Questions about using newsgroups at work.

[buck]

We have a new hire here and she is a Senior Systems Engineer and states that she uses "Newsleecher" as a "tool" to get the latest information off the web.

Now my question is, is this information that she can only get through newsgroups and not google? Do folks in your office use newsgroups at work for legit (as in not screwing around) purposes?

If you ran a company and found that someone was using this, would it be a big deal?

I know only a little about newsgroups and the info that i know is only from an old roomate that used to download no no stuff. Thanks for any thoughts, its not my call for this lady, but I would like to know more info.

 

[Armitage]

I haven't used them for awhile - unmoderated ones were just desolate wastelands of spam last time I looked. But moderated technical ones often have good content. You can use google groups to access them as well.

 

[yllus]

Technical ones are still often quite useful.

 

[FoBoT]

is she over 50?

google > *

 

[trmiv]

There are still some good technical newsgroups. You can access them through google groups, but it's not as fast as using a newsreader. It always lags behind. Other than that, newsgroups are great for porn.

 

[buck]

Can she access the same info without installing newsleecher? I know she can with outlook express, but is google groups something you can access without installing anything?

 

[mpitts]

As long as she isn't downloading softare or videos, it should be fine. Usenet has a lot of company and application specific groups with very helpful users. I use it as a resource for my job.

The issue with using Google groups is the interface. If she isn't doing anything wrong, then using Newsleecher shouldn't be an issue.

 

[FoBoT]

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.c++?lnk=hppg

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.javascript

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.dcom.wan

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: buck
Can she access the same info without installing newsleecher? I know she can with outlook express, but is google groups something you can access without installing anything?

The google groups interface isn't as useful as using a dedicated newsreader - and as trmiv said, google groups can lag by quite alot - hours to days.

I'd worry about the content more then the tools. I think you can get news feeds that only carry "legitimate" groups. Block anything with binary in the group name

 

[mugs]

Uh... if he uses Newsleecher it probably isn't to obtain "info," it's to obtain files.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: buck
Can she access the same info without installing newsleecher? I know she can with outlook express, but is google groups something you can access without installing anything?

Yeah, Outlook Express will do it.

Edit: Blast you said that.

Yeah you don't have to install anything for Google Groups, it's web-based.

 

[dabuddha]

I've heard of people using newsleecher for one thing only and you can imagine what that is.

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: mugs
Uh... if he uses Newsleecher it probably isn't to obtain "info," it's to obtain files.

:evil:

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: mugs
Uh... if he uses Newsleecher it probably isn't to obtain "info," it's to obtain files.

Lol - just looked up newsleecher - "Download binaries from the usenet with ease"