USENET
The traditional basis of scan collecting
While acquiring scans from attractive web sites
containing thumbnails is the most fun method of collecing scans; by far the most
productive method is via USENET. Newsgroups offer hundreds of scans from countless
collections on a daily basis.
WHAT IS USENET?
USENET is a worldwide collection of servers containing
information related to every conceivable subject. This information is organized into
'DISCUSSION GROUPS' or 'NEWSGROUPS' - NG for short. These NGs contain messages (like email
messages) concerning the subject matter relating to the interest of the group. If you are
interested in it, there is a newsgroup for it. When a message is posted to a USENET
server, a sequence of cascading updates is performed that effectively posts the message to
every server in the world that carries the group. This process can take a few days to
complete and sometimes things get 'lost' along the way. Overall though, it works quite
well considering the immense amounts of information involved.
Although the original intent for USENET was to provide a
medium for idea exchange, scan collectors use it as a vehicle for the transport and
delivery of the BINARY scans themselves. There is not much 'discussion' going on in scan
related newsgroups. Message headers are used as an 'INDEX LISTING' into the scans
themselves.
HOW DO I ACCESS USENET ?
USENET messages can be 'READ' by newsgroup reader
software. These days every web browser comes with a newsreader (MSIE & Netscape both
come with them). They are simple to setup and operate. I use Netscape's reader that comes
with Communicator. It is simple and elegant. It does not have all of the bells &
whistles of others but it integrates seamlessly into Netscape. It has everything you need
to collect scans from NGs. FreeAgent is a another very capable FREE newsreader.
Once you have setup your newsreader, usually consisting
of specifying the NNTP address of your ISPs server ( your ISP can give you this info -
usually news@<ispname>.net/com), you then define which newsgroups you are intersted
in by 'SUBSCRIBING' to the groups. The first time you do this, you will have to download
the entire listing of newsgroups available on your ISPs server (this can be well over
40,000 names). It may take awhile so be patient.
When all newsgroup names have been downloaded, you can
begin to subscribe to the groups you are interested in. The NGs you want for scan
collecting are
alt.mag.playboy
alt.mag.penthouse
alt.binaries.pictures.centerfolds.playboy
alt.binaries.fitness.centerfolds.
In the past other NGs such as
alt.binaries.erotica.scanmaster and other 'alt.binaries' were ther place to go for scans
but today they have been ruined by the spammers who dominate the groups with garbage ads
for adult pay (rip off) sites. alt.mag.playboy still has the lowest spam to content ratio.
Once you have subscribed to alt.mag.playboy, your
newsreader will download all current message 'HEADERS'. these headers are small summary
lines describing the main message. The actual message will not come to you unless you
select it. You can browse these headers to decide what you want to download. In
alt.mag.playboy the model's name and/or collection is ALWAYS mentioned in the message
header so you will have no problem picking what you want.
I GOT THE MESSAGE - WHERE ARE THE SCANS ?
message bodys in a group like alt.mag.playboy are
usually quite terse refering only to picture content etc. The actual scan is 'ATTACHED' to
the message. All modern newsreaders automaticlly 'DECODE' attachments. Depending upon your
newsreader you may see the image below the message body (like Netscape) or see a paperclip
icon representing the attachment (like MS news).
At this point you must 'SAVE' the attachment to the
directory that you are storing your scans. Normally, you right click on the image and
'SAVE AS..' to you target directory.
It is as simple as that. by means of this method you can
grow your collections by dozens of scans per day.
TERMINOLOGY
Here is a partial list of some common terms you will
encounter in a NG like alt.mag.playboy.
ATTN - Attention (obvious). this is used to
preface any message that is a response to a REQ from another.
BTW - By The Way
FLAME -Any message that is inflammatory in nature
FLOOD - A bunch of scans posted for the same
model or collection.
IMHO - In my humble opinion
NG - NewsGroup
NEWBIE - Beginner, anyone new to something.
RE: - Regarding. A means of referencing another
message. This is used by many instead of ATTN to reference a previous REQ.
REQ - Request. you preface any request with REQ.
RTFM - Read the F___ing Manual
SPAM - Unsolicited advertising. SPAM has ruined
more than it's share of NGs. ALMOST ALL alt.binaries NGs are WORTHLESS now due to the high
percentage of SPAM messages.
WRT - With Respect To...
TIA - Thanks in advance.
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