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dorayme - 29 Nov 2007 07:34 GMT

Sometimes, and this has been happening more lately with one
newsgroup (alt.html) but not others, when one tries to quit MT, a
notice says that it is in the process of sending an article. Fair
enough if you have just posted. But this can sometimes be a
considerable time (an hour or so) after last trying to post.
Another sign that something is not right in connecting to the
newsgroup is that when one Commands + "-", you get the dialog ok
and fill in request for particular matches but notices come up
that connection is lost to the host news server on host such and
such (Optus in my case). I have unsubscribed and resubscribed but
the problem persists. I can often post ok but not search for
articles on some particular newsgroups without getting that
notice.

Wonder what is going on?

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dorayme

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D. Kirkpatrick - 29 Nov 2007 15:14 GMT

In article
<doraymeRidThis-45F580.18342729112007@news-vip.optusnet.com.au>,

> Sometimes, and this has been happening more lately with one
> newsgroup (alt.html) but not others, when one tries to quit MT, a
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Wonder what is going on?

That usually suggests that the communication between the application
and remote server was cut off and as a result the application didn't
get the necessary acknowledgement that themessage was received. You
can try to resend.

Its likely the remote server especially if no other message sends were
effected.

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Fred Moore - 29 Nov 2007 16:01 GMT

> In article
> <doraymeRidThis-45F580.18342729112007@news-vip.optusnet.com.au>,
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> Its likely the remote server especially if no other message sends were
> effected.

Absolutely. I have had trouble with this on and off with my RoadRunner
service. Lately it's gotten better. Perhaps they hired a Usenet server
manager who actually knows what he's doing. Both times I called tech
support about this, I had to go to the second level just to get someone
who knew what Usenet was!

One way I found to speed up uploading messages is to hit the escape key
if the post seems to stall. Your posting window will reappear; then
click Post again. Usually, this gets the post going although sometimes I
have to hit escape 3 or 4 times. Personally, I never go on reading
groups/threads until I've seen the post go through in the task bar. I
seem less likely to lose messages that way. And my pearls of wisdom are
WAY too important to risk losing them. ;)

--Fred

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Jolly Roger - 29 Nov 2007 17:47 GMT

> I have had trouble with this on and off with my RoadRunner
> service. Lately it's gotten better. Perhaps they hired a Usenet server
> manager who actually knows what he's doing. Both times I called tech
> support about this, I had to go to the second level just to get someone
> who knew what Usenet was!

I was a Roadrunner beta tester for their service in Austin with Time
Warner before they rolled it out here years ago. My god, what crappy
service (even years after the beta was over). Roadrunner uses
Microsoft's utterly shitty servers for email, DNS, and news. Back when
they first rolled it out here, I remember reading that Microsoft gave
Roadrunner *huge* discounts if they agreed to go all-Microsoft for their
services.

Their DNS servers, for instance, are redundant (there are two of them)
as it should be, but if one fails, they *both* fail. LOL... How
wonderful. I found that out the hard way when my mom called me wondering
why her emails to me kept bouncing with "unknown host name" errors (and
I of course was experiencing my own set of related problems due to their
faulty DNS). A call to Roadrunner confirmed my suspicions - one of their
DNS servers was having trouble and the other one was happily
malfunctioning along with it. This happened over and over. It got old
really fast.

Their news servers are down more than up, and they have horrible
retention rates. Lots of posts are just lost, news groups come and go
like the tides, and the server crashes or gets reset all the time.

Their email servers made news *multiple times* here in Austin after so
many customers lost email due to malfunctions the news actually got
involved.

Roadrunner has never been able to produce a quality service with any of
their servers, I think because they are married to Microsoft for the
long haul. IMO, you'd do yourself a *huge* favor and switch to an
alternate service provider that works with your local cable service.
Your net life will improve dramatically. Earthlink is one of the better
ones in this area - maybe in yours too. A few years ago, I made one call
to Earthlink, told them I was currently with Roadrunner / Time Warner
and wanted to use Earthlink with my cable internet connection, and they
happily took care of the rest. Time Warner wasn't even involved - other
than Earthlink calling them on my behalf to switch me over. The next
day, I was using Earthlink over my cable connection. My internet service
has been relatively trouble-free ever since. I pay the same amount on my
cable bill (actually, IIRC, it may have been $5 cheaper). My router gets
its name servers from Earthlink rather than Roadrunner. Other than
better service, the only difference I notice is an "Earthlink" line item
on my cable bill. : )

