The Threaded Internet Newsreader seems a less
valuable tool now than it did a year or two ago, partly because
many newsgroups consist mostly of junk messages. The potential as
a medium of communication is still present, but I think fewer
people are making active academic use of USENET now. Still, the
basics are of some interest:
W&L now has access to nearly 19,000 newsgroups --so many that it's
daunting to think of finding and using any. The key to finding
useful groups is the search facility:
- Once you have opened tin, hit the y key to 'yank' the
whole list of usenet groups (more than 18,000);
- Then hit the / key to awaken the search facility and type a
word you hope to find and hit ENTER. You'll be taken to the first
occurrence of the word; repeat the / and ENTER to go to the next,
and so on.