Subj : Getting Around Usenet Censors (part II, but there's more) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ * Forwarded (from: libernet) by Ken Wiebe using timEd 1.01. From: Vernon Imrich Reply-To: libernet-d@Dartmouth.EDU Archive-name: usenet/banned-groups-faq Last-modified: 11/30/94 Version: 1.1 Posted near the middle of each month to alt.censorship, alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk, alt.internet.services, news.misc, alt.answers, and news.answers. Prepared by Joseph Gebis (j-gebis@uiuc.edu). Please address any additions, comments, or corrections to banned-faq@uiuc.edu. The newest version of the "How to Receive Banned Newsgroups FAQ" is available electronically by many different methods. See section 6.3 for details. Section 1 describes this document. Section 2 provides most of the quick information you need to find out how to receive banned newsgroups. Sections 3-5 contain other information relating to the topic. Section 6 contains more information about this document. All information in this article is presented solely for informational purposes. Joseph Gebis takes no responsibility for any information contained within this article. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Overview and Introduction 1.1 What is this faq? 1.2 What is needed to get news? 1.3 Other notes Chapter 2: How to get Banned Newsgroups 2.1 Not-for-profit news providers 2.2 Commercial news providers 2.3 Open nntp sites 2.4 Gopher 2.5 Mail to news gateways 2.6 Internet services list 2.7 I only have access to... Chapter 3: Ethics of Banned Newsgroups 3.1 What is a "banned newsgroup"? 3.2 Should news administrators be allowed to ban newsgroups? 3.3 Should people be allowed to describe how to receive banned newsgroups? 3.4 Are newsgroups libraries? 3.5 Do we really need this faq? 3.6 Online references pertaining to electronic freedom and privacy Chapter 4: Legalities of Banned Newsgroups 4.1 Legal responsibilities of news administrators 4.2 Is it legal to describe how to receive banned newsgroups? 4.3 Legal references pertaining to banned newsgroups Chapter 5: Further Information on References Mentioned 5.1 Information on Freenets 5.2 Information on Library Policy Statements Archive Access 5.3 Information on EFF 5.4 Information on the Legal List Chapter 6: Information on this Faq 6.1 Who compiled this faq? 6.2 How do I submit additions, comments, and corrections? 6.3 How do I get the latest version of the faq? 6.4 What other information do you need? 6.5 Is there an html version on this faq? 6.6 Who are all the wonderful people that added information to the faq? 6.7 Who else needs to be thanked? 6.8 References 6.9 Disclaimer ======================================================================== Chapter 1: Overview and Introduction "I cannot convince myself that there is anyone so wise, so universally comprehensive in his judgment, that he can be trusted with the power to tell others: 'You shall not express yourself thus, you shall not describe your own experiences; or depict the fantasies which your mind has created; or laugh at what others set up as respectable; or question old beliefs; or contradict the dogmas of the church, of our society, our economic systems, and our political orthodoxy.'" - Jake Zeitlin 1.1 What is this faq? This faq was originally intended to be a compilation of other information sources about ways to get newsgroups. It has become more than that, in a few ways. I'm trying to include information on how to access any internet resource from any other one (although the emphasis of this document is still on newsgroups), and it has become, I hope, a document discussing important ethical issues. 1.2 What is needed to get news? There are two things needed to "get" news in the fullest sense of the word. First of all, you need a source of news, and a means of accessing that source; this will allow you to read other people's messages. Secondly, you need a way to post new articles to news. This document will allow you to find different ways to do both. 1.3 Other notes I tried to make sure I gave credit for every file I use in this document; if you notice something not credited, or miscredited, tell me. Also, tell me if the information is wrong; some information included in this document changes fairly often. I tried to use "[BEGIN INCLUDED FILE: #]" when starting a direct, or only slightly edited, reference from a file. The number is the number of the full reference, given at the end of this document. Every "[BEGIN INCLUDED FILE: #]" is matched by a "[END INCLUDED FILE]". I use "[BEGIN EXCERPTS FROM INCLUDED FILE: #]" when I use selected sections, or have had to do heavy editing on a file. The