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Note: Please send all responses to the relevant news group. If you
must contact me through e-mail, let me know when you send email to
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JR

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Fred Moore - 30 Nov 2007 16:43 GMT

In article
<jollyroger-57A591.11472929112007@earthlink.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,

> I was a Roadrunner beta tester for their service in Austin with Time
> Warner before they rolled it out here years ago. My god, what crappy
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Roadrunner *huge* discounts if they agreed to go all-Microsoft for their
> services.

JR, thanks for the lengthy reply. I've been using Time Warner/RoadRunner
since it first came to Columbus in the mid 90's. They were using NT
servers back then and always had trouble handling Macs. At the time, I
did wonder why they were so wedded to M$; your explanation makes sense.
After they got their act together I was reasonably pleased with the
speed so I haven't investigated other possibilities.

> Their DNS servers, for instance, are redundant (there are two of them)
> as it should be, but if one fails, they *both* fail. LOL...

I solved this by using OpenDNS as the DNS server setting on my router.
<http://www.opendns.com/>
If it can't find the domain you've asked for, it pops up a Google search
of possible alternatives rather than just a 'page not found' warning. I
consider this a feature, but you do have to get used to it.

> Their news servers are down more than up, and they have horrible
> retention rates.

At first RR held stuff for 2 weeks; now it's up to about 6 months to a
year, but it seems to vary by group and I'm never sure that posts
haven't been left out.

> Lots of posts are just lost, news groups come and go
> like the tides, and the server crashes or gets reset all the time.

I've always wondered about this. There are numerous times when I see a
post which is in mid-stream and I think 'I don't remember seeing that
title before.' Because I scan the thread lists quickly, I've always
attributed this discrepancy to my brain just missing the items.

> Their email servers made news *multiple times* here in Austin after so
> many customers lost email due to malfunctions the news actually got
> involved.

I use RR as a 'throw away' email account. My real one is through an
extremely reliable, small private computer consulting firm. To my
knowledge, they have NEVER lost a single pice of my email.

> Roadrunner has never been able to produce a quality service with any of
> their servers, I think because they are married to Microsoft for the
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> better service, the only difference I notice is an "Earthlink" line item
> on my cable bill. : )

I'm not clear on how this works so perhaps you could explain. If I go
with Earthlink, who supplies the cable modem? If it's TW/RR's, aren't
they going to want to get paid for it? And I'll still have to go through
their servers to get to the outside world, whoever it is; so I'll still
have that problem and they'll want to get paid for the connection too, I
presume. It all seems a bit more tenuous than, say, selecting long
distance service through your local phone company.

Thanks for the info.

--Fred

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Jolly Roger - 01 Dec 2007 16:31 GMT

> In article
> <jollyroger-57A591.11472929112007@earthlink.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> I'm not clear on how this works so perhaps you could explain. If I go
> with Earthlink, who supplies the cable modem?

You local cable company provides the *hardware* end of the connection
(the physical line to your house, the physical connectivity to the rest
o the net, and the cable modem).

> If it's TW/RR's, aren't they going to want to get paid for it?

They still charge for it - just through Earthlink. Remember, all charges
are still on your cable bill. ; )

> And I'll still have to go through
> their servers to get to the outside world, whoever it is; so I'll still
> have that problem

The cable company provides only the hardware and routing, just like a
DSL provider (Bell South, for instance) will provide the hardware and
routing regardless of the ISP you choose.

The ISP (Earthlink, Yahoo) provides all the services (DNS, email,
support). It's Roadrunner's services that suck so bad. So if you switch
the ISP and keep the cable company, most problems vanish.

> and they'll want to get paid for the connection too, I
> presume.

Earthlink pays them for that, and you pay Earthlink - like I said, the
charges are the same as what you currently pay, or a little cheaper.

> It all seems a bit more tenuous than, say, selecting long
> distance service through your local phone company.

No, it's actually a huge improvement - and all it takes is a single
phone call.

But to each his own - it was merely a suggestion.

