collectors!!

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