Since you think I'm a "child", let me ask you a child like questiion.
Why can AOL do this and FF can't? Isn't FF supposed to be bigger and
better?
And for the record, at the AOL site you can find info on how to use a
'real' pop3 e-mail client for access to AOL e-mail (such as Eudora, TB,
or even OE). It still bewilders me how many people are STILL with AOL for
$20 + dollars a month when there are $10 ISP's. Or take the $20+ and for
only $10 or $15 more a month, you could have blazingly fast cable
Internet access that completely blows away ANY kind of dial-up. Or,
people have AOL AND a second phone line, which makes it what $40 - $60 a
month. I guess if the child-access controls are important to you, and if
they work.
OK, here's the deal. This 'website', as you call it, is nothing more than
a web-based interface for the microsoft.* newsgroups on UseNet.
It is ALWAYS better to use a news-client to 'do' UseNet. A newsreader
will have ALL the features you like about this 'page', plus tons more
that you have never even thought of. Also, you will NEVER have the
problems that you experience using a web interface. As a news-to-web
portal service, like the one your using, they can change the web
interface at will, which may or may not be problem for some people
depending on their browser, security restrictions, etc. Any newsreader
supports the underlying real NNTP protocol specification, which very
rarely changes.
Here's another thought for you, did you ever think M$ may have changed
the UI purposely so users of FF couldn't use the web-portal ? Anyone in
control of a news-web portal can choose to carry only certain groups,
they can filter and screen posts as well. Hell, they may even filter this
one out. With a 'real' newsreader (NOT OE, see below), you get to see
probably ALL of the post's, unchanged, unadulterated, in a way that it
was meant to be seen, NOT, how someone at M$ think's YOU should see it.
Also, all you get is UseNet, you will not see loads of other links to
other M$ sites or products. There should be no problems posting either.
You can probably believe how many double (or more) posts I've seen from a
web-portal because the user clicked on 'Post' and IE crapped out, or it
just returned to some page and the user didn't know if it posted or not,
so they clicked 'Post' again, and again, and again. Hmmmm, UseNet->M$->
You (in M$ form), or.......UseNet->you (in its original UseNet form).
The suggestion to use a newsreader to see these groups is not a 'work-
around', as you put it. It is the preferred method. Trust everyone that
tells you this because it is FACT.
So I just checked groups.google.com, and that reports there are 2700+
microsoft.public.* newsgroups. In reality, there are 200,000 MORE
newsgroups that you know nothing about. Groups about EVERY subject
imaginable. There's BINARY groups also, the largest growing part of
UseNet.
The de-facto standard newsreaders, IMO, are X-News (
http://www.download.com/Xnews/3000-2164_4-10144167.html )for reading text
groups, and NewsLeecher (
www.newsleecher.com ) for binary downloading.
If you were to use those 2 program's, you could get THE MOST out of the
UseNet community, NOT just what M$ wants to show you.
