Problem reading news

I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I would
give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing!)

I've been participating in this newsgroup, and a few others, for
years. My internet connection is through Comcast. I use thunderbird
as a news reader. On Sunday, it all stopped working. I've now
spoken to Comcast several times, but I had to fight my way past the
lowest level techs, who have only a glimmering of how the internet
works, and someone higher up is working on the problem, but I have
little confidence in their finding a solution.

I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux, and one,
Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at least four
different news servers, including three free ones. None of them
work. The only thing that would explain that is that Comcast changed
what they do so newsreaders can no longer communicate with news
servers, including the one they provide.

I am now using Google groups to read this news group, but it seems
awkward to use. I haven't figured out how to list this group, for
example, as a favorite to save hunting for it each time. And the way
it shows postings makes it difficult to find what I want.

I think I will probably have to rely on some web based news service,
like google. Can anyone suggest anything for me to try or perhaps
tell me how to set up the Google news reader to do what I want?

On May 20, 3:37 pm, len <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:
> I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I would
> give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing!)
>
> I've been participating in this newsgroup, and a few others, for
> years. My internet connection is through Comcast. I use thunderbird
> as a news reader. On Sunday, it all stopped working. I've now
> spoken to Comcast several times, but I had to fight my way past the
> lowest level techs, who have only a glimmering of how the internet
> works, and someone higher up is working on the problem, but I have
> little confidence in their finding a solution.
>
> I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux, and one,
> Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at least four
> different news servers, including three free ones. None of them
> work. The only thing that would explain that is that Comcast changed
> what they do so newsreaders can no longer communicate with news
> servers, including the one they provide.
>
> I am now using Google groups to read this news group, but it seems
> awkward to use. I haven't figured out how to list this group, for
> example, as a favorite to save hunting for it each time. And the way
> it shows postings makes it difficult to find what I want.
>
> I think I will probably have to rely on some web based news service,
> like google. Can anyone suggest anything for me to try or perhaps
> tell me how to set up the Google news reader to do what I want?

Okay. I figured out how to list my groups with google, although it
seems to have a mind of its own about which groups I should be
subscribing to.

I still can't figure out how to see all the headers so that I don't
have to open each topic separately to see if there is anything new in
it.

On Tue, 20 May 2008 13:37:40 -0700 (PDT), len
<len@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:

>I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I would
>give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing!)
>
>I've been participating in this newsgroup, and a few others, for
>years. My internet connection is through Comcast. I use thunderbird
>as a news reader. On Sunday, it all stopped working. I've now
>spoken to Comcast several times, but I had to fight my way past the
>lowest level techs, who have only a glimmering of how the internet
>works, and someone higher up is working on the problem, but I have
>little confidence in their finding a solution.
>
>I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux, and one,
>Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at least four
>different news servers, including three free ones. None of them
>work. The only thing that would explain that is that Comcast changed
>what they do so newsreaders can no longer communicate with news
>servers, including the one they provide.

WTF are you talking about. I use comcast without any problems. Try
using Agent, Outlook Express leaves a lot to be desired. Comcast now
contracts through the giganews servers. Thus it's actually better than
it had been using the AT&T servers.


>

On May 20, 4:37 pm, len <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:

> I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I
> would give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this
> sort of thing!)
>
> I've been participating in this newsgroup, and a few others,
> for years. My internet connection is through Comcast. I use
> thunderbird as a news reader. On Sunday, it all stopped
> working. I've now spoken to Comcast several times, but I had
> to fight my way past the lowest level techs, who have only a
> glimmering of how the internet works, and someone higher up is
> working on the problem, but I have little confidence in their
> finding a solution.

I used Windows XP and Outlook Express with Comcast on Monday
night, using motzarella.org as my server. I was able to read and
post messages with no problem. (I'm using Google now because I'm
not at home where I have Comcast access.)

> I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux,
> and one, Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at
> least four different news servers, including three free ones.
> None of them work. The only thing that would explain that is
> that Comcast changed what they do so newsreaders can no longer
> communicate with news servers, including the one they provide.

This is a mystery alright. I'm not sure that Comcast technology
is the same in all areas of the country. However it's hard to
think of why they might be blocking news access. If it really is
a Comcast problem, even one that only affects one region, they'll
be getting complaints from thousands of users and will probably
straighten it out quickly.

Do you have a router that all of your traffic goes through? Is
there a firewall in the router? Is it possible that you
inadvertently did something that is blocking traffic in your own
firewall? That would account for the fact that all your
newsreaders fail.

Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the
servers you have tried? Do you get a response of some kind, or
is it just a black hole? If you're getting some kind of response
then it would seem that neither your firewall or Comcast is
blocking you.

Then of course there are the usual fumbles that all of us make
from time to time - like getting userids, passwords, port
numbers, server names, etc., all mixed up.

I have a suspicion that you'll use Google for a while and
suddenly, in a few days or a few weeks, you'll slap your head and
say "Unbelievable! How could I have done that?"

Alan

On May 20, 4:48 pm, len <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:
> ...
> I still can't figure out how to see all the headers so that I don't
> have to open each topic separately to see if there is anything new in
> it.

I'm not sure this is what you need but in case it is:

When I get to the page that says alt.support.cancer.prostate,
I see the following:

Discussions
View: Topic list, Topic summary
Sort by: Latest message, First message

Click "Topic list" to get just a list of topics with no data.
Click "Latest message" to get them sorted by the date/time
of the latest posting in each thread. Otherwise I think they
sort in reverse chronology by the date/time of the first posting
in the thread.

Alan

On May 20, 5:58 pm, He'sDeadJim <Hesdeadj...@nienspamhotmail.com>
wrote:
> On Tue, 20 May 2008 13:37:40 -0700 (PDT), len
>
>
>
> <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:
> >I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I would
> >give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing!)
>
> >I've been participating in this newsgroup, and a few others, for
> >years. My internet connection is through Comcast. I use thunderbird
> >as a news reader. On Sunday, it all stopped working. I've now
> >spoken to Comcast several times, but I had to fight my way past the
> >lowest level techs, who have only a glimmering of how the internet
> >works, and someone higher up is working on the problem, but I have
> >little confidence in their finding a solution.
>
> >I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux, and one,
> >Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at least four
> >different news servers, including three free ones. None of them
> >work. The only thing that would explain that is that Comcast changed
> >what they do so newsreaders can no longer communicate with news
> >servers, including the one they provide.
>
> WTF are you talking about. I use comcast without any problems. Try
> using Agent, Outlook Express leaves a lot to be desired. Comcast now
> contracts through the giganews servers. Thus it's actually better than
> it had been using the AT&T servers.
>
>

It is certainly possible that the problem is at my end, but since it
occurs with different news readers, different news servers, and both
under Linux and Windows XP, I can't see how it could be software or
OS related. It might conceivably be some hardware or software problem
in my cable modem or router, but I can't imagine such a problem which
affect only news feeds.

I didn't mean to suggest there was an overall problem with Comcast.
If the problem is from Comcast, it could be localized. It might even
be something wrong with my specific connection.

The basic problem from Comcast's end is that they don't really support
this. At one point someone at Comcast set it up, but now no one seems
to know what to do when there is a problem.

On May 20, 7:29 pm, Alan Meyer <amey...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On May 20, 4:37 pm, len <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:
>
> > I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I
> > would give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this
> > sort of thing!)
>
> > I've been participating in this newsgroup, and a few others,
> > for years. My internet connection is through Comcast. I use
> > thunderbird as a news reader. On Sunday, it all stopped
> > working. I've now spoken to Comcast several times, but I had
> > to fight my way past the lowest level techs, who have only a
> > glimmering of how the internet works, and someone higher up is
> > working on the problem, but I have little confidence in their
> > finding a solution.
>
> I used Windows XP and Outlook Express with Comcast on Monday
> night, using motzarella.org as my server. I was able to read and
> post messages with no problem. (I'm using Google now because I'm
> not at home where I have Comcast access.)
>
> > I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux,
> > and one, Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at
> > least four different news servers, including three free ones.
> > None of them work. The only thing that would explain that is
> > that Comcast changed what they do so newsreaders can no longer
> > communicate with news servers, including the one they provide.
>
> This is a mystery alright. I'm not sure that Comcast technology
> is the same in all areas of the country. However it's hard to
> think of why they might be blocking news access. If it really is
> a Comcast problem, even one that only affects one region, they'll
> be getting complaints from thousands of users and will probably
> straighten it out quickly.

If the problem is localized enough, there may be few people who read
newsin addition to me.

>
> Do you have a router that all of your traffic goes through? Is
> there a firewall in the router? Is it possible that you
> inadvertently did something that is blocking traffic in your own
> firewall? That would account for the fact that all your
> newsreaders fail.

