Plusnet To Withdraw Usenet Binary Service

Not sure if this info has been posted in public or not but according
to a recent service status post:

>It has become apparent from customer feedback and from our own testing
>that our existing Usenet (newsgroups) infrastructure is no longer
>meeting the needs of those customers using this platform for binary
>downloads.
>
>This is also coupled with the fact that there has been a huge upsurge in
>binary Usenet postings recently. For example Giganews have reported a
>15% growth in binary Usenet postings within the last 30 days alone and
>are predicting that this will continue. Our news platform was never
>designed to cope with these sorts of volume, and it is clear that we
>would need to make significant ongoing investments in order to offer a
>reasonable quality binary feed.
>
>We have investigated a number of options for better Binary provision,
>including re-design of our server configuration, equipment upgrades and
>outsourcing to a third party provider. At this stage however, we have
>been unable to source a sustainable and financially viable alternative.
>The binary Usenet service will be withdrawn from April 3rd 2006.
>
>Therefore the decision has been made that it would be better to focus
>our existing investment in hardware on the provision of a text-only
>newsgroup service. As a result of the lower load on the same resource,
>and the extra redundant storage, this text service will deliver
>exceptional performance and will prove a reliable offering for all of
>our customers in the long term.
>
>We understand that a number of customers who use Binary newsgroups will
>be disappointed by this step but we hope people will understand the
>reasons for this change and that many will benefit from a higher quality
>text feed, rather than a limited and incomplete binary feed.

With apologies to serious users of and legal downloaders from Binary
NGs, I for one am v.pleased with this announcement PROVIDING that it
does result in a more stable, efficient and very much faster/complete
text-only service after April 3rd.

I also understand that Freeserve/Wannadoo/Whatever have announced a
total withdrawal of their Usenet service although I have not yet seen
documentary evidence to support the comment I saw a while back.

Discontinuation of Binary I can well understand but dumping Usenet
completely ? If it is true then I hope a precedent is not being set
for others to follow.

--
Mike
email: mikeb <at> twowheels <dot> plus <dot> com

On Mon, 6 Mar 2006 17:52:49 UTC, "MikeB (Look At End Of Message For Real
Address)" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> >It has become apparent from customer feedback and from our own testing
> >that our existing Usenet (newsgroups) infrastructure is no longer
> >meeting the needs of those customers using this platform for binary
> >downloads.

> >We have investigated a number of options for better Binary provision,
> >including re-design of our server configuration, equipment upgrades and
> >outsourcing to a third party provider. At this stage however, we have
> >been unable to source a sustainable and financially viable alternative.
> >The binary Usenet service will be withdrawn from April 3rd 2006.

Wonderful weasel words, aren't they? "We can't cope, so we're stopping
the service"....

> >Therefore the decision has been made that it would be better to focus
> >our existing investment in hardware on the provision of a text-only
> >newsgroup service.

"We don't want to spend more money as it would affect profits"

> > As a result of the lower load on the same resource,
> >and the extra redundant storage, this text service will deliver
> >exceptional performance and will prove a reliable offering for all of
> >our customers in the long term.

"We pray that by doing this, we'll be able to struggle on with our old
hardware".

> >We understand that a number of customers who use Binary newsgroups will
> >be disappointed by this step but we hope people will understand the
> >reasons for this change and that many will benefit from a higher quality
> >text feed, rather than a limited and incomplete binary feed.

"But don't believe that, just because you signed a twelve month contract
for a service that included binaries, we're going to let you terminate
early"

> With apologies to serious users of and legal downloaders from Binary
> NGs, I for one am v.pleased with this announcement PROVIDING that it
> does result in a more stable, efficient and very much faster/complete
> text-only service after April 3rd.

You can live in hope. Actually, I agree with you, but their PR-speak
really irritaes, doesn't it?

--
[ 7'ism - a condition by which the sufferer experiences an inability
to give concise answers, express reasoned argument or opinion.
Usually accompanied by silly noises and gestures - incurable, early
euthanasia recommended. ]

On 6 Mar 2006 18:10:12 GMT, "Bob Eager" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>but their PR-speak really irritaes, doesn't it?

Yeah I know, but then again it's par for the course with just about
everything and everyone these days Only time will tell whether
there will be any tangible improvements in the remaining service or
whether it's just (yet another) load of utter tosh from *enthusiastic*
marketeers .....

--
Mike
email: mikeb <at> twowheels <dot> plus <dot> com

"MikeB (Look At End Of Message For Real Address)" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>The binary Usenet service will be withdrawn from April 3rd 2006.

i upgraded from homesurf to "premier" <spit> package for the binary feed and
now it's going.

bloody swindlers

On Mon, 6 Mar 2006 MikeB (Look At End Of Message For Real Address)
wrote:

