On Sat, 24 May 2025 14:24:36 -0000 (UTC), DV <dv@reply-to.not.invalid> wrote: >Hello,

The MacCafé newsreader has been updated. Version 3.04 fixes several bugs
and adds the following features:
- Locked messages can be viewed in a dedicated window.
- Other improvements to the management of locked messages.
- New rules for composing signatures.
- In the List windows, messages can be filtered according to their >publication date.
- In the Edit window, new command for adding an optional header field by
copy and paste.
- Optimisation of the code to increase the speed of certain commands, >particularly noticeable when retrieving messages from the server.
MacCafé's documentation has also been updated.
Have a nice update!
Article posted on news.software.readers and comp.sys.mac.misc, FU2 >news.software.readers.
--
Denis
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MacCafé - Newsreader for macOS
<https://maccafe.fr/en>

maccafe sounds like a useful newsreader but i'm not a mac user;
your website links to an extensive list of popular newsreaders,
which seems to include everything except for "xananews", which
is also a fine newsreader (i prefer 40tude dialog with scoring)
"xananews" is particularly handy for one-click newsgroup stats:

(using Tor Browser 14.5.2)
https://maccafe.fr/serveurs_en.html

A list of free newsreaders:
Denis (DV) web page
http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html
1.Introduction
2.Newsreaders
40Tude Dialog (Windows)
Betterbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Claws-Mail (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Evolution (Linux)
flnews (Linux, UNIX systems)
Gnus (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Gravity (Windows)
MacCafe (macOS)
MacSOUP (macOS = 10.14)
MesNews (Windows)
ModNewsreader (Android and its forks)
Pan (Linux)
SeaMonkey (Linux / Windows / macOS)
slrn (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Sylpheed (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Thunderbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
tin (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Xnews (Windows)
3.References and useful links

[end quote]

(using Tor Browser 14.5.2) >https://github.com/graemeg/xananews/releases/tag/v1.21

Release v1.21 Latest
graemeg released this Aug 22, 2017
v1.21
f3fb89f
The official v1.21 release of XanaNews is finally here!
This version contains some bug fixes, updated components. See the CHANGELOG.txt
file for details. For support, please visit the official support newsgroup at: >Server Name: geldenhuys.co.uk
Port: 119
Newsgroup: xananews.talk
Enjoy!
Assets 3
xananews_32bit_v1.21.zip >https://github.com/graemeg/xananews/releases/download/v1.21/xananews_32bit_v1.21.zip

(xananews_32bit_v1.21.zip / 2.55 MB), extracted . . .
(xananews_32bit_v1.21 / 5.95 MB / 9 Files, 0 Folders)

2.55 MB 2017-08-22T12:47:26Z
Source code (zip) >https://github.com/graemeg/xananews/archive/refs/tags/v1.21.zip >2017-08-22T12:35:30Z
Source code (tar.gz) >https://github.com/graemeg/xananews/archive/refs/tags/v1.21.tar.gz >2017-08-22T12:35:30Z
(c) 2025 GitHub, Inc.

[end quote]

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D wrote:

maccafe sounds like a useful newsreader but i'm not a mac user;
your website links to an extensive list of popular newsreaders,
which seems to include everything except for "xananews", which
is also a fine newsreader

I've just added Xananews to the list. I was convinced that this
newsreader, which I tested a long time ago, was no longer available.
Thanks for reminding me of its existence!

