It wasn’t too long ago when we announced that Giganews was going to try to hit 240 days. We had a feeling that they were going to try to do something drastic- something that hadn’t been done with Usenet before, when we asked you how much retention was too much.

Giganews: 365 days retention! They just publically released that they have committed to achieving this, and they’re growing daily towards it.

What! I had to save this post for a few days, so you wouldn’t think this was an April Fool’s Day Prank- it’s just that insane. Compared to other top usenet providers like NewsHosting, Giganews just seems to be too good a value to pass up.

Have you switched Usenet providers or are you planning to? Who are you with? Let us know in the comments at NZBTrader.org

Pioneering and infamous Usenet index site, Newzbin, appears to be in quite the dilemma: a lawsuit threatening the site.

The administrators of Newzbin have made it explicitly clear that the legal complaints against them have nothing to do with their site users, and that the site users are safe and problem-free.

Newzbin Wrote:

Newzbin has recently received two serious complaints regarding the indexing we perform, and raising doubts as to its legality.

It is likely that we will in the coming weeks be presented with a court case and have to defend our rights. We will be defending ourselves vigorously against both the complainants if necessary and we believe a court will agree with our view that linking to content on Usenet is indeed legal and our method of dealing with unlawful content is appropriate. We believe that, or we wouldn’t still be here.

We are not in a position to disclose the identities of these two complainants (though I’m sure you can guess one of them) but we will report more as we can.

These cases are against us, not you. Having an account on Newzbin is not going to be a problem for you.

So, basically, if you start seeing press releases that legal action is commencing against us, don’t be alarmed – we know, and indeed it’s a good thing that we’re getting these issues laid to rest.

Remember these things take time however, so it’s unlikely we’ll have further news for another few weeks – please don’t hassle us for information, we will give you it when we have it.

What implications could this lawsuit have on newsgroup usage and other NZB sites? Have your say in the comments at the NZB Blog at NZBTrader.org

One of the leading usenet service providers, Giganews, is expecting to announce a retention of 240 days by the end of this month. Coupled with its new acceptance of the popular online payment gateway PayPal, more and more users are finding it difficult to say no to the NNTP giant. But does more retention really deliver more value?

Having greater usenet retention can debated as having greater freedom. More freedom to download what you want, and when you want it. As Giganews strives to increase its retention for users, other providers are either struggling to keep up, or have given up altogether, left to hover around the 100 day mark. I can only guess that Giganews is aiming to hit a retention of 365 days (one full year), but is that giving us more value by having an account? Would we even use it, or do we tend to grab things as they are released?

Is it too much? Tell us in the blog comments at The NZB Blog at NZBTrader.org

Adult content on usenet is nothing new. It can be found anywhere, in any newsgroup, and is often just plain old spam… and you don’t have to be an old usenet junkie to know it.

Spam and usenet seems to go hand in hand, so that makes indexing its content even hard. Especially for those striving to keep it uncensored. It’s in finding that balance between censorship and quality that we can begin to regrow usenet with its original roots. AdultNZB.com progessively harvests usenet porn content while trying to filter out as much spam as possible, while making its website easy to use. And what’s better than being easy to use? Being able to do it for free! AdultNZB charges you nothing and has no login system.

What do you think? Discuss it in the comments at NZBTrader.org

Well, there was a short delay, but UsenetVault has officially launched!

I signed up for their free usenet trial and so far so good. I’ll post an in-depth review after a sufficient amount of time has passed. I’m really excited about a new provider entering the scene. These guys have something to prove, with other providers being around for years, and I can’t wait to see how this aggressive competition will benefit the consumer!

Their website also says they have 120+ days retention, opposed to the 100+ days which we had reported earlier. I have yet to verify this, but alas- it will be included in my service review.

Check it: http://www.usenetvault.com/

We have just added a usenet dictionary or glossary containing common terms related to Usenet!

Terms related to NSPs, retention, completion, newsgroups, and more have been added! If you have any suggestions, or words you’d like us to explain, email us at info @ nzbtrader.org

Check out the definitions here:

http://nzbtrader.org/definitions

A new Usenet provider is tying its shoes and stretching, anticipating to hit the ground running into an already large and competitve market.

UseNetVault is expecting to launch its usenet services on Monday, June 16th, 2008. Offering both monthly subscription accounts as well as slotted accounts, known as “pooled” or “bucket” accounts, allowing users to get prepaid accounts based on his/her anticipated bandwidth usage; these slotted accounts are valid for up to 12 months.

What we can expect:

• 100+ days binary retention
• SSL enabled for no extra cost
• 20 concurrent connections on all accounts
• Live support 24/7
• 100, 000+ available newsgroups
• and over 99.8% completion rate

Most conveniently, UseNetVault will also be accepting PayPal as a payment method (along with all major credit cards). This comes as a huge relief to many users! Very few news providers accept PayPal, despite the large demand, due to PP’s unwillingness work with usenet-related groups.

A word to the pirates:
While we can assume they will comply with the DMCA, posting can be enabled on all accounts at no extra charge.

A word to the spammers:
Don’t even think about it. Spammers will be shut off without notice. Save your pyramid schemes and cell phones from Nigeria for phpBB forums.

A word to the webmasters:
Affiliate and referral systems will be in place (just don’t expect it for a few weeks after launch), giving you the opportunity to get cash back or credits to your account for signup leads you direct to them. A pretty sweet way to get someone else to pay for your Usenet access, without having to do anything.

Find out more here: http://www.usenetvault.com/

Update June 18, 2008:
UsenetVault is now OPEN!

NZBTrader is not affiliated with UseNetVault in any way. Thanks to Dwight at UseNetVault for this exclusive information.

Giganews, the world’s largest premium Usenet service provider, is now offering support for custom usernames for their new and existing members. Support for this new feature is an attempt by Giganews to improve their members’ user experience.

New Giganews members will now have the option to create their own custom username when they sign up for a Giganews account. For existing members, the process is just as easy.

Existing Giganews members need only sign into their Giganews control panel and select the “Change Username” link on the panel’s homepage. There the current member will enter their desired username and click “Change Username“. An existing member’s newly changed username will be in effect about 15 minutes after they have submitted it for change.

Giganews is currently the leading usenet provider with 200 days retention!

To find out more about Giganews, check them out their site:
http://www.giganews.com/

I’m just setting up the blog now… so bare with me as I get this show on the road.

Usenet and NZBs are from an exciting world. This blog will be the one stop source for usenet related news, tutorials, and other fun stuff. Hopefully this’ll clear the air- there’s a lot of misinformation floating about.