number is the number of the full reference, given at the end of this document. Every "[BEGIN EXCERPTS FROM INCLUDED FILE: #]" is matched by a "[END EXCERPTS FROM INCLUDED FILE]". It is recommended that you do get the file if you want to see the original, unedited version. I have tried to remain faithful to the original intent and purpose of every included document. If any reference is wrong, please tell me. ======================================================================== Chapter 2: How to get Banned Newsgroups 2.1 Not-for-profit news providers A good way to get banned newsgroups is to use a free news provider. Many free news providers also provide access to many other important services. A partial list includes: Cyberspace ---------- Telnet to cyberspace.org and login as "newuser". From there, you can follow the menus and get a new shell account; from this account, you can access news directly, or telnet to any of the below places. Freenets -------- There are many freenets. These are networks at which the charge for using is nothing, or very little. Most of them tell you how to log in to them; for the ones that do not, look in the parenthesized comment beside it in this listing. I have not had a chance to look through all these; some or all may not provide guest news access (or news access at all). This list is from the Internet Services List. Instructions on obtaining it are below. [BEGIN EXCERPTS FROM INCLUDED FILE: 1] bigsky.bigsly.dillon.mt.us (login: bbs) freenet.buffalo.edu cap.gwu.edu (login: guest password: visitor) freenet-in-a.cwru.edu (login: guest) freenet-in-b.cwru.edu (login: guest) freenet-in-c.cwru.edu (login: guest) bigcat.missouri.edu freenet.hsc.colorado.edu 136.176.5.114 132.162.32.99 (login: guest) freenet.carleton.ca rgfn.epcc.edu sendit.epcc.edu (login: bss password: sendit2me) freenet.fsu.edu leo.nmc.edu cbos.uc.edu garbo.uwasa.fi (login: guest) freenet.victoria.bc.ca vdoe386.vak12ed.edu (login: guest password: guest) yfn2.ysu.edu (login: visitor) [END EXCERPTS FROM INCLUDED FILE] Another large list was posted by David W. Morgan (damorgan@nyx10.cs.du.edu). I'm not sure if this list will be posted on a regular basis. This list was posted in alt.internet.services. Included at the bottom of this list was the message "For more information write to info@nptn.org". Hermes ------ Telnet to hermes.merit.edu. From there, you can get an account and can access news and other internet services. Nyx --- To access nyx, telnet to nyx.cs.du.edu. There is a very easy to use menu system; you can follow those menus. To get easy access to newsgroups, login as "guest" (don't use the quotation marks). Then type: l (look around the system) qa (quick access to what works) n (netnews) then simply type the name of the group to which you would like access. Nyx will not allow guest users to post to newsgroups. Looking around nyx is free; to get a full account requires you to register. Prairienet ---------- Prairienet is a site that offers free accounts to residents of Illinois; people outside of Illinois must pay $50, but they can look around for free. To try Prairienet out, telnet to firefly.prairienet.org and login as "visitor". Um-m-net -------- Telnet m-net.ann-arbor.mi.us. For which host, enter "um-m-net". Enter "g" for guest. For login, enter "newuser". UNC BBS ------- Telnet launchpad.unc.edu and login as "launch". 2.2 Commercial news providers Disclaimer: I am not related to any of the following service providers. If you cannot access some news groups, you can always turn to a commercial news providers. These news providers will give you shell access, news, dialup lines, and more (for a fee). To find out what commercial internet service providers exist in your area, get one of the commercial service provider lists. [BEGIN INCLUDED FILE: 2] Other sources The PDIAL list: the authority on (full) Internet access sites. Get it from body "Send PDIAL". The NIXPUB list: this is primarily a list of mail/news sites, although it includes many full access sites as well. Get it from with subject/body: "get PUB nixpub.{long|short}" or by FTP from VFL.Paramax.com:/pub/pubnet/nixpub.{long|short}. I would also strongly suggest accessing Peter Scott's excellent Hytelnet service at the University of Saskatchewan. Telnet to access.usask.ca login: hytelnet. Information on both pay systems and freenets (which can often provide the level of needed access) can be found on this site. Note that, while there are other Hytelnet sites, USask is the most up to date. Regional hints - National service providers: FTP to ftp.nisc.sri.com:/netinfo and FTP the files whose names begin with "internet-access..." - there is one for the US, and one for other countries. They are derived from the WHOLE INTERNET GUIDE, by Ed. Krol. Note that many of the providers listed in this list only deal with academic institutions. UK: ftp to: ftp.demon.co.uk:/pub/archives/uk-internet-list.