--
Denis
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MacCafé - Newsreader for macOS
<https://maccafe.fr/en>

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On Thu, 5 Jun 2025 17:08:11 -0000 (UTC), DV <dv@reply-to.not.invalid> wrote:

D wrote:

maccafe sounds like a useful newsreader but i'm not a mac user;
your website links to an extensive list of popular newsreaders,
which seems to include everything except for "xananews", which
is also a fine newsreader

I've just added Xananews to the list. I was convinced that this
newsreader, which I tested a long time ago, was no longer available.
Thanks for reminding me of its existence!

very nice website . . .

https://maccafe.fr/serveurs_en.html

...
http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html
Last update: 05/06/2025

Introduction
Newsreaders
40Tude Dialog (Windows)
Betterbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Claws-Mail (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Evolution (Linux)
flnews (Linux, UNIX systems)
Gnus (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Gravity (Windows)
MacCafé (macOS)
MacSOUP (macOS = 10.14)
MesNews (Windows)
ModNewsreader (Android and its forks)
Pan (Linux / macOS)
SeaMonkey (Linux / Windows / macOS)
slrn (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Sylpheed (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Thunderbird (Linux / Windows / macOS)
tin (Linux / Windows / macOS)
Xananews (Windows)
Xnews (Windows)
References and useful links
...
http://usenet-fr.yakakwatik.org/newsreaders.html#xananews
Xananews

Platform: Windows
License: free/libre (MPL)
Interface: graphical, single window
Développement: dormant since 2017
Gestion SMTP: no
Official website: A fantastic Windows NNTP client, written in Delphi
Configuration tutorial: Program configuration for Xananews 1.18

awesome! akaik, your website link is the most inclusive and up-to-date
list of available (freeware, plaintext, nntp) newsreaders on the planet

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On Thu, 5 Jun 2025 17:08:11 -0000 (UTC), DV wrote:

I've just added Xananews to the list. I was convinced that this
newsreader, which I tested a long time ago, was no longer available.

40tude Dialog and Xnews are both abandonware, but they're still on the
list. Any reason why you omitted Forté Agent? forteinc.com

--
s|b

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s|b wrote:

40tude Dialog and Xnews are both abandonware, but they're still on the
list. Any reason why you omitted Forté Agent? forteinc.com

As indicated in the introduction to my page, this list only includes
free newsreaders, which is not the case with Forté Agent.

I know that there was a free version of Agent and I tested it, but I
found it far too limited.

As for 40Tude Dialog and Xnews, even though they've been discontinued,
you can still download them.

--
Denis
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MacCafé - Newsreader for macOS
<https://maccafe.fr/en>

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On Fri, 6 Jun 2025 21:32:40 -0000 (UTC), DV <dv@reply-to.not.invalid> wrote: >s|b wrote:

40tude Dialog and Xnews are both abandonware, but they're still on the
list. Any reason why you omitted Forté Agent? forteinc.com

As indicated in the introduction to my page, this list only includes
free newsreaders, which is not the case with Forté Agent.
I know that there was a free version of Agent and I tested it, but I
found it far too limited.
As for 40Tude Dialog and Xnews, even though they've been discontinued,
you can still download them.

i still prefer free agent for posting because it is so simple and portable,
and 40tude dialog for reading because while also portable, it has the most comprehensive scoring features available (i rarely use dialog for posting because its "save and close draft" is less convenient than "save" [ctrl+s] using any word processor (e.g. libreoffice) or text editor--even free agent lets you do that much (no need to close then reopen its composition window)
why such a full-featured newsreader would've disabled "ctrl+s" is a mystery

as a long-time user of free agent (since 16-bit 1.11/16.235 in windows 95), after testing registered versions of 1.93/32.576 and 8.00/32.1272, i still prefer free agent 1.93 for posting and 40tude dialog 2.0.15.41 for reading

free agent 1.93/32.576 (2.29 mb): https://web.archive.org/web/20051125104705/http://ftp3.forteinc.com/pub/agent/english/a32en193.exe
1.93 registration key:
CQ9PMH48-84YB7CZJ-ZGKHKS5J-6VRCTN8M-V7G88TUE

(unlocks "undo", maybe handy if you don't use a word processor for editing)

trial agent 8.00/32.1272 (11.0 mb): https://web.archive.org/web/20240421180300/https://download.forteinc.com/pub/qewgybnkzfamqwgy/agentenu800-1272.msi
8.00 registration key:
T2BZ6L74-B42DPH7N-F7WHTN9D-6NSNSST3-19G6BN2S-XKUSDYKA 3XFL14ZT-W2NYVJFB-LXLTPWV7-P8VNC8MV-661ENJUW-F56XSGY9 TV4NN23M-LDLE3DVH-DNJ667EV