All firewalls have an implicit firewall, namely because of NAT, it is
very difficult for someone to get access to anything in my local
network from outside. I have a friend who managed to set up his
connection so he could login to his home computer from his office, and
it was not easy. I've never bothered to do anything like that.
Anything is possible, but given that it has worked fine for over five
years, I can't imagine something in the router suddenly only affecting
news feeds.

>
> Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the
> servers you have tried? Do you get a response of some kind, or
> is it just a black hole? If you're getting some kind of response
> then it would seem that neither your firewall or Comcast is
> blocking you.

When I telnet to the IP address of the news serverver at port 119, I
get a
200 News.GigaNews.Com

I don't get any prompt or request for information of any sort.

I only vaguely remember any of this, but I think in order to go
furthr I need to know exactly what to type next, and I don't. The
interface is not really designed for interactive use.
>
> Then of course there are the usual fumbles that all of us make
> from time to time - like getting userids, passwords, port
> numbers, server names, etc., all mixed up.
>
> I have a suspicion that you'll use Google for a while and
> suddenly, in a few days or a few weeks, you'll slap your head and
> say "Unbelievable! How could I have done that?"

I am beginning to figure it out, but it is a bit frustrating.

>
> Alan

"len" <len@math.northwestern.edu> wrote in message
news:f2a97f52-93fc-46e7-82c3-7ff874dc88e8@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> On May 20, 7:29 pm, Alan Meyer <amey...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> On May 20, 4:37 pm, len <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:
....
>> Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the
>> servers you have tried? Do you get a response of some kind, or
>> is it just a black hole? If you're getting some kind of response
>> then it would seem that neither your firewall or Comcast is
>> blocking you.
>
> When I telnet to the IP address of the news serverver at port 119, I
> get a
> 200 News.GigaNews.Com
>
> I don't get any prompt or request for information of any sort.

I've gotten home and tried out both telnet and Outlook Express.
My Outlook Express client is working fine. It sees giganews and
motzarella. I've also tried XNews (a Windows program) and it is
working fine with giganews.

When I telnet to news.giganews.com 119, I get the same thing you
did, "200 News.Giganews.Com". I also get the same thing if I
telent to "newsgroups.comcast.net" (see configuration info below.)

> I only vaguely remember any of this, but I think in order to go
> furthr I need to know exactly what to type next, and I don't. The
> interface is not really designed for interactive use.

Right. I just wanted to find out if you could reach
giganews.com's port 119. It appears that you can. So I'm
thinking that Comcast is not blocking your connection to
giganews, and not blocking outgoing connections from your
computer to port 119.

>> Then of course there are the usual fumbles that all of us make
>> from time to time - like getting userids, passwords, port
>> numbers, server names, etc., all mixed up.
>>
>> I have a suspicion that you'll use Google for a while and
>> suddenly, in a few days or a few weeks, you'll slap your head and
>> say "Unbelievable! How could I have done that?"
>
> I am beginning to figure it out, but it is a bit frustrating.

Perhaps there is some other configuration error.

In my Outlook Express client, when I click Tools / Accounts /
News, then highlight my comcast entry and click "Properties",
here's what I see:

General tab:
Nothing critical here.
Server tab:
Server: newsgroups.comcast.net
(note: not "news.giganews.com")
This server requires me to log on: checked
Account name: myusername@comcast.net
(I don't like to put my real comcast user name on the
newsgroups, "myusername" is fake here.)
Be sure to use the full "whatever@comcast.net", not just
"whatever".
Password: my password
Remember password: checked
Log on using secure password authentication: unchecked
Connection tab:
Nothing checked.
Advanced tab:
News(NNTP): 119
Server timeout: 1 minute
Nothing else is checked.

Maybe something in the above will help.

Alan

The problem was with Comcast or its conection to giganews. It effected many
users over a wide area. I am in NJ and was out of service for over 48
hours. Magically it reappeared. See messages on newsgroup
alt.online-service.comcast.


Don't go crazy trying to fix it from your end.

