Last Friday Newsdemon.com, one of the larger usenet providers, released the "Newsdemon Usenet Tester" on their company blog. The tool is designed to test a connection to any usenet server while also checking if a specific group you specify can be accessed; however, it doesn't seem to work with other news providers despite it's premise. While all tools are usually handy to at least someone, we're left wondering as to the real reasons for release and why Newsdemon claims that it will work with any provider.
NewsDemon.com Newsgroups today is proud to present a new software release, the NewsDemon.com Newsgroups USENET Tester. The USENET Tester tool is designed to assist in testing and verifying any USENET access account. The Newsdemon Blog
As you can see (at the time of writing), the above quote was taken directly off Newsdemon's blog and testifies that they did indeed intend for the tool to work with any provider. Here at UsenetShack we were lucky enough to be in a situation where we could test it with a Newsdemon account and one from another provider (in this case Giganews). The program was downloaded (version 5 according to the zip filename, version 1.0 according to the help window) and tested with both accounts by simply entering a usenet server along with your username and password.
On testing with our Newsdemon account, the testing tool checks out 100% fine with the default binary group of alt.test. However, on entering the other providers details and hitting connect - the program adds a "p" to the start of the username and then shows the "TEST FAILED ! Please check the hostname and your network connection". We can't tell if the lookup or authentication is failing, so we can't tell if the extra "p" is causing the issue or whether the connection would have failed anyway.
Whether the programming behind these flaws was deliberate is a question only Newsdemon can answer and we look forward to their comment on the matter and hopefully an update to the program. The issue could simply be due to the fact that all Newsdemon accounts start with "p" and therefore it is an auto-complete of some kind but then why say it works with all providers? What can be said is that this is a very misleading bug in a tool that was designed for newbies who may not even realise this glitch that would be obvious to others; it certainly does not help with the "ongoing pursuit to help customers simplify their USENET experience." [Newsdemon]
Until Newsdemon fix this issue, we recommend using the Simple Little Usenet Tool as this does actually work cross-provider and also raises the questions as to why another tool was needed. More as we get it.
Update 28.July.2009: Newsdemon have posted on their twitter account - turns out they accidentally released Version 1 instead of Version 5 (which would account for the differences in the version we noticed). They will be re-releasing the tool as soon as it's ready and you can be assured we'll be looking at it again sometime in the future.
11 Comments
Used Newsdemon for a year and found them excellent Started to get 502 authentication error 2 days ago Contacted them through Live Support which was always excellent They just let it time out each time (it disconnects after 4 mins) Sent them a tweet directly and got no reply After I complained in tweet about Live Chat, they put it offline Spent yesterday following them again Got through to Live Chat twice Was assured my account would be reset within 25 mins Here I am today, 2 days later, with no access still!!! Just spoke to 3rd guy on Live Chat now Said to wait 20 mins again Asked him what the issue was, told him how unhappy I was and how disappointed I was after recommending them numerous times to people over the last year and he TOTALLY ignored my questions and comments, just repeating to me to check again in 20 minutes!! I will NEVER use them again. Their treatment of customers is absolutely DISGRACEFUL Obviously something has changed there, maybe new owners, I don’t know?? Ultimately, if you read this, do NOT go near Newsdemon!!! You will regret it if you do TOTAL WASTE OF TIME & USELESS COMPANY WHO DISREGARD PAYING CUSTOMERS
I too have been unable to get a response from them, I have had 3 error 502 reports in the last 2 weeks, first 2 were dealt with immediately in a very professional manner, however this time they are totally ignoring me for 2 days and 3 messages to them on live support. I too have stated my intention to go to another newsgroup provider but even that does not spur them into action. They are falling from grace, sad end to the number 3 provider!
То save one's bacon.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
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