Re: OT: Where to find Macintosh groups??

[et472@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black)]

"Bill Garber" (willy46pa@comcast.net) writes:
> "Don Bruder" <dakidd@sonic.net> wrote in message
> news:yTNNd.5742$m31.72027@typhoon.sonic.net...
> : In article <110f20vou989423@corp.supernews.com>,
> :  "cbmeeks" <cbm    at     s i g n a l d e v      d o t   k o m> wrote:
> :
> : > Sorry to post here..
> : >
> : > Anyway, I am looking for a newsgroup that is as active as this one but
> for
> : > the Macintosh.
> : > For some reason, my stupid ISP doesn't seem to have any that I can find.
> :
> : Your headers show that you're posting via Supernews, which likely means
> : you're getting your usenet feed from them too. If Supernews doesn't
> : carry it, there probably isn't a newsgroup for it. In other words,
> : you're not looking very hard. With about 5 keystrokes, most every
> : newsreader I know about can pull you up a list of all groups on a server
> : containing a string you specify. I wonder what happens if the specified
> : string is "mac"? Hmmm... Let's see... Open the "full grouplist"
> : window... hit "command-F", type "mac" and hit return... On my server,
> : there are dozens, some looking like they'll be in languages I can't
> : read. And I already know that my ISP only carries a relatively small
> : sub-section of the Supernews feed on their internal servers.
> :
> : Even Microsoft malware usually has SOME sort of built-in help mechanism.
> : Please... Use it. You wouldn't want a 16 year old who'd never even seen
> : a car trying to drive, depsite the concept being legal, would you? Well,
> : your post shows you to be identical to that 16 year old kid, only with a
> : newsreader instead of a car. He's pulling out onto the street, you're
> : pulling out onto the information superhighway. Drive carefully, and look
> : out for speed bumps and sharp curves! :)
> :
> : First hint: Dump "Outhouse Depress" and get a real newsreader. Why in
> : god's name are you torturing yourself with that pile of crap? What
> : hideous crime from a past life are you trying to atone for??? Didja
> : poison a pope? Maybe you ran over a puppy? :) But seriously... Outlook
> : is just inherently "wrong" on so many levels... Particularly if you're
> : running a Mac! EXCELLENT newsreaders are available, and for nothing more
> : than the time it takes to download them. Outlook is the radioactive
> : mutant ninja zit on the nose of Usenet compared to almost any of them.
> : Assuming you're using a Mac - and why else would you be asking about
> : Mac-oriented groups? - MT-NewsWatcher is often hailed as being at or
> : near the top of the heap. Hogwasher is another, though I personally
> : didn't care for it - more a personal taste thing than any shortcoming of
> : the program.
> 
> Hey Don, either be supportive, or shut the hell up.
> Your derogatory remarks only detract from the kind of help
> these newsgroups are perporting to provide. I sit here and
> read your petty bullshit and wish you'd just go away. Please,
> you're giving me a freaking headache.
> 
Huh?  This had nothing to do with there not being newsgroups about
Macintosh computers, it had everything to do with someone either too
lazy to do a simple search, or not yet capable of doing that search.

I'd thought of replying, and I sure wouldn't have named some newsgroups.
I would have told the poster how they can find where a given topic
is being discussed, because if he's having problems finding Mac
newsgroups, then he doesn't know how to find any newsgroups.

Yes, the original poster realized this wasn't a Mac newsgroup, unlike
so many who do post away without thought.  But he made the very same
mistake as those other posters, because he found this one because
he was looking for "apple" rather than "mac".  And since he did find
this one, ultimately the problem may not be how to search, but his
assumptions about what he should be looking for.

Since the newsgroup archive at google exists, the easiest way to
find a suitable newsgroup is to use some keywords and search there.
Then you aren't making stabs at what the name should be, you are
seeing where certain things are discussed.  So if you bring home a
1400 powerbook, you use that for the searchwords, and you'll find
the Mac newsgroups.  

  Michael