REVIEW: THE USENET HANDBOOK, Mark Harrison,  O'Reilly & Associates 1995

This new title, from the same publisher that produces THE WHOLE INTERNET,
focuses entirely on USENET, or "Netnews".  It assumes you already have
an Internet account or access to one.  There is, however, a brief discussion
called "How Can I Connect" just in case you don't.

THE USENET HANDBOOK answers all the basic questions about USENET, its
history, how it is organized, how it works and what makes it unique.  There
is an overview of the newsgroups in the book's text (and a full listing in 
the appendix).  Author Harrison explains the naming conventions, the 
difference between the top level categories and the anatomy of a typical
USENET article.  

Also covered in detail are several of the most popular news reader programs
such as TIN, NN, and Trumpet for Windows.  In addition, there is a chapter 
on reading news with EMACS and GNUS.  Unfortunately, there is only a very 
brief mention of trn, which is the newsreader I normally use.  Oh well, 
I've always wanted to learn how to use the TIN reader and THE USENET 
HANDBOOK devotes a full chapter to it.

Other important subjects are what and when to post (and what and when NOT
to post), how to cancel an article which can save a great deal of 
embarassment and how to post to multiple newsgroups.  In addition, THE USENET
HANDBOOK tells us how to get the most out of USENET - FTP, mail servers,
FAQ lists, mailing lists, newsgroup archives, how new newsgroups are
created and a whole lot more.  Finally, Mark Harrison tells us about 
signature files, the "questionable art of the flame", encoded messages, and
anonymous posting.  THE USENET HANDBOOK even regales us with tales of 
such famous USENET hoaxes as the "send a card to a dying boy in England",
the notorious "modem tax" and even the great "cookie caper".  These
net legends have been well covered for years yet amazingly enough, they
still manage to appear from time to time.

THE USENET HANDBOOK contains a whole lot more than is outlined here.  It is
an excellent tutorial on Netnews and in my opinion, lives up to the tradition
of excellence I have come to expect from an O'Reilly & Associates title.  
If you want to learn all about USENET and how to use it effectively, 
THE USENET HANDBOOK will certainly provide you with all the information 
you require.

%T      The USENET Handbook
%A      Mark Harrison
%I      O'Reilly & Associates. Inc
%C      Sebastopol California
%D      1995
%O      $24.95
%G      ISBN 1-56592-101-1
%P      388 pages, paperbound
%K      Internet news


(C) 1995
Michael Crestohl
Nahant Massachusetts  USA
mc@shore.net

DISCLAIMER:  I have no interest, financial or otherwise, in the success or 
failure of the book or materials reviewed herewith, nor have I received any 
compensation (other than a review copy requested by me) from anyone who has.  
All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Other Internet and Aviation book/software reviews by me can be obtained 
by anonymous FTP from:  x2ftp.oulu.fi in the /pub/books/crestohl directory.