{lng,sum} the lng and sum represent the long and summary lists respectively. Latin America and Caribbean: Gopher to gopher.rcp.net.pe (Peruvian provider - see entry). A complete list of contacts for Latin America and the Caribbean is available there. Australia: There is a "Public Networking in Australia FAQ" but I don't know of a site where it is archived. It is posted regularly to "alt.internet.access.wanted". If you're desperate and can't wait, you can try asking me for a copy... If there isn't too much demand, I'll respond to requests - otherwise I'll remove this "offer." Germany: See the "Individual Network" entry, and follow the instructions. France: FTP to grasp.insa-lyon.fr:/pub/faq-by-newsgroup/soc/soc.culture.french/ culture-french-faq/networking/part{1|2}. I more than welcome comments, corrections and especially additions. Please write me at: Louis Raphael I'll do my best to answer all my mail... Special thanks to Dr. Josh Backon for providing information on many of the listed sites. FTP: This list is available by anonymous FTP from login.qc.ca in /pub/fslist/FSLISTXX where XX is the version number. [END INCLUDED FILE] America Online provides access to newsgroups. AOL's number is (800) 827-6364, or you can call (800) 827-5808 to use their BBS (where software is available). Delphi also provides access to usenet. Delphi's number is (800) 695-4005, or you can call (800 695-4002 to use their BBS. Press enter a few times, then log on as "FREE" to try out their service, or "INFO" to get more info. 2.3 Open nntp sites If you do not want to use a not-for-profit or commercial news provider, there are open nntp sites that allow almost anyone with shell access and a news reader to read and post news. There used to be a list of open nntp sites, but those sites have since shut down. However, there are still some open nntp sites out there. To access these sites, you need a news reader that allows you to change which nntp site is uses. rn and all of its derivatives (trn, strn, xtrn, etc) all allow you to do this. I've been told that the newest version of nn (6.5.0, a beta version) also supports this. To access these open nntp sites, you need to set the environment variable "NNTPSERVER" to the site that you want to use. If you are using: sh or one of its derivatives (ksh, bash, zsh, etc): type "NNTPSERVER=open.site.name; export NNTPSERVER" (without the quotation marks). csh or one of its derivatives (tcsh): type "setenv NNTPSERVER open.site.name" (without the quotation marks). To access these open nntp sites with tin, you can specify that you want to connect to a remote site by including the "-r" option on the command line, or using "rtin" instead of "tin". The NNTPSERVER variable has to be set. It's extremely important to remember to keep separate .newsrc files for each machine you use. When you are going to read news at another site, move your .newsrc file to something else: "mv .newsrc .newsrc.local" (without the quotation marks). Then, when you are done reading news there, copy your .newsrc back to its original name: "cp .newsrc.local .newsrc" (without the quotation marks). Also, if you want to keep a .newsrc for the other site you read, make sure you copy that file to .newsrc before you read it, and copy it to another file when you are done reading news there. Scott Yanoff did post this list recently, which he says was taken from the older list on open nntpservers. Many of these may have shut down by now. bert.eecs.uic.edu, 128.248.166.25 (read only) edfder1.edf.fr, 192.54.193.133 (posting OK) gaia.ucs.orst.edu, 128.193.2.13 (read only) gateway.iitb.ernet.in, 144.16.96.2 (read only) hagi.noguchi.riec.tohoku.ac.jp, 130.34.202.42 (posting OK) iti.gov.sg, 192.122.132.130 (read only) news.belwue.de, 129.143.2.4 (read only) news.fu-berlin.de, 130.133.4.250 (posting OK) news.nodak.edu, 134.129.107.194 (read only) rocky.ucdavis.edu, 128.120.100.1 (read only) news.uni-hohenheim.de, 144.41.2.4 (read only) news.uni-stuttgart.de, 129.69.8.13 newsserver.rrzn.uni-hannover.de, 130.75.2.1 (posting OK) nic.belwue.de, 129.143.2.4 (read only) pyr.swan.ac.uk, 137.44.1.1 (posting OK) shakti.ncst.ernet.in, 144.16.1.1 (posting OK) trdsvr.tradtech.co.jp, 133.130.1.1 (read only) Christopher K. Neitzert (neitzert@astro.ocis.temple.edu) posted this list of open nntp sites: sol.ctr.columbia umd5.umd.edu louie.udel.edu netnews.upenn.edu [oops, this is getting too long, will add more parts, section 2.4 is next]