Dakota Mailing List Newsgroup
Posts to the Dakota Mailing List are mirrored in a private newsgroup. Likewise,
any posts made to the newsgroup show up in the e-mail version of the list as
well. Basically, the newsgroup provides an alternate method of reading and
posting to the DML. The major benefit of a newsgroup is that you don't actually
have to download all of the messages before you can read them; your news reader
only downloads the subjects, and you decide which messages you want to download.
People with a slow connection might appreciate this aspect. Also, reading
via the newsgroup doesn't fill up your mailbox; the posts are stored on the
news server, not in your mailbox. If you go away for a few days, you won't
have to wade through a mailbox full of DML posts. :-)
Another benefit is that news readers are generally better at "threading"
messages by topic than e-mail clients. So, reading via the newsgroup can
be a bit more organized.
Which method you use will really depend on your personal preference. Depending
on the person, the e-mail or news client in use, etc. a case can be made for
either about which is "better". As for myself, I use both. :-)
If you're interested in trying out the DML newsgroup, you'll need a news
reader (such as tin, xnews, etc. Netscape and Outlook can also read from
a news server.) (If you don't have one, you should be able to find several
at www.tucows.com. In the preferences for whatever program you're using,
you'll need to set your news server to "news.dakota-truck.net".
You will also need a usercode and password. You should set the usercode to
"dml", and the password should also be "dml".
If you have any questions or problems, feel free to get in touch.
Back to the DML Home Page
Jon N. Steiger / jon@dakota-truck.net