NET106 Access to the Newsgroup Using Mozilla Thunderbird QUICK START GUIDE

Information Technology Services Centre
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
NET106 Access to the Newsgroups Using Mozilla Thunderbird QUICK START GUIDE
Version 1.0 May 2008

1. Introduction

Newsgroups - also called netnews, Internet news and network news - maintains a vast collection of special interest groups devoted to various topics. Each newsgroup is devoted to a certain topic. Under each newsgroup, there are many messages called news articles. Through these newsgroups, you can exchange your idea with the people worldwide, without geographic limitation.

In the University, the News Server, namely news.cuhk.edu.hk, is set up and maintained by the Information Technology Services Centre (ITSC) to provide the news service. To read articles in the news server, you should have software called news reader. Operation details are found in section 4.

As it is not possible for one news server to store the same information for a long time, each article will have an "expiry date" and space will be freed after the article has expired. We keep the most recent 30-day articles for local newsgroups, i.e. hk and cuhk, and 5-10 days for overseas newsgroups.

2. Access to the Newsgroups

Mozilla Thunderbird is a popular news readers in accessing Newsgroups. On the news reader, you have to enter,

news.cuhk.edu.hk for the name of the News Server
mailserv.cuhk.edu.hk for the name of the Mail Server

Note:

The CUHK News Server: news.cuhk.edu.hk , can only be accessed through a University Network Connection. For example, the campus network, ITSC dialup lines, ClassNet and ResNet.

If you are using a non-CUHK network connection (e.g. through a broadband service) to access the News Server, you make set up a VPN connection over your network. Details can be found at: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/network/vpn/vpn.html

The following sub-sections describe how to access a news reader in ITSC and through a modem connection. For any enquiries, please consult your LAN administrator for details.

2.1 Through Departmental Local Area Network

2.1.1 Under Windows XP or Chinese Windows XP

On the Start menu, select 'Internet Application';
Select 'Internet Explorer' and further select 'Internet Explorer'

2.1.2 Under UNIX environment

If you have a computer account on 'Logic',

Login your account in any one of the servers;
Enter tin at the system prompt.

2.2 Through Public Telephone Switched Network

Information regarding the dial-up services can be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/network/dialup

3. Hierarchy of The Newsgroups

There are over 6000 newsgroups in the news server currently. These newsgroups are organized in a hierarchical structure; the name of newsgroup is based on the category and content of the respective interest group, and their names are self-explanatory. Major categories include,

alt Alternative groups, not carried by all INTERNET sites, e.g. alt.tv.simpsons

comp Computer Science, information technology and related matters, including hardware, software, protocol, e.g. comp.soft-sys.spss

cuhk Topics in the Chinese University (basically, not accessible outside CUHK network), e.g. cuhk.forum

hk Local news about Hong Kong (basically, not accessible outside Hong Kong network), e.g. hk.entertainment

news Information about INTERNET software, network administration, documents, e.g. news.announce.newsgroups

rec Discussion about recreational subjects such as sports, games, etc., e.g. rec.arts.books

sci Discussion about topics in scientific research and applications, e.g. sci.energy.hydrogen

soc Topics that address the social issues or are related to a social culture, e.g. soc.culture.hongkong

talk Groups for debating on controversial topics, or current events, e.g. talk.politics.mideast

For example, newsgroup soc.culture.hongkong holds articles about the social culture and custom in Hong Kong; cuhk.itsc.announce holds the important announcement from Information Technology Services Centre and where cuhk.forum holds topics about our University.

4. Newsgroup Applications At CUHK

You can apply for a newsgroup for your department/organisation/course for communicating with your members/students. Application form is available on the web at http://accounts.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk.

5. Commands In Mozilla Thunderbird

5.1 Basic Configuration

Commands Steps

Setting up the Host Information

On the File menu, select New -> Account. Select Newsgroup account.

Enter Name for display e.g. Peter Chan and Email Address e.g. peterchan@cuhk.edu hk .