C

"len" <len@math.northwestern.edu> wrote in message
news:f2a97f52-93fc-46e7-82c3-7ff874dc88e8@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> On May 20, 7:29 pm, Alan Meyer <amey...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> On May 20, 4:37 pm, len <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:
>>
>> > I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I
>> > would give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this
>> > sort of thing!)
>>
>> > I've been participating in this newsgroup, and a few others,
>> > for years. My internet connection is through Comcast. I use
>> > thunderbird as a news reader. On Sunday, it all stopped
>> > working. I've now spoken to Comcast several times, but I had
>> > to fight my way past the lowest level techs, who have only a
>> > glimmering of how the internet works, and someone higher up is
>> > working on the problem, but I have little confidence in their
>> > finding a solution.
>>
>> I used Windows XP and Outlook Express with Comcast on Monday
>> night, using motzarella.org as my server. I was able to read and
>> post messages with no problem. (I'm using Google now because I'm
>> not at home where I have Comcast access.)
>>
>> > I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux,
>> > and one, Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at
>> > least four different news servers, including three free ones.
>> > None of them work. The only thing that would explain that is
>> > that Comcast changed what they do so newsreaders can no longer
>> > communicate with news servers, including the one they provide.
>>
>> This is a mystery alright. I'm not sure that Comcast technology
>> is the same in all areas of the country. However it's hard to
>> think of why they might be blocking news access. If it really is
>> a Comcast problem, even one that only affects one region, they'll
>> be getting complaints from thousands of users and will probably
>> straighten it out quickly.
>
> If the problem is localized enough, there may be few people who read
> newsin addition to me.
>
>>
>> Do you have a router that all of your traffic goes through? Is
>> there a firewall in the router? Is it possible that you
>> inadvertently did something that is blocking traffic in your own
>> firewall? That would account for the fact that all your
>> newsreaders fail.
>
> All firewalls have an implicit firewall, namely because of NAT, it is
> very difficult for someone to get access to anything in my local
> network from outside. I have a friend who managed to set up his
> connection so he could login to his home computer from his office, and
> it was not easy. I've never bothered to do anything like that.
> Anything is possible, but given that it has worked fine for over five
> years, I can't imagine something in the router suddenly only affecting
> news feeds.
>
>>
>> Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the
>> servers you have tried? Do you get a response of some kind, or
>> is it just a black hole? If you're getting some kind of response
>> then it would seem that neither your firewall or Comcast is
>> blocking you.
>
> When I telnet to the IP address of the news serverver at port 119, I
> get a
> 200 News.GigaNews.Com
>
> I don't get any prompt or request for information of any sort.
>
> I only vaguely remember any of this, but I think in order to go
> furthr I need to know exactly what to type next, and I don't. The
> interface is not really designed for interactive use.
>>
>> Then of course there are the usual fumbles that all of us make
>> from time to time - like getting userids, passwords, port
>> numbers, server names, etc., all mixed up.
>>
>> I have a suspicion that you'll use Google for a while and
>> suddenly, in a few days or a few weeks, you'll slap your head and
>> say "Unbelievable! How could I have done that?"
>
> I am beginning to figure it out, but it is a bit frustrating.
>
>>
>> Alan
>

"Les" <unwanted_mailxxx at comcast.net(remove xxx)> wrote in message
news:L6SdnXVyvPwxL67VnZ2dnUVZ_vSdnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> ...
> Don't go crazy trying to fix it from your end.
> ...

Too late! It's already happened to Len and me.

This reminds me of the time I tried to get a telnet package
working on a computer only to discover after hours of
extreme frustration that there was a bent pin on the
LAN connection.

Alan

On May 21, 12:28 am, "Alan Meyer" <amey...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "len" <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote in message
>
> news:f2a97f52-93fc-46e7-82c3-7ff874dc88e8@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>
> > On May 20, 7:29 pm, Alan Meyer <amey...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> On May 20, 4:37 pm, len <l...@math.northwestern.edu> wrote:
> ...
> >> Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the
> >> servers you have tried? Do you get a response of some kind, or
> >> is it just a black hole? If you're getting some kind of response
> >> then it would seem that neither your firewall or Comcast is
> >> blocking you.
>
> > When I telnet to the IP address of the news serverver at port 119, I
> > get a
> > 200 News.GigaNews.Com
>
> > I don't get any prompt or request for information of any sort.
>
> I've gotten home and tried out both telnet and Outlook Express.
> My Outlook Express client is working fine. It sees giganews and
> motzarella. I've also tried XNews (a Windows program) and it is
> working fine with giganews.
>
> When I telnet to news.giganews.com 119, I get the same thing you
> did, "200 News.Giganews.Com". I also get the same thing if I
> telent to "newsgroups.comcast.net" (see configuration info below.)
>
> > I only vaguely remember any of this, but I think in order to go
> > furthr I need to know exactly what to type next, and I don't. The
> > interface is not really designed for interactive use.
>
> Right. I just wanted to find out if you could reach
> giganews.com's port 119. It appears that you can. So I'm
> thinking that Comcast is not blocking your connection to
> giganews, and not blocking outgoing connections from your
> computer to port 119.
>
> >> Then of course there are the usual fumbles that all of us make
> >> from time to time - like getting userids, passwords, port
> >> numbers, server names, etc., all mixed up.
>
> >> I have a suspicion that you'll use Google for a while and
> >> suddenly, in a few days or a few weeks, you'll slap your head and
> >> say "Unbelievable! How could I have done that?"
>
> > I am beginning to figure it out, but it is a bit frustrating.
>
> Perhaps there is some other configuration error.
>
> In my Outlook Express client, when I click Tools / Accounts /
> News, then highlight my comcast entry and click "Properties",
> here's what I see:
>
> General tab:
> Nothing critical here.
> Server tab:
> Server: newsgroups.comcast.net
> (note: not "news.giganews.com")
> This server requires me to log on: checked
> Account name: myusern...@comcast.net
> (I don't like to put my real comcast user name on the
> newsgroups, "myusername" is fake here.)
> Be sure to use the full "whate...@comcast.net", not just
> "whatever".
> Password: my password
> Remember password: checked
> Log on using secure password authentication: unchecked
> Connection tab:
> Nothing checked.
> Advanced tab:
> News(NNTP): 119
> Server timeout: 1 minute
> Nothing else is checked.
>
> Maybe something in the above will help.
>
> Alan

