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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / May 2008Problem reading news
I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I would give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing!) I've been participating in this newsgroup, and a few others, for years. My internet connection is through Comcast. I use thunderbird as a news reader. On Sunday, it all stopped working. I've now spoken to Comcast several times, but I had to fight my way past the lowest level techs, who have only a glimmering of how the internet works, and someone higher up is working on the problem, but I have little confidence in their finding a solution. I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux, and one, Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at least four different news servers, including three free ones. None of them work. The only thing that would explain that is that Comcast changed what they do so newsreaders can no longer communicate with news servers, including the one they provide. I am now using Google groups to read this news group, but it seems awkward to use. I haven't figured out how to list this group, for example, as a favorite to save hunting for it each time. And the way it shows postings makes it difficult to find what I want. I think I will probably have to rely on some web based news service, like google. Can anyone suggest anything for me to try or perhaps tell me how to set up the Google news reader to do what I want? > I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I would > give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing!) [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > like google. Can anyone suggest anything for me to try or perhaps > tell me how to set up the Google news reader to do what I want? Okay. I figured out how to list my groups with google, although it seems to have a mind of its own about which groups I should be subscribing to. I still can't figure out how to see all the headers so that I don't have to open each topic separately to see if there is anything new in it. > ... > I still can't figure out how to see all the headers so that I don't > have to open each topic separately to see if there is anything new in > it. I'm not sure this is what you need but in case it is: When I get to the page that says alt.support.cancer.prostate, I see the following: Discussions View: Topic list, Topic summary Sort by: Latest message, First message Click "Topic list" to get just a list of topics with no data. Click "Latest message" to get them sorted by the date/time of the latest posting in each thread. Otherwise I think they sort in reverse chronology by the date/time of the first posting in the thread. Alan >I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I would >give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing!) [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >what they do so newsreaders can no longer communicate with news >servers, including the one they provide. WTF are you talking about. I use comcast without any problems. Try using Agent, Outlook Express leaves a lot to be desired. Comcast now contracts through the giganews servers. Thus it's actually better than it had been using the AT&T servers. > On Tue, 20 May 2008 13:37:40 -0700 (PDT), len > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > contracts through the giganews servers. Thus it's actually better than > it had been using the AT&T servers. It is certainly possible that the problem is at my end, but since it occurs with different news readers, different news servers, and both under Linux and Windows XP, I can't see how it could be software or OS related. It might conceivably be some hardware or software problem in my cable modem or router, but I can't imagine such a problem which affect only news feeds. I didn't mean to suggest there was an overall problem with Comcast. If the problem is from Comcast, it could be localized. It might even be something wrong with my specific connection. The basic problem from Comcast's end is that they don't really support this. At one point someone at Comcast set it up, but now no one seems to know what to do when there is a problem. > I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I > would give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > working on the problem, but I have little confidence in their > finding a solution. I used Windows XP and Outlook Express with Comcast on Monday night, using motzarella.org as my server. I was able to read and post messages with no problem. (I'm using Google now because I'm not at home where I have Comcast access.) > I've now tried four different newsreaders, three under Linux, > and one, Outlook Express, under Windows XP. I've tried at > least four different news servers, including three free ones. > None of them work. The only thing that would explain that is > that Comcast changed what they do so newsreaders can no longer > communicate with news servers, including the one they provide. This is a mystery alright. I'm not sure that Comcast technology is the same in all areas of the country. However it's hard to think of why they might be blocking news access. If it really is a Comcast problem, even one that only affects one region, they'll be getting complaints from thousands of users and will probably straighten it out quickly. Do you have a router that all of your traffic goes through? Is there a firewall in the router? Is it possible that you inadvertently did something that is blocking traffic in your own firewall? That would account for the fact that all your newsreaders fail. Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the servers you have tried? Do you get a response of some kind, or is it just a black hole? If you're getting some kind of response then it would seem that neither your firewall or Comcast is blocking you. Then of course there are the usual fumbles that all of us make from time to time - like getting userids, passwords, port numbers, server names, etc., all mixed up. I have a suspicion that you'll use Google for a while and suddenly, in a few days or a few weeks, you'll slap your head and say "Unbelievable! How could I have done that?" Alan > > I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I > > would give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > be getting complaints from thousands of users and will probably > straighten it out quickly. If the problem is localized enough, there may be few people who read newsin addition to me. > Do you have a router that all of your traffic goes through? Is > there a firewall in the router? Is it possible that you > inadvertently did something that is blocking traffic in your own > firewall? That would account for the fact that all your > newsreaders fail. All firewalls have an implicit firewall, namely because of NAT, it is very difficult for someone to get access to anything in my local network from outside. I have a friend who managed to set up his connection