(these "new and improved" versions of agent are definitely not recommended)

40tude dialog 2.0.15.41 (3.82 MB / 2.83 MB): https://www.barghahn-online.de/4td_faq/download/4d2b38.exe https://www.barghahn-online.de/4td_faq/download/dialog_41.zip
free, no registration (do not install to "x86" program folder)

(free agent is simple and easy to use, dialog most comprehensive features)

p.s. in addition to libreoffice, i also frequently use these text editors:

libre office https://libreoffice.org
notetab lite https://notetab.com/notetab-light
ted notepad https://jsimlo.sk/notepad

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On Fri, 6 Jun 2025 21:32:40 -0000 (UTC), DV wrote:

As indicated in the introduction to my page, this list only includes
free newsreaders, which is not the case with Forté Agent.

You're misinformed. Forté Agent 3.3 is still free. It will automatically
revert to Forté Free Agent after 30 days of trial. With the earlier
versions you could choose between full or free during installation, but
that is not the case for 3.3.

I know that there was a free version of Agent and I tested it, but I
found it far too limited.

There IS a free version of Agent. What version did you tested and in
what way was it 'too limited'? Free Agent has lots of features:

<https://web.archive.org/web/20060411175139/http://www.forteinc.com/agent/features.php>

and it's _free_. One can always use Hamster for multiserver and
filtering. I've seen people using Free Agent 1.93 or 2.00 for years,
even now. I'm sure they don't find it too limited.

As for 40Tude Dialog and Xnews, even though they've been discontinued,
you can still download them.

3.3 can still be downloaded on the official website, which can not be
said about 40tude Dialog and Xnews. Here's the link:

<https://download.forteinc.com/pub/agent/english/agentenu330-846.exe>

Dictionaries can be found here: <https://www.forteinc.com/agent/download-all.php>

--
s|b

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s|b wrote:

You're misinformed.

I'd say that the Forté website misinformed me: I didn't see any link on
the home page to the ‘download-all’ page you mention.

Forté Agent 3.3 is still free. It will automatically revert to Forté
Free Agent after 30 days of trial. With the earlier versions you could
choose between full or free during installation, but that is not the
case for 3.3.

Well, I followed your links and downloaded Forté Agent 3.3 (on Windows
10), and when I installed it I was given the choice between the trial
version and the free version.

So I installed Free Agent to test it out. First problem: it was unable
to obtain a secure connection to my usual server via port 563. (To be
honest, the same problem occurs with 40Tude Dialog).

I found the same limitations that had bothered me during my previous
test: no filters, no killfile, and even the impossibility of changing
the order in which messages are displayed.

Finally, after installing the French dictionary, Free Agent
systematically freezes on launch. Sorry, but I won't go any further.

--
Denis
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MacCafé - Newsreader for macOS
<https://maccafe.fr/en>

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On Sat, 7 Jun 2025 13:30:24 -0000 (UTC), DV <dv@reply-to.not.invalid> wrote: >s|b wrote:

You're misinformed.

I'd say that the Forté website misinformed me: I didn't see any link on
the home page to the ‘download-all’ page you mention.

Forté Agent 3.3 is still free. It will automatically revert to Forté
Free Agent after 30 days of trial. With the earlier versions you could
choose between full or free during installation, but that is not the
case for 3.3.