Enter news.cuhk.edu.hk for Newsgroup Server

Enter your desired account name for identification

Verify the above information and click Finish

Setting up your Personal Information

On the Tools menu, select Account Settings.
Click the category for the newsgroup account you have set up
Enter the following information:
Reply-to address: your-alias@cuhk.edu.hk
e.g. peterchan@cuhk.edu hk
Organization: CUHK

5.2 Frequently Used Commands

Subscribe a newsgroup

Highlight the news server news.cuhk.edu.hk by a mouse
On the File menu, select Subscribe
Locate the group you want to subscribe
Click the checkbox “ “ at right-hand side to subscribe the newsgroup (a tick mark will then display)

Read a news article

Click the + sign next to news.cuhk.edu.hk to bring up all subscribed groups
Double-click the name of newsgroup you are going to read
Click an article to read

Post a news
article

On the Message menu, select New Message
Enter the name of discussion group
Enter one-line information as Subject to describe your article
Edit your article in the space provided, or On the File menu, select Attach -> File(s) to insert a file
On the File menu, select Send Now to post

Follow-up a news article

On the Message menu, select Reply to Newsgroup while reading an article
Edit your article in the space provided, or On the File menu, select Attach -> File(s) to insert a file
On the File menu, select Send Now to post your follow-up message

Reply via E-mail

On the Message menu, select Reply to Sender only while reading an article
Edit your article in the space provided, or On the File menu, select Attach -> File(s) to insert a file
On the File menu, select Send Now to reply via E-mail

Save an article to disk

On the File menu, select Save As -> File while reading an article
Enter the filename to save this article and click OK button

Print an article

On the File menu, select Print… to print an article

6. References

VPN service can be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/network/vpn

7. Enquiries

For any enquiries, please contact us by:

Website: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc
Electronic HelpDesk: https://helpdesk.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/group/cwis-help

Fax: 2603-6098
Phone: 2609-8845 (Hotline Services)

Monday - Thursday 08:45-13:00 14:00-17:30
Friday 08:45-13:00 14:00-17:45
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday close

alt	Alternative groups, not carried by all INTERNET sites, e.g. alt.tv.simpsons
comp	Computer Science, information technology and related matters, including hardware, software, protocol, e.g. comp.soft-sys.spss
cuhk	Topics in the Chinese University (basically, not accessible outside CUHK network), e.g. cuhk.forum
hk	Local news about Hong Kong (basically, not accessible outside Hong Kong network), e.g. hk.entertainment
news	Information about INTERNET software, network administration, documents, e.g. news.announce.newsgroups
rec	Discussion about recreational subjects such as sports, games, etc., e.g. rec.arts.books
sci	Discussion about topics in scientific research and applications, e.g. sci.energy.hydrogen
soc	Topics that address the social issues or are related to a social culture, e.g. soc.culture.hongkong
talk	Groups for debating on controversial topics, or current events, e.g. talk.politics.mideast

*Commands*	*Steps*
Setting up the Host Information	On the File menu, select New -> Account. Select Newsgroup account. Enter Name for display e.g. Peter Chan and Email Address e.g. peterchan@cuhk.edu hk . Enter news.cuhk.edu.hk for Newsgroup Server Enter your desired account name for identification Verify the above information and click Finish
Setting up your Personal Information	On the Tools menu, select Account Settings. Click the category for the newsgroup account you have set up Enter the following information: Reply-to address: your-alias@cuhk.edu.hk e.g. peterchan@cuhk.edu hk Organization: CUHK

Subscribe a newsgroup	Highlight the news server news.cuhk.edu.hk by a mouse On the File menu, select Subscribe Locate the group you want to subscribe Click the checkbox “ “ at right-hand side to subscribe the newsgroup (a tick mark will then display)
Read a news article	Click the + sign next to news.cuhk.edu.hk to bring up all subscribed groups Double-click the name of newsgroup you are going to read Click an article to read
Post a news article	On the Message menu, select New Message Enter the name of discussion group Enter one-line information as Subject to describe your article Edit your article in the space provided, or On the File menu, select Attach -> File(s) to insert a file On the File menu, select Send Now to post
Follow-up a news article	On the Message menu, select Reply to Newsgroup while reading an article Edit your article in the space provided, or On the File menu, select Attach -> File(s) to insert a file On the File menu, select Send Now to post your follow-up message
Reply via E-mail	On the Message menu, select Reply to Sender only while reading an article Edit your article in the space provided, or On the File menu, select Attach -> File(s) to insert a file On the File menu, select Send Now to reply via E-mail
Save an article to disk	On the File menu, select Save As -> File while reading an article Enter the filename to save this article and click OK button
Print an article	On the File menu, select Print… to print an article