so he could login to his home computer from his office, and it was not easy. I've never bothered to do anything like that. Anything is possible, but given that it has worked fine for over five years, I can't imagine something in the router suddenly only affecting news feeds. > Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the > servers you have tried? Do you get a response of some kind, or > is it just a black hole? If you're getting some kind of response > then it would seem that neither your firewall or Comcast is > blocking you. When I telnet to the IP address of the news serverver at port 119, I get a 200 News.GigaNews.Com I don't get any prompt or request for information of any sort. I only vaguely remember any of this, but I think in order to go furthr I need to know exactly what to type next, and I don't. The interface is not really designed for interactive use. > Then of course there are the usual fumbles that all of us make > from time to time - like getting userids, passwords, port [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > suddenly, in a few days or a few weeks, you'll slap your head and > say "Unbelievable! How could I have done that?" I am beginning to figure it out, but it is a bit frustrating. > Alan The problem was with Comcast or its conection to giganews. It effected many users over a wide area. I am in NJ and was out of service for over 48 hours. Magically it reappeared. See messages on newsgroup alt.online-service.comcast. Don't go crazy trying to fix it from your end. C >> > I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I >> > would give it a try. (I'm supposed to be an expert at this [quoted text clipped - 73 lines] > >> Alan > ... > Don't go crazy trying to fix it from your end. > ... Too late! It's already happened to Len and me. This reminds me of the time I tried to get a telnet package working on a computer only to discover after hours of extreme frustration that there was a bent pin on the LAN connection. Alan ... >> Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the >> servers you have tried? Do you get a response of some kind, or [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I don't get any prompt or request for information of any sort. I've gotten home and tried out both telnet and Outlook Express. My Outlook Express client is working fine. It sees giganews and motzarella. I've also tried XNews (a Windows program) and it is working fine with giganews. When I telnet to news.giganews.com 119, I get the same thing you did, "200 News.Giganews.Com". I also get the same thing if I telent to "newsgroups.comcast.net" (see configuration info below.) > I only vaguely remember any of this, but I think in order to go > furthr I need to know exactly what to type next, and I don't. The > interface is not really designed for interactive use. Right. I just wanted to find out if you could reach giganews.com's port 119. It appears that you can. So I'm thinking that Comcast is not blocking your connection to giganews, and not blocking outgoing connections from your computer to port 119. >> Then of course there are the usual fumbles that all of us make >> from time to time - like getting userids, passwords, port [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > I am beginning to figure it out, but it is a bit frustrating. Perhaps there is some other configuration error. In my Outlook Express client, when I click Tools / Accounts / News, then highlight my comcast entry and click "Properties", here's what I see: General tab: Nothing critical here. Server tab: Server: newsgroups.comcast.net (note: not "news.giganews.com") This server requires me to log on: checked Account name: myusername@comcast.net (I don't like to put my real comcast user name on the newsgroups, "myusername" is fake here.) Be sure to use the full "whatever@comcast.net", not just "whatever". Password: my password Remember password: checked Log on using secure password authentication: unchecked Connection tab: Nothing checked. Advanced tab: News(NNTP): 119 Server timeout: 1 minute Nothing else is checked. Maybe something in the above will help. Alan > ... > >> Can you telnet to port 119 (the usual nntp port) on any of the [quoted text clipped - 68 lines] > > Alan Your settings are the same as mine except that my username and password are of course different. As of this morning, it still didn't work. As I've noted previously, I don't think the problem is specifically with Giganews since I can't connect to other news servers. I think Comcast is doing something to the packaets which the news servers don't like. It may be something that was supposedly innocuous and would improve performance. Or it might be some inadvertent change brought about by a change in equipment. And I see no reason to believe it is not localized. The only thing i haven't managed to get the google reader to do is to list all the posts together with the thread headers expanded. I have to look at each thread separately to see if there is something new in it that I might be interested in. Standard news readers all allow you to do that. Hi, The Comcast newsgroups server was down from early Sunday to late Monday. It could not verify users accounts and passwords (Error code 180). Of course Comcast in the interests of customer service did not notify anyone. I personally deleted my Comcast newsgroups account and reinstalled at least 3 times. Finally did Comcast live chat late on Monday and the person said they were working on "the problem". RP on 1/28/98 PSA since on an annual basis <.06 Going in: PSA 2.0 Gleason 2+1 Age 58 I have been lurking for 10 years plus. You folks do a wonderful public service except when you get to arguing. Our egos always get in the way. "The free man is of necessity insecure, the thinking man is of necessity uncertain". Joe > Hi, > The Comcast newsgroups server was down from early Sunday to late Monday. It [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Joe Welcome back Joe. The last I heard from Comcast was on Tuesday afternoon when I had a long talk with supervisor named David. he assured me he would call me back that day with a solution, but I still haven't heard from him. I hope they have someone investigating the problem, but I'm not confident about it. As of Wednesday at 8 pm CDT it still wasn't working. I just rebooted my cable modem and my router, and it didn't make any difference. > I have been lurking for 10 years plus. Welcome to the overt, Joe! > RP on 1/28/98 > PSA since on an annual basis <.06 > Going in: > PSA 2.0 > Gleason 2+1 > Age 58 That's incredible!! In the several years I've been on this NG, I've seen five (5) people with a Gleason 5 and no (0) with a Gleason 4, 3, or 2. Though we have always been told it is technically possible, you're the very first hint of a G 3.  SignaturePSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years Casodex added daily 07/06 PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04, <0.04, <0.1 2/12/08 Non Illegitimi Carborundum
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