>Not sure if this info has been posted in public or not but according
>to a recent service status post:
>
>>It has become apparent from customer feedback and from our own testing
>>that our existing Usenet (newsgroups) infrastructure is no longer
>>meeting the needs of those customers using this platform for binary
>>downloads.
>>
>>This is also coupled with the fact that there has been a huge upsurge in
>>binary Usenet postings recently. For example Giganews have reported a
>>15% growth in binary Usenet postings within the last 30 days alone and
>>are predicting that this will continue. Our news platform was never
>>designed to cope with these sorts of volume, and it is clear that we
>>would need to make significant ongoing investments in order to offer a
>>reasonable quality binary feed.
>>
>>We have investigated a number of options for better Binary provision,
>>including re-design of our server configuration, equipment upgrades and
>>outsourcing to a third party provider. At this stage however, we have
>>been unable to source a sustainable and financially viable alternative.
>>The binary Usenet service will be withdrawn from April 3rd 2006.
>>
>>Therefore the decision has been made that it would be better to focus
>>our existing investment in hardware on the provision of a text-only
>>newsgroup service. As a result of the lower load on the same resource,
>>and the extra redundant storage, this text service will deliver
>>exceptional performance and will prove a reliable offering for all of
>>our customers in the long term.
>>
>>We understand that a number of customers who use Binary newsgroups will
>>be disappointed by this step but we hope people will understand the
>>reasons for this change and that many will benefit from a higher quality
>>text feed, rather than a limited and incomplete binary feed.
>
>With apologies to serious users of and legal downloaders from Binary
>NGs, I for one am v.pleased with this announcement PROVIDING that it
>does result in a more stable, efficient and very much faster/complete
>text-only service after April 3rd.
>
>I also understand that Freeserve/Wannadoo/Whatever have announced a
>total withdrawal of their Usenet service although I have not yet seen
>documentary evidence to support the comment I saw a while back.
>
>Discontinuation of Binary I can well understand but dumping Usenet
>completely ? If it is true then I hope a precedent is not being set
>for others to follow.
>
Could see a mass migration TO Plusnet.
--
Thoss

[To reply, replace * with . in Reply-To address]

On Tue, 7 Mar 2006 14:35:58 +0000, thoss <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>>Discontinuation of Binary I can well understand but dumping Usenet
>>completely ? If it is true then I hope a precedent is not being set
>>for others to follow.
>>
>Could see a mass migration TO Plusnet.

Why do you think that may happen?

--
Steve Wolstenholme Neural Planner Software

EasyNN-plus. The easy way to build neural networks.
http://www.easynn.com

On Tue, 7 Mar 2006 wrote:

>On Tue, 7 Mar 2006 14:35:58 +0000, thoss <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>>Discontinuation of Binary I can well understand but dumping Usenet
>>>completely ? If it is true then I hope a precedent is not being set
>>>for others to follow.
>>>
>>Could see a mass migration TO Plusnet.
>
>Why do you think that may happen?
>
You shouldn't have deleted the preceding paragraph, which said that
Wanadoo might be closing down their usenet service. If that happens,
text-only usenet users will be looking for a new home.
--
Thoss

[To reply, replace * with . in Reply-To address]

"MikeB (Look At End Of Message For Real Address)"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>>This is also coupled with the fact that there has been a huge upsurge in
>>binary Usenet postings recently. For example Giganews have reported a
>>15% growth in binary Usenet postings within the last 30 days alone and
>>are predicting that this will continue.

I don't use Binaries, but I'm intrigued why this is occurring ?

Daytona

On 08 Mar 2006, Daytona <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I don't use Binaries, but I'm intrigued why this is occurring ?

There's been a widely reported growth in traffic Giganews indicated 15%
in a month) and the servers accepting articles are working flat-out at
present, but as they are getting overloaded (and adding many TB of new
disks to store the increased newsgroup traffic is also not cheap) they
have so far decided to simply ditch the binaries, and concentrate on
text only groups. It's a bit better than no Usenet at all, and the
switch puts them on a par with some other ISPs which have had only
text groups from day one, expecting customers to buy in binaries if
they want them.

Someone has suggested scrapping some of the groups - notably the ones
with the largest levels of traffic (whole movies, apparently), which
got a response that it could be seen as cencorship. However, about
a year ago, some small portion of the binary newsgroups (I have a
list online, somewhere) was deleted, on the basis of not being used
(no-one collecting bodies of posts) and done for technical reasons -
to lessen the load on the servers... So someone has argued that if
it is primarily a technical reason for blocking those groups which
are heaviest in traffic terms (movies) it doesn't amount to being
a censorship issue - there's no check on the 'content' - but the
reasoning is purely technical - servers cannot cope - parallel
to the reasoning used when some groups were deleted... though
this time it would be groups which some would be using, just
filling the service and causing some problems which repeat,
seemingly month after month.

I think it is a fairly good argument but can understand those whose
interest is downloading movies would be unhappy. As for me, no DVD
and tend not to rent such items (so nothing from any video library
or similar in my life) or buy them (so no trade at HMV, WHS or in
one of the supermarkets selling films, pop-videos, etc). Peter M
--

UK ADSL <http://tinyurl.com/dghgq> - Happy to save cash with Plus.Net!!

On Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:53:13 +0000, Daytona wrote:

> "MikeB (Look At End Of Message For Real Address)"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>>This is also coupled with the fact that there has been a huge upsurge
>>>in binary Usenet postings recently. For example Giganews have reported
>>>a 15% growth in binary Usenet postings within the last 30 days alone
>>>and are predicting that this will continue.
>
> I don't use Binaries, but I'm intrigued why this is occurring ?

It's mainly because of all the file-sharing prosecutions and the shutting
down of file indexing sites.

And it's very fast too. p2p networks suffer from the increasing disparity
between upload and download ADSL speeds. NNTP (or http via a site like
easynews) is as fast as you want to make it.