Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual

Newsgroups

Newsgroups have nothing to do with news; in fact, they’re Internet bulletin boards. There are hundreds of thousands of them on every conceivable topic: pop culture, computers, politics, and every other special (and very special) interest; in fact, there are thousands just about Windows. You can use Mail to read and reply to these messages almost exactly as though they were email messages.

Subscribing to a Newsgroup

Subscribing to your first newsgroup can be quite an experience, simply because there are just so many newsgroups to choose from.

To get started with newsgroups, click the Newsgroups button (lower left of the Mail window), or press Shift+Ctrl+L.

UP TO SPEED: Newsgroups Explained

Newsgroups (often called Usenet) started out as a way for people to conduct discussions via a bulletin board–like system, in which a message is posted for all to see and reply to. These public discussions are divided into categories called newsgroups, which cover the gamut from photographic techniques to naval aviation.

These days, Usenet has a certain seedy reputation as a place to exchange pornography, pirated software, and MP3 files with doubtful copyright pedigrees. Even so, there are tens of thousands of interesting, informative discussions going on, and newsgroups are great places to get help with troubleshooting, to exchange recipes, or just to see what’s on the minds of your fellow Usenet fans.

On the Accounts tab of the Ribbon, click Newsgroup. A wizard walks you through adding your ...