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Fred Moore - 01 Dec 2007 19:44 GMT

In article
<jollyroger-BBC247.10314901122007@032-478-847.area7.spcsdns.net>,

[lots of very helpful info on RoadRunner, how RR charges, and
alternative services]

Thanks so much for the additional clarification. It seems it does work
rather like alternative long distance service. I'll give EarthLink
serious consideration.

Thanks again,

--Fred

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dorayme - 29 Nov 2007 21:02 GMT

In article
<fmoore-E92D75.11010629112007@news-server.columbus.rr.com>,

> One way I found to speed up uploading messages is to hit the escape key
> if the post seems to stall. Your posting window will reappear;

Aha! I will try this. I just asked about this!

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dorayme

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Jim - 30 Nov 2007 14:06 GMT

> > In article
> > <doraymeRidThis-45F580.18342729112007@news-vip.optusnet.com.au>,
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> have to hit escape 3 or 4 times. Personally, I never go on reading
> groups/threads until I've seen the post go through in the task bar.

I'm using MTNW 3.5.2 on an iMac (OS 10.4.11) and one of the problems
I've always wondered about is when my message has been sent. I get no
indicator and didn't even know there is a 'task bar' Where is it?
Wouldn't it be nice to have that Mac Mail whooosh sound when the post
has gone through? This thread's chatter about remote servers and
especially the comments about Roadrunner is indicative of why some of my
posts never make to the groups.

Signature

Jim from Hilton Head
Remove the obvious to email me direct

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Fred Moore - 30 Nov 2007 15:47 GMT

In article
<jimmi3REMOVE-D1FC92.09062530112007@johnf2.biosci.ohio-state.edu>,

> I'm using MTNW 3.5.2 on an iMac (OS 10.4.11) and one of the problems
> I've always wondered about is when my message has been sent. I get no
> indicator and didn't even know there is a 'task bar' Where is it?

Under the Windows menu, there are several Show/Hide items. Show/Hide
Tasks List is the 6th one down on my 3.5.2. If the connection is working
properly you should get a progress bar which rapidly progresses light
gray to aqua, left to right. If the posting is going to stall it does so
before any of the aqua starts to show. It's probably not a good idea to
interrupt the posting if any of the aqua is showing, unless you suddenly
decide you don't want to post what you've written.

> Wouldn't it be nice to have that Mac Mail whooosh sound when the post
> has gone through?

You could always ask the developer to add this.

> This thread's chatter about remote servers and
> especially the comments about Roadrunner is indicative of why some of my
> posts never make to the groups.

Indeed. I had been sort of blaming MTNW for this. Should have known it
was RR.

--Fred

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Jim - 01 Dec 2007 13:53 GMT

> In article
> <jimmi3REMOVE-D1FC92.09062530112007@johnf2.biosci.ohio-state.edu>,
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
>
> --Fred

Fred -- thanks for the tip. Will be watching the bar when I send this.

Signature

Jim from Hilton Head
Remove the obvious to email me direct

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dorayme - 29 Nov 2007 20:55 GMT

> In article
> <doraymeRidThis-45F580.18342729112007@news-vip.optusnet.com.au>,
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> Its likely the remote server especially if no other message sends were
> effected.

Yes, I am sort of guessing some such thing as this (but see
below). The other thing I was wondering is something you mention,
but how does one do this in MT: resend a message? Once you press
the Post button it has gone somewhere! But *where* is the
question. With one group I have had to take the precaution (when
I can remember) to drag the lot as a clipping to desktop for
later attempt to post).

Frankly, I don't really understand how it all works, here am I at
this machine connected by ADSL via my ISP, Optus. They have their
own newserver (news.optusnet.com.au). Do individual groups
ultimately reside on different servers elsewhere? Could there be
some trouble with some crucial computer somewhere that e.g.
alt.html is on but which very similar groups (that I have no
trouble with) are not on? Is that the "remote server" you are
talking about?

Actually, now I think about it more, how do others set their
prefs for the options under Special/News Servers? Mine are:

<http://members.optusnet.com.au/debramcalister/pics/newserveroptio
ns.png>

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dorayme

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Mac Forum / Applications / Mac Applications / December 2007

MT-Newswatcher, sent messages in progress