Your settings are the same as mine except that my username and
password are of course different.

As of this morning, it still didn't work. As I've noted previously,
I don't think the problem is specifically with Giganews since I can't
connect to other news servers. I think Comcast is doing something to
the packaets which the news servers don't like. It may be something
that was supposedly innocuous and would improve performance. Or it
might be some inadvertent change brought about by a change in
equipment. And I see no reason to believe it is not localized.

The only thing i haven't managed to get the google reader to do is to
list all the posts together with the thread headers expanded. I have
to look at each thread separately to see if there is something new in
it that I might be interested in. Standard news readers all allow you
to do that.

Hi,
The Comcast newsgroups server was down from early Sunday to late Monday. It
could not verify users accounts and passwords (Error code 180). Of course
Comcast in the interests of customer service did not notify anyone.

I personally deleted my Comcast newsgroups account and reinstalled at least
3 times. Finally did Comcast live chat late on Monday and the person said
they were working on "the problem".

RP on 1/28/98
PSA since on an annual basis <.06
Going in:
PSA 2.0
Gleason 2+1
Age 58

I have been lurking for 10 years plus.
You folks do a wonderful public service except when you get to arguing. Our
egos always get in the way. "The free man is of necessity insecure, the
thinking man is of necessity uncertain".

Joe

On May 21, 2:53 pm, "Joe" <tag...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
> The Comcast newsgroups server was down from early Sunday to late Monday. It
> could not verify users accounts and passwords (Error code 180). Of course
> Comcast in the interests of customer service did not notify anyone.
>
> I personally deleted my Comcast newsgroups account and reinstalled at least
> 3 times. Finally did Comcast live chat late on Monday and the person said
> they were working on "the problem".
>
> RP on 1/28/98
> PSA since on an annual basis <.06
> Going in:
> PSA 2.0
> Gleason 2+1
> Age 58
>
> I have been lurking for 10 years plus.
> You folks do a wonderful public service except when you get to arguing. Our
> egos always get in the way. "The free man is of necessity insecure, the
> thinking man is of necessity uncertain".
>
> Joe

Welcome back Joe.

The last I heard from Comcast was on Tuesday afternoon when I had a
long talk with supervisor named David. he assured me he would call me
back that day with a solution, but I still haven't heard from him. I
hope they have someone investigating the problem, but I'm not
confident about it. As of Wednesday at 8 pm CDT it still wasn't
working. I just rebooted my cable modem and my router, and it didn't
make any difference.

"Joe" <tagwbl@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:nvGdnbIhuchZ4KnVnZ2dnUVZ_rvinZ2d@comcast.com. ..


> I have been lurking for 10 years plus.

Welcome to the overt, Joe!

> RP on 1/28/98
> PSA since on an annual basis <.06
> Going in:
> PSA 2.0
> Gleason 2+1
> Age 58

That's incredible!! In the several years I've been on this NG, I've seen
five (5) people with a Gleason 5 and no (0) with a Gleason 4, 3, or 2.
Though we have always been told it is technically possible, you're the very
first hint of a G 3.



--
PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins
PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years
Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after
PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years
Casodex added daily 07/06
PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04, <0.04, <0.1 2/12/08
Non Illegitimi Carborundum