News reading question

[Jamie Martin]

Hi,

As I'm getting more involved in this newsgroup, I'm wondering about how to
read news more efficiently. Is there a way I can flag a message so that if a
new reply in its thread is posted, I will know without having to remember to
check it manually? I have had replies to my messages up to a week after they
were posted, when the original message is many screens back in the history
of the newsgroup. (I suppose this is why one is supposed to include one's
own email address in posts, but with spamming that is no longer possible.)

Also, when does one decide to post a new message with "Re: some earlier
question" in the subject line, rather than to just reply to "some earlier
question"?

Again, I love Usenet.

Best,

Jamie

 

[Tushar Mehta]

Check the 'Outlook Express and Newsgroups' tutorial on my site for how
to get the newsreader to flag/highlight/hide various messages.

As far as spam goes, the threat, IMO, is far more exagerated than real.
In any case, there are better ways to handle the problem other than
fake email addresses. But, if you must, you still don't have to use a
non-existent address such as (e-mail address removed). Create a real address
that you don't share except in NG posts. I created one 5 years ago
with the intent of throwing it away when the spam got too bad. I'm
still using it! If your ISP won't let you create multiple addresses,
get one at yahoo, hotmail, bigfoot, or some such service.

As far as using 'Re:' in your subject line to reply to a message but as
a new conversation, the answer is never. Just reply to a message and
let the newsreader add the 'Re:' as appropriate.

--
Regards,

Tushar Mehta, MS MVP -- Excel
www.tushar-mehta.com
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