newsreader

newsreader A program that enables users to access NEWSGROUPS. A good newsreader should offer a number of facilities to the user. First, it should enable the FILTERing of postings to a newsgroup: much of what is posted to the various groups is, at best, peripheral to the intent of the newsgroup and a newsreader should provide facilities for finding relevant POSTINGS. Second, a good newsreader should be able to filter off postings based on criteria such as the time a posting was made, who made it, and its length. Third, a newsreader should have a multi-PANE interface which, as a minimum, shows newsgroups in one pane, postings in another pane, and the content of postings in another. Fourth, it should enable the user to follow a THREAD easily. Fifth it should provide facilities whereby a user can connect in to a newsgroup, download postings of interest, and then work OFF LINE with them. Sixth, it should offer facilities for searching for postings, either by content or via METADATA, such as the name of the poster, the date of posting, and the topic posted. Seventh, a newsgroup reader should be able to allow the user to access a variety of NEWSGROUP SERVERS. Newsreaders can be stand-alone, part of a BROWSER, or can be delivered as part of a browser package. Accessing a newsgroup via a newsreader is not the only way to read postings. Another way is to use a WEB-BASED NEWSGROUP SERVICE which reads archived postings.