Well, I followed your links and downloaded Forté Agent 3.3 (on Windows
10), and when I installed it I was given the choice between the trial
version and the free version.
So I installed Free Agent to test it out. First problem: it was unable
to obtain a secure connection to my usual server via port 563. (To be
honest, the same problem occurs with 40Tude Dialog).
I found the same limitations that had bothered me during my previous
test: no filters, no killfile, and even the impossibility of changing
the order in which messages are displayed.
Finally, after installing the French dictionary, Free Agent
systematically freezes on launch. Sorry, but I won't go any further.

fwiw, that's why i still prefer and regularly use 40tude dialog for
reading, browsing, searching, archiving, etc., particularly because
it already has so many very useful customization features including
the most comprehensive scoring/filtering/scripting capabilities any
one (afaik with much consensus news:de.comm.software.40tude-dialog)
could ever use short of running a dedicated nntp server (inn, etc.)

most of the free newsservers that i've tested and also occasionally
use with 40tude dialog typically connect fine without using omnimix
or any other proxy (e.g. stunnel), but for servers that require ssl
(e.g. neodome) omnimix works great, has its own tor, works with tor
browser, includes classic hamster playground service/control (1.25)
and many other features ... mostly for use with anonymous remailers

another really old freeware program, newsproxy (v1.2.0, 1999-10-04)
works great with newsreaders that have inadequate filtering/scoring:

https://web.archive.org/web/*/nfilter.org

... >https://web.archive.org/web/20000303015119/http://www.nfilter.org/download.html
...
'95/NT installation file >https://web.archive.org/web/20000303015119/http://www.nfilter.org/120/np-120.exe

(change file extention of "np-120.exe" to "np-120.zip", then unzip)

e.g., using regular expressions and wildcards to simply killfile:

* drop message-id:*server1*|*server2*|*server3*|...
* drop references:*rogue1*|*rogue2*|*rogue3*|...
* drop from:*troll1*|*troll2*|*troll3*|...
...

a less destructive approach demotes (alphanumeric, sort by subject):

* flag:-20mes message-id:*server1*|*server2*|*server3*|...
* flag:-10ref references:*rogue1*|*rogue2*|*rogue3*|...
* flag:-70fro from:*troll1*|*troll2*|*troll3*|...
...

*note: filtering on from headers is usually not recommended unless
applied to a specific newsgroup or hierarchy, thus allowing simple
entries that won't affect other users with a similar name or alias
(unless one happens to post in that same newsgroup[s] unexpectedly)

example.hierarchy.* flag:-86fro from:*alias1*|*alias2*|*alias3*|...
...

see the faq https://web.archive.org/web/*/nfilter.org/faq.html

... >https://web.archive.org/web/20000609150823/http://www.nfilter.org/faq.html >nfilter FAQ

(*relay to * * * * exit to neodome mail2news@neodome.net)

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s|b wrote:

SSL supposed to be added since 3.2: <https://www.forteinc.com/release/notes.php?id=33>

But perhaps Free Agent 3.3, like the latest version of 40Tude Dialog,
uses a version of SSL that is no longer compatible with the current
version of the TLS protocol.

--
Denis
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MacCafé - Newsreader for macOS
<https://maccafe.fr/en>

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On Sat, 7 Jun 2025 13:30:24 -0000 (UTC), DV wrote:

I'd say that the Forté website misinformed me: I didn't see any link on
the home page to the ‘download-all’ page you mention.

AGENT 8 > Agent Newsreader Downloads > Go here to Download Older
Versions of Agent

Well, I followed your links and downloaded Forté Agent 3.3 (on Windows
10), and when I installed it I was given the choice between the trial
version and the free version.

That's weird. I've always been told 3.3 didn't offer that choice and
that it reverted to Free automatically after 30 days.

So I installed Free Agent to test it out. First problem: it was unable
to obtain a secure connection to my usual server via port 563. (To be
honest, the same problem occurs with 40Tude Dialog).

SSL supposed to be added since 3.2: <https://www.forteinc.com/release/notes.php?id=33>

I found the same limitations that had bothered me during my previous
test: no filters, no killfile, and even the impossibility of changing
the order in which messages are displayed.

OK, that's a PITA.

Finally, after installing the French dictionary, Free Agent
systematically freezes on launch. Sorry, but I won't go any further.

Well, tnx for trying.

Some consider Agent to be abandonware since the order form hasn't worked
for some time:

<https://www.forteinc.com/agent/order-form.php>

People handing out license keys on auorfa...

