Usenet - back to the future?

[cityfan]

Been talking in some other threads about the use (or non-use) of usenet. It seems to me it has been overlooked and I was trying to figure out why.
I know many users would have used it years ago but have now moved on to other systems, esp torrents.
But is it time to revisit usenet/newsgroups?

The use of nzb files means it is as easy as torrents or direct d/loads to access files and to prepare upload files. Is this common knowledge. D/L speed is fast, and sharing means just posting one small file - like torrent.

Retention period for files is normally quite long (can be a year or more) compared to other systems this is a plus.

Up and Down load is normally encrypted by use of SSL, so better security.
This I see as a plus compared to torrents. I don't know the security levels for direct d/loads. With the various gov and corp attention to media posts is this not the way for the future.

Interested in comments from better informed than me.

Cityfan

 

[Syobon]

it's not P2P, usenet relies in servers, where files can more easily disappear/taken down, I say it's the same problem with private trackers, the better way, in "retention" terms are public torrents, with DHT on you can still download no matter what happen to the tracker as long people keep seeding the file.
it can be safer yes, if you trust the server to never disclose information about downloaders...

 

[cityfan]

Thanks for the reply. It is much safer that torrents. Anyone can see who is seeding a torrent file. On usenet the original uploader, uploads annonymously and if using ssl even the sever owner does not know what the file is. Once the files is loaded and spreads among servers there is no way of knowing the uploader. The downloader is also protected through ssl. I also dont find public torrents significantly better on retention. If usenet was as popular as torrents then retention would improve. When torrents first started retention by default was low. I am just suggesting usenet may be worth a second look in view of future actions by gov and corps.
Thanks for thoughts.

 

[elgringo14]

I believe the problem with usenet is that most of the servers don't provide free access.
That makes torrent better in principle since access to torrented files is free (except with some closed trackers).
Maybe things have changed since I checked last time, also both methods are outrun at the moment by "cashlinks" (e.g. direct downloads).

I don't care about security since I never download 'risky' material with p2p (mp3, recent movies, CP, etc).

 

[cityfan]

Thanks elgringo,
All fair points. I am not suggesting usenet is the only way to go just that its merits are overlooked and are worth revisiting.
I am suggesting torrents will come under pressure in the future so what are the alternatives.
Firstly on a free basis most isp's have newsgroups but probably not covering a wide range, nevertheless I have see recent movies there. For direct download sites they do have free options but you know they are inhibiting and designed to move people to pay options. Also I have not found any sites like akiba listing links for mainstream movies etc.
Usenet is mostly pay but there are many nzb sites listing mainstream media content just google 'nzb sites'.

Thanks for the response.

 

[guy]

The bittorrent protocol will not come under pressure in the near future. Certain trackers (and also specific seeders/leachers) may be taken down, but it won't affect the protocol as a whole. (Really, some people even share copyrighted material on HTTP servers, but you don't see anyone trying to criminalize use of the HTTP protocol.)

I think the timing is even better for bittorrent, in fact. Social networking is a huge, booming business. If you think about mash-ups, flash mobs, location-based services, etc; torrents are the perfect analog for social-networking-styled file sharing. It's not perfect, and other methods like Usenet still have strengths over torrents, but it's not likely to disappear anytime soon.

As I've said many times, a truly savvy tech person doesn't use just one filesharing program; they use a combination of several methods, each to their strengths/advantages.

 

[cityfan]

Thanks Guy for the reply.
I agree with your suggestion in using more than one fileserving system but we all need to be aware of the actions of gov and corps. Presently France has a 3 strikes and your out policy with Sarkosky determined to stop filesharing. The UK has passed legislation ..see this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8604602.stm
and recently in the US there were raids on the premises of sites showing links to files. I am not trying to be scaremongeading just reading what is going on in the world.
I would suggest torrents could collapse very quickly.

Thanks for your views.

 

[loremipsum]

My 2 cents on this:
- Usenet providers (like astraweb) actually log your uploads, (for abuse cases such as child pornography) by embedding a unique ID in every uploaded post, and SSL does not hide the files you upload to the Usenet provider, it only hinders eavesdropping between you and the Usenet server (ie someone wiretapping your line). So in generals, Usenet uploaders are not anonymous nor safe, however busts due to piracy cases have not happened as of yet.

- In general, takedowns on Astraweb and other lesser known providers are extremely rare, I have been downloading mainstream material for over a year and have still not discovered one single removed post from Astra. I do however sometimes hear about takedowns on the biggest provider, Giganews.

- In general, people don't seem to like the pay-2-leech model, and I completely get that. Usenet is not for everyone, nor will you find everything on there. You can't force people to change from usenet to torrents, but I for one have been enjoying the extreme comfort Usenet provides for all my mainstream content, and with all the major players offering free trials to try their service, why shouldn't you?

