i think the only real spot for a curated list of bf deals will be the usenet subreddit. otherwise the shitty affiliate sites wont really show you all the actual deals, just their pay per sign up links.
i think the only real spot for a curated list of bf deals will be the usenet subreddit. otherwise the shitty affiliate sites wont really show you all the actual deals, just their pay per sign up links.
but they are literally the same servers operated the exact same way. a take down happens on newshosting will be reflected at the same exact time on all resellers, astraweb included. astraweb moved over to nh / omicron a few years back where prior they were their own system and i remember when the dmca thing was a big thing for them but that was like a decade+ ago. newshosting or any reseller are all connecting to the same servers, look at the IPs and how close they are, follow the traces to the same location.
astraweb hasnt been their own thing for years. they sell the same thing (omicron backbone access) others sell for cheaper.
true, but if you are paying in cash with presumably a burner email of some sort, what is there to worry about getting out? also, historically, europe (and organizations located there) has been the bigger pricks when it comes to usenet servers and in some cases, users.
there are plenty of newshosting resellers that use the same exact servers that are much cheaper than $15 a month or even $10 a month. use one of the backbone maps to see all of the various ones.
US versus EU servers as far as server content goes will be the same thing.
Astraweb is the same exact servers as Newshosting that you glowingly recommended up thread. cant be that bad i guess. ;)
that map is a bit out of date but also doesnt show all the sellers. this might show things better, https://whatsmyuse.net/
blocknews, frugal usenet and usenetnow take cash in the mail, an option at checkout. maybe others will but they dont make it obvious so you would have to contact them directly. but honestly i wouldnt worry aboutr using your card. paying for usenet access is just as legal as paying for isp access.
i dont think any service is going to give you free weeks or a month with no strings attached. if they did everybody would use them and not pay. you can just buy 1 unlimited month of frugal usenet for 5 bucks (not a subscription) and call it good.
you dont have to pay. you can get an account on google groups or eternal september or one of the other very few remaining text only servers but you get what you pay for. poor interface (google groups) or various account or posting restrictions. no binary groups, etc… for a couple of bucks, you can get better service quality, high message retention, faster speeds etc. it costs significant money to run these servers now with all the bandwidth and hard drives.
Here is a good list of active groups, i am sure there are more. of course plenty of binary groups are active to. if one you like isnt that active, why not try to revive it?
alt.culture.usenet:
alt.fan.usenet:
alt.obituaries:
alt.privacy:
alt.tv.simpsons:
ba.broadcast:
comp.ai:
comp.arch:
comp.compilers:
comp.dcom.telecom:
comp.infosystems.gemini:
comp.infosystems.gopher:
comp.lang.c++:
comp.lang.c:
comp.lang.forth:
comp.lang.misc:
comp.lang.python.announce:
comp.lang.python:
comp.lang.raspberry-pi:
comp.lang.tcl:
comp.misc:
comp.mobile.android:
comp.mobile.misc:
comp.os.cpm:
comp.os.linux.announce:
comp.os.linux.misc:
comp.risks:
comp.sys.apple2:
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action:
comp.text.tex:
comp.unix.shell:
gnu.emacs.help:
misc.legal.moderated:
misc.taxes.moderated:
news.admin.moderation:
news.announce.important:
news.announce.newgroups:
news.groups.proposals:
news.groups:
news.software.readers:
rec.arts.drwho:
rec.arts.movies.current-films:
rec.arts.sf.tv:
rec.arts.sf.written:
rec.autos.sport.f1:
rec.aviation.soaring:
rec.bicycles.tech:
rec.food.cooking:
rec.games.backgammon:
rec.music.beatles:
rec.music.classical.recordings:
rec.radio.amateur.antenna:
rec.radio.amateur.boatanchors:
rec.radio.amateur.equipment:
rec.radio.amateur.homebrew:
rec.radio.amateur.misc:
rec.radio.amateur.moderated:
rec.radio.amateur.policy:
rec.radio.amateur.space:
rec.radio.info:
rec.radio.shortwave:
rec.sport.rowing:
rec.woodworking:
sci.astro:
sci.electronics.design:
sci.electronics.repair:
sci.logic:
sci.physics.relativity:
sci.physics.research:
talk.origins:
uk.comp.sys.mac:
uk.radio.amateur.moderated:
uk.rec.sheds:
uk.sci.weather:
i can understand that about crypto. Fwiw, this discussion was posted recently about usenet and crypto, https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/2612428 Others take crypto and several of the ones mentioned take it directly without a processor and have better perf. than the newsdemon system.
the older stuff on newsdemon is hit or miss anyways cause of the way they handle their storage so it will be hard to know if its gone cause they suck or gone cause of takedown.
if the post is from 2 years ago ntd or dmca is not going to make a difference. it will be long gone regardless.
they all “miss” some content. if it has been taken down from usenet you may just have to look for a repost, seems like everything is reposted 8 different times. if its missing cause its to old then maybe you need the blocknews block for full retention like you said.
Usenight is full speeds only at certain times of the day right? Plus the retention isnt as high so that is probably the price difference. Frugalusenet and Blocknews also take crypto the same way (same owners) and price is a bit more reasonable if you dont need the super high retention all the time but yes i agree about crypto. if you have to use a payment processor for it it sort of defeats the purpose.
no big deal to pay with whatever. could change down the line of course. if paranoid just use crypto or mail them your payment. your providers wouldnt be my first choice, any reason you chose them?
they all have copyright removals. nothing special about eweka in that regard. might take an extra day or two but still the same problems. if you are even remotely close to automated it wont matter who you use.
the unlimited frugal servers are newshosting / omicron backbone. frugals bonus server is what is usenetfarm so both backbones together when you subscribe. shouldnt be any real need for a usenetexpress block account since you would have the usenetfarm backup already but i guess if you find a great sale you could throw it into your newsreader.