Easynews Usenet Glossary

This glossary from Easynews defines key terminology used throughout the Usenet experience. It’s a helpful reference for understanding the structure and tools behind the service.

Easynews Usenet Terms Explained

• Article – Another word for Message. Refers to a single Usenet post shared within a newsgroup.

• Article Retention – The duration Easynews stores articles on its servers before removal. Longer article retention improves access to older discussions.

• Auto Headers – NewsBin’s Version 5 capability that keeps headers automatically up to date.

• Automatic Download – NewsBin (Version 4) feature that pulls all data from posts in selected groups. Honors filters and repeats when Recycle Servers is active.

• Automatic Shutdown – NewsBin (Version 4) feature that exits the application once all selected posts have completed.

• Automatic Startup – Feature triggering header downloading as soon as NewsBin (Version 4) starts.

• Bandwidth – The Internet connection speed measured in bits per second. Easynews supports high-bandwidth access for efficient Usenet use.

• Bandwidth Limiter – Lets NewsBin users allocate a specific amount of bandwidth for the application.

• Beta – Development versions of software made available for testing before official release.

• Cache Chunks – NewsBin memory caching for multi-part post chunks, improving assembly performance.

• Chunk – A unit of a multi-part article. Chunks are temporarily stored and combined once the article is complete.

• Compact View – NewsBin setting that displays one line per multi-part article, simplifying navigation in Post Lists.

• Connection – A communication thread to a Usenet server. Multiple connections boost throughput.

• Connection Limit – Restricts simultaneous server connections. NewsBin supports up to 100.

• Crash – Unexpected program closure, often due to system or software errors.

• Display Age – Determines how far back headers are shown in the NewsBin Post List.

• Download Age – Defines how far back headers are fetched from servers. Can be customized by group or globally.

• Download Limit – Any imposed cap on the amount of retrievable data.

• Download Path – The folder where Easynews or NewsBin stores retrieved Usenet data.

• Enabled – Indicates a feature is currently active.

• Fill – Additional post data to complete an article or a secondary server used only when primary servers lack the needed article.

• Filters – Tools to narrow displayed posts by various criteria like size, subject, or poster.

• Freeze – See Stall.

• FTR – Deprecated abbreviation for First Time Records. Replaced by Display Age.

• GIF – 256-color image format. Still supported but often replaced by PNG.

• Groups – See Newsgroups.

• Hang – See Stall.

• Header – Metadata in an article including subject, sender, and date. Used for sorting and indexing.

• Indexer – Organizes and catalogs headers into searchable NZBs.

• JPEG – Image format supporting full color. Uses .jpg extension.

• Lock Up – A system state where user input is frozen.

• Master Splitter – Tool for breaking large items into numbered parts. NewsBin merges these.

• Message – The primary form of communication on Usenet, containing a header and body.

• Message ID – A globally unique identifier for each Usenet post.

• MP3 – Digital audio format using MPEG-1 compression.

• MPA – See Max Post Age.

• MPG – Video format using MPEG compression. Extension: .mpg.

• Multi-part Post – A single large article split into multiple parts, each posted separately.

• Multi-threaded – Operating systems or software that can execute multiple processes simultaneously.

• New – In NewsBin Version 4, refers to unseen parts. In Version 5, the post remains new until all parts are marked read.

• NewsBin – An advanced Usenet reader designed for efficient header processing and decoding.

• Newsgroup – A forum for a specific topic within Usenet. Accessed via newsreaders like Easynews or NewsBin.

• NZB – XML-based format used to organize and retrieve articles efficiently by referencing message IDs.

• Part – A segment of an article or a file section in an archive. Common in multi-part posts.

• PNG – Image format with lossless compression. Frequently used on the Internet.

• POS – Informal term for software that fails to perform reliably.

• Post – A unit of Usenet data or the act of submitting one.

• Post ID – See Message ID.

• Poster – The originator of a Usenet post.

• Post List – Displays articles in a newsgroup or search view. Found in NewsBin.

• Quade – Developer behind NewsBin software.

• RAR – Archive format commonly used to compress multi-part posts. NewsBin supports recombination.

• Record Number – Server-specific number associated with each post. Different from Message ID.

• Recycle Servers – NewsBin (Version 4) mode that repeats post processing after a delay.

• Restart Delay – Defines pause between cycles in Recycle Servers mode.

• Robot – Automation tool for repetitive Usenet tasks.

• Sequential – Refers to events occurring one after another.

• Signature Cache – Tracks previously accessed items to avoid duplicates.

• Simultaneous – Events or tasks running at the same time.

• Size – Total data volume associated with a Usenet article.

• Spool – The NewsBin folder where headers for each group are stored.

• SSL – Protocol that encrypts the connection between user and Usenet provider.

• Stackable – Describes filters that all must pass for a post to appear.

• Stall – A temporary freeze in responsiveness, which may resolve without user action.

• Storage Age – Controls how long headers remain stored in NewsBin’s database.

• Subject – Descriptive field in an article’s header.

• Usenet – A decentralized, globally distributed message network organized by topic into newsgroups.

• UUEncode – An early encoding scheme that transforms data into ASCII text for Usenet compatibility.

• Virus – Harmful software that replicates itself.

• yEnc – Encoding format optimized for Usenet with only 3% overhead, replacing the older UUEncode method.