Accessing UCSC class newsgroups

The simplest way to access the class newsgroups is using pine.

• Just login to any of the CATS machine and type pine in the command line.
• Goto the folders section.
• Follow the instructions for adding the newsgroup (you just need to press "A" to add a newsgroup and type in the newsgroup name).

Please note that the simplest way is not always the best. I prefer reading newsgroup emails using a mail client (like Netscape or Mozilla or KNode). You can also use Outlook (if you are a windwos user).

If you are trying to access the newsgroup from off-campus, you need to login to the CATS servers (unix.ic.ucsc.edu) and use pine (there is a nicer way which I will describe soon). If you are a  Linux/UNIX user (probably you won't be reading this), just use ssh. For Windows users, you need to either download ssh client or Putty based ssh client. Once you have an ssh client, you can login to the CATS machine by giving the server name (unix.ic.ucsc.edu), port (22), your CATS username and password. You will have a command window similar to the machines found in CATS lab.

More nicer, powerful way is to use "ssh port forwarding" which allows you to use nice newsgroup readers like KNode, Outlook etc., The instructions for doing this could be found here.

Please read the Netiquette guidelines if you are new to using mailing list or newsgroups.