On Mon, 15 Jan 2024 22:31:42 -0000 (UTC), pschleck@panix.com (Paul W. Schleck) wrote:
snip

news.admin.net-abuse.usenet:
news.admin.peering:
news.groups:
news.software.nntp:
news.software.readers:

currently subscribed to those 5 (news.*) but not to any others on list;
also subscribed to about two dozen other newsgroups not on sample list,
most of which are low traffic/special interest groups; novabbs carries
this: https://news.novabbs.org/computers/thread.php?group=news.groups

if more websites (https://rocksolid.sybershock.com/rocksolid/index.php
for example) offered the rocksolid format, they could include whatever newsgroups from any servers of their choosing; it's very user-friendly:

(using Tor Browser 13.0.8)
https://gitlab.com/rslight-public/rocksolid-light

rocksolid-light
Project information
Rocksolid Light is a web based forum using nntp as a backend. It may be run >as a standalone server, or may synchronize with other nntp servers and other >instances of Rocksolid Light.
Name Last commit Last update >Rocksolid_Light Fix bug in search relating to group 1 week ago
names with special characters.
INSTALL.md Add upgrade information for 0.9.0. 4 months ago >LICENSE.md Fix copywrite date in license.md. 4 months ago >README.md Bring README a bit up to date. 4 months ago >README.md
Rocksolid Light (rslight) - a web based Usenet news client
Visit https://www.novabbs.com to try Rocksolid Light
Rocksolid Light is based on NewsPortal, which discontinued development in 2008,
and was developed by Florian Amrhein https://florian-amrhein.de/newsportal/ >rslight contains some major code and feature changes, but would not exist >without NewsPortal as a basis for development.
Rocksolid Light is a php web forum interface that basically uses nntp as a >backend. Forums can be Usenet newsgroups, or any groups you wish to create. >Forums can be synchronized with other rslight installs, or other nntp servers.
*Uses sqlite3 database. No configuration required
*Does not require Javascript
*Built in nntp server
*Synchronize with inn or another rslight site, or run standalone
*Read and post using a news client
*SSL encryption
*Tested with Claws Mail, Thunderbird, Knews, tin, Pan and some others
*NoCeM and Spamassassin support
*Message expiration by site or by group
*Send/Receive mail to/from users at other Rocksolid Light sites
*Search article bodies
*Display body snippet in overboard and search results
*Email authentication if enabled
*Protect poster email addresses if enabled
*Interface works reasonably well on small devices
*Colors in CSS are in a separate file for easy testing and modification *Groups can be renamed for cleaner display
*Configuration options may be set for each individual 'section'
See INSTALL.md for installation instructions.
If you have trouble, post to rocksolid.nodes.help (www.novabbs.com) and
we'll try to help.
Retro Guy retroguy@novabbs.com

[end quote]

e.g. (using Tor Browser 13.0.8) . . . https://news.novabbs.org/common/connect.php

Clearnet Newsreader Access:
Approximately 42,000 Usenet text groups
Create an account on www.i2pn2.org (it's free)
Direct your news client to: news.i2pn2.org:119 or 563
Using i2p or Tor?
Create an account on:
rslight.i2p
or
fev4bgoasgxttqb3x3tukxxia6lwryteq6a2ramqb2gjiol3zbu6xaid.onion
Connect your news client here: >v77lu6t26velvaddm4gibyzd5sogskuczp7vwoc4vxmukvvaucva.b32.i2p
or
tk4pwu574u4zrndofwx7dtlh2g2swauhtfblyrbhzxypznomgxxhgqyd.onion:119

[end quoted excerpt]

https://www.i2pn2.org/common/grouplist.php

List of Groups containing messages
(total groups 42790)
...

page shows 10,671 newsgroups containing at least one or more messages,
leaving about 42790 - 10671 = 32119 newsgroups containing no messages,
so about 75% - three out of four - of these newsgroups not being used

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)