- NZB sites do not provide usenet access, they only grant you access to NZB files, an XML-based format for retrieving files from your usenet provider.
There are lots of nzb sites that index everything from the latest movies to sitcoms from the seventies - they are just like torrent trackers in that they often get the short end of the stick when it comes to takedowns (ie they disappear before the actual providers, because providers have plausible deniability when it comes to the content on their servers.)

 

[newhalf]

Last time I used usenet, it was still for discussions, as forums didn't exist back then. Time flies.

Which non-free usenet providers can you recommend nowadays? I am especially interested in JAV, and the occasional western porn.

Also, which clients are good?

 

[loremipsum]

Last time I used usenet, it was still for discussions, as forums didn't exist back then. Time flies.

Which non-free usenet providers can you recommend nowadays? I am especially interested in JAV, and the occasional western porn.

Also, which clients are good?

All providers carry the same content*, so it's just a matter of retention, or the amount of days the content is stored at the provider. I'd go with Astraweb, currently 987 days retention and unlimited downloads for 11 USD per month - it's unbeatable. Use this special link to get the discount:
http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.multicards.html
(This link is not tied to me in any way, nor does it grant me any privileges from you signing up using it.)

I have uploaded a number of JAV files here on the forum:
http://www.akiba-online.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1132010

There is also some JAV content at NZBMatrix, albeit not very much. There are some blogs that post this kind of stuff, google is your friend.

sabnzbd is the best download client, simply feed it nzbs and it will take care of the rest for you.

*Some smaller providers don't host all groups. You should generally stay away from these providers to begin with.

 

[gyoza ramen & a beer]

loremipsum is steering you straight, newhalf.

Astraweb is the best--not the largest--but the best provider and will cover ALL your JAV and occasional western porn needs.

Alt.binaries.multimedia.asians alone would provide weeks of downloads (and it's associated database will eat up lots of hard-drive space).

To get a preview of what's available go to binsearch.info and enter, say, "asians" into the dialog-box (or the DVD code & title for a JAV you're looking for). Bullet either the "search in the most popular groups" or "search in the other groups", hit "search" and there you go...hundreds of vids.

(you probably want to first click the "encrypted ssl connection" link that's a little past halfway down the page)

And get yourself Forte Agent.

 

[loremipsum]

And get yourself Forte Agent.

Yes, just as a clarification - sabnzbd can not browse through groups, it only downloads .nzb files (which are really just links to files inside groups).

Binsearch and similar search sites provide a limited insight into the world of raw usenet groups, but if you want to see it all a dedicated newsreader (not just a nzb downloader) is a good addition to the usenet toolchain.

 

[jwiz]

Usenet would make a great distributed data store backend for an encrypted network. Simply store blocks as multipart messages and reupload as need when the parts fall off the servers, which can be years in some cases.

 

[rule34]

I found a Provider of free Usenet Acess (seriously!).
http://www.xsusenet.com/
Limits are : 1 MBit, 2 Connections, might not be avaiable everywhere.
(Website lets you select country : Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Germany).
It also might take an hour until you get the Email with your Login Info.

So, i registered and tried it... entered "Explicite Art" in a Usenet search Engine
and started Downloading...
1. File: virus :scared:
2. File: virus:notagain:
3. File: virus:vomit:
4. File: the actual Porn Video :snicker:

So, it seems like i better not use a plain old search Website...

 

[loremipsum]

I found a Provider of free Usenet Acess (seriously!).
http://www.xsusenet.com/
Limits are : 1 MBit, 2 Connections, might not be avaiable everywhere.
(Website lets you select country : Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Germany).
It also might take an hour until you get the Email with your Login Info.
...

Can confirm this site gives you access. It works well!

I would advise against browsing raw usenet. You can find quite some javs here:
http://www.akiba-online.com/forum/showthread.php?p=902763
(Remember XSUsenet only has 400 days retention, so some old stuff might not be available.)

 

[alibi]

Actually, you currently get an email virtually immediately.

 

[musical88]

There's been quite a bit of activity on ABMEA recently. Just that there is no blog / forum that constantly updates with the latest content to be found.

Currently have to do it the old fashion way by manually searching.

 

[SamKook]

Nothing is stopping anyone from indexing them in here. I make a post for all my uploads in the p2p download section and There's a post once in a while that has a couple of recent uploads from there.

 

[loremipsum]

Nothing is stopping anyone from indexing them in here. I make a post for all my uploads in the p2p download section and There's a post once in a while that has a couple of recent uploads from there.

This needs to happen.

I feel the real problem is lack of users in the Usenet space. There's just much fewer of us than torrent users, and the interest in JAV content isn't that big as a result... :notagain:

 

[Gir633]

I was thinking about making and posting NZBs for stuff posted on the ABMEA group, but I wasn't sure how much it was wanted or would be used here to be worth the time.

I've been using Usenet since probably '97, I've gotten a lot of stuff from there over the years of all kinds of stuff J-dramas, JAV and regular Asian movies. It's changed over the years, and there is not as much on topic posts and more spam then there use to be, but there are still some good posters about. These days it's been a good place to pick up e-books for my Kindle.