Viewing and Posting to Newsgroups

	Related Links How-to Article: Importing Items Into Outlook Express

A newsgroup is a collection of messages posted by individuals to a news server (a computer that can host thousands of newsgroups).

You can find newsgroups on practically any subject. Although some newsgroups are moderated, most are not. Moderated newsgroups are "owned" by someone who reviews the postings, can answer questions, delete inappropriate messages, and so forth. Anyone can post messages to a newsgroup. Newsgroups do not require any kind of membership or joining fees.

To use newsgroups in Microsoft® Outlook Express®, your Internet service provider (ISP) must offer links to one or more news servers. After you set up an account for each server you want in Outlook Express, you can read and post messages in any of the newsgroups stored on that news server.

When you find a newsgroup you like, you can "subscribe" to it so that it is displayed in your Outlook Express Folders list. Subscribing provides easy access to your favorite newsgroups, eliminating the need to scroll through the long list on the server each time you want to visit a favorite newsgroup.

Newsgroups can contain thousands of messages, which can be time-consuming to sort through. Outlook Express has a variety of features that make it easier to find the information you want in newsgroups.

You will need the following information from your Internet service provider (ISP) or local area network (LAN) administrator:

• For e-mail accounts, you'll need to know the type of e-mail server you use (POP3, IMAP, or HTTP), your account name and password, the name of the incoming e-mail server and, for POP3 and IMAP, the name of an outgoing e-mail server.
• For a newsgroup account, you'll need to know the name of the news server you want to connect to and, if required, your account name and password.

To Add an E-mail or Newsgroup Account

1. On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
2. In the Internet Accounts dialog box, click Add.
3. Select either Mail or News to open the Internet Connection Wizard, and then follow the instructions to establish a connection with an e-mail or news server.

NOTE Each user can create multiple e-mail or newsgroup accounts by repeating the procedure above for each account.

To Find Newsgroups of Interest

To find newsgroups of interest to you, you can search through a news server to find specific words in newsgroup names.

1. In the Folders list, click a server name, and then click Newsgroups.
2. In the Display newsgroups which contain box, type the words you want to search for.

NOTE If you cannot find a specific newsgroup in the list, your news server might not carry that newsgroup.

To Subscribe to a Newsgroup

The benefit of subscribing is that the newsgroup is included in your Folders list for easy access. You can subscribe to a newsgroup in any of the following ways:

• When you add a news server, Outlook Express prompts you to subscribe to newsgroups on that server.
• Click a news server name in your Folders list, and then click Newsgroups. Select the newsgroup that you want to subscribe to, and then click Subscribe. You can also unsubscribe here.
• When you double-click a name in the Newsgroup list, a subscription is automatically generated.

To Cancel Your Subscription to a Newsgroup

• When you view a newsgroup without subscribing to it, its name appears in your Folders list. Right-click the name and then click Subscribe.
• To view a newsgroup you subscribe to, click its name in the Folders list.
• To cancel your subscription to a newsgroup, click Newsgroups, click the Subscribed tab, select the group you want, and then click Unsubscribe. You can also right-click the newsgroup in your Folders list and then click Unsubscribe.

To Read Newsgroup Messages

Go to a newsgroup and look through the message list for a message you want to read (you may need to scroll).

• To view the message in the preview pane, click the message once.
• To view the message in a separate window, double-click the message in the message list.

NOTE To display or change the preview pane, on the View menu, click Layout, and then in the Preview pane area, select the options you want.

To Post a Message to a Newsgroup

1. In the Folders list, select the newsgroup you want to post a message to.
2. On the toolbar, click New Post.
3. Type the Subject of your message. Outlook Express cannot post a message that does not contain a subject.
4. Compose your message, and then click Send.

To Send Your Message to Multiple Newsgroups on the Same News Server

1. In the New Message dialog box, click the icon next to Newsgroups.
2. In the Pick Newsgroups dialog box, click one or more newsgroups from the list (hold down the CTRL key to select multiple newsgroups), and then click Add.
3. You can choose from all newsgroups or only those you subscribe to by clicking Show Only Subscribed Newsgroups.

You can send a given message to more than one newsgroup at a time only if all the newsgroups are on the same news server. To post a message to newsgroups on other news servers, create a separate message for each news server.

You can cancel a message you have posted by selecting the message, clicking the Message menu, and then selecting Cancel Message. Canceling a message does not remove it from a newsgroup user's computer if the user downloaded the message before it was canceled. You can cancel only messages you have posted; you cannot cancel another person's message.

To Block Messages from a Sender or Domain

You can block messages from a particular sender or domain. The domain is the name following the @ symbol in an e-mail address.

When you block a sender or domain, no e-mail or news message from that sender or domain will arrive in your Inbox or in the news messages you read. E-mail from blocked senders goes directly into your Delete folder. Newsgroup messages from blocked senders are not displayed.

1. From your e-mail Inbox or the list of messages in a newsgroup, select a message from a sender you want to block.
2. On the Message menu, click Block Sender.

Blocking a sender applies to standard POP e-mail only. It does not apply to HTTP e-mail or IMAP messages.

To remove a sender or domain from the Blocked Senders list, on the Tools menu, point to Message Rules, and then click Blocked Senders List. Select the sender or domain, and then click Remove.