--
s|b

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On Sat, 7 Jun 2025 21:11:31 -0000 (UTC), DV wrote:

But perhaps Free Agent 3.3, like the latest version of 40Tude Dialog,
uses a version of SSL that is no longer compatible with the current
version of the TLS protocol.

I think some sort of SSL tunnel software can be used to solve this, but
then you're running 2 programs instead of 1.

--
s|b

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"s|b" <me@privacy.invalid> composa la prose suivante:

On Sat, 7 Jun 2025 13:30:24 -0000 (UTC), DV wrote:

I'd say that the Forté website misinformed me: I didn't see any link on
the home page to the ‘download-all’ page you mention.

AGENT 8 > Agent Newsreader Downloads > Go here to Download Older
Versions of Agent

Well, I followed your links and downloaded Forté Agent 3.3 (on Windows
10), and when I installed it I was given the choice between the trial
version and the free version.

That's weird. I've always been told 3.3 didn't offer that choice and
that it reverted to Free automatically after 30 days.

So I installed Free Agent to test it out. First problem: it was unable
to obtain a secure connection to my usual server via port 563. (To be
honest, the same problem occurs with 40Tude Dialog).

SSL supposed to be added since 3.2: ><https://www.forteinc.com/release/notes.php?id=33>

I found the same limitations that had bothered me during my previous
test: no filters, no killfile, and even the impossibility of changing
the order in which messages are displayed.

OK, that's a PITA.

I use Forte Agent and it's false.

Filter, killfile and changing order of displayed messages exist in Forte Agent since year and year.

Some consider Agent to be abandonware since the order form hasn't worked
for some time:

Yes, but one guy on english groups as contact them sucefully (if I remember correctly)

<https://www.forteinc.com/agent/order-form.php>

"Copyright © 1994-2025"
The web site is not out ;-)

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On Sun, 08 Jun 2025 19:28:48 +0200, Jean-Paul wrote:

I use Forte Agent and it's false.

Filter, killfile and changing order of displayed messages exist in Forte Agent
since year and year.

We're talking about Forté *Free* Agent 3.3.

<https://www.forteinc.com/agent/order-form.php>

"Copyright © 1994-2025"
The web site is not out ;-)

Not so long ago the website was down for some time. I have (had) access
to their internal newsserver (beta testing) and that's been down for
ages.

Try and sign up to their Agent Usenet service and you'll get 'This Form
is Disabled' as well. The website might be up, but it's not working
100%.

--
s|b

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Jean-Paul wrote:

I use Forte Agent and it's false.

Filter, killfile and changing order of displayed messages exist in Forte Agent
since year and year.

That's not the point. These features, like many others, are disabled in
the *free* version. The filter and killfile commands are present in the
menu, but when you click on them, you get an alert saying that these
commands are only available in the paid version. The same alert appears
when you click on a column header to change the order in which messages
are displayed.

--
Denis
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MacCafé - Newsreader for macOS
<https://maccafe.fr/en>

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"s|b" <me@privacy.invalid> composa la prose suivante:

On Sun, 08 Jun 2025 19:28:48 +0200, Jean-Paul wrote:

I use Forte Agent and it's false.

Filter, killfile and changing order of displayed messages exist in Forte Agent
since year and year.

We're talking about Forté *Free* Agent 3.3.

You're right about that.
I've been using a *paid* version of Agent for so long that I've forgotten that these features are reserved for the paid version.
Sorry.

<https://www.forteinc.com/agent/order-form.php>

"Copyright © 1994-2025"
The web site is not out ;-)

Not so long ago the website was down for some time. I have (had) access
to their internal newsserver (beta testing) and that's been down for
ages.

Try and sign up to their Agent Usenet service and you'll get 'This Form
is Disabled' as well. The website might be up, but it's not working
100%.

Yes, it's minimal. Just to say they are alive.

Someone reported that they had managed to obtain a paid, legal
version 8 (with difficulty).

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