Complete Usenet Glossary: Definitions for Every Key Term from Article Retention to yEnc
Tweaknews presents this glossary as a reference to help users understand the terminology used throughout Usenet services. It’s a practical guide for both new users and experienced readers.
Tweaknews Usenet Glossary
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Article – Another name for a Message. Articles are individual Usenet posts submitted to a newsgroup.
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Article Retention – The period Tweaknews retains articles on its servers. High article retention allows broader access to older discussions.
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Auto Headers – A feature in NewsBin (Version 5) that keeps group headers up to date automatically.
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Automatic Download – Available in NewsBin (Version 4), this feature retrieves all data from selected groups, applying any filters. It can loop when combined with Recycle Servers.
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Automatic Shutdown – A setting in NewsBin (Version 4) that closes the application once all selected groups have finished processing.
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Automatic Startup – In NewsBin (Version 4), enables header downloading to begin as soon as the software launches.
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Bandwidth – The data transmission capacity of an Internet connection, usually measured in Mbps. Tweaknews supports multiple connections for maximum use.
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Bandwidth Limiter – A setting in NewsBin that allows users to limit bandwidth usage.
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Beta – A testing stage for software before final release. May still include bugs.
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Cache Chunks – When enabled in NewsBin, stores chunks of posts in memory for faster assembly.
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Chunk – A piece of a multi-part post. Stored temporarily until all parts are received.
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Compact View – A layout setting in NewsBin that reduces visual clutter by grouping multi-part posts into single lines.
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Connection – A communication path to a Usenet server. More connections typically improve speed.
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Connection Limit – The maximum number of simultaneous server connections NewsBin allows. Up to 100.
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Crash – An unexpected termination of the NewsBin application.
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Display Age – Determines how many days of headers are displayed when a group is opened in NewsBin.
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Download Age – Controls how far back NewsBin retrieves headers from the server.
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Download Limit – Any set threshold for data retrieval over a given period.
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Download Path – The directory where NewsBin saves articles. Configurable by group or globally.
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Enabled – Indicates a feature or setting is turned on.
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Fill – Reposted data meant to complete missing parts of a post. Also refers to servers that activate when others fail to retrieve the article.
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Filters – Tools for narrowing displayed results or excluding unwanted posts in NewsBin.
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Freeze – See Stall.
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FTR – First Time Records. Deprecated; replaced by Display Age.
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GIF – A limited-color image format. Common in early Internet use but largely replaced by PNG.
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Groups – See Newsgroups.
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Hang – See Stall.
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Header – Metadata in a Usenet article, including subject, date, and sender. Used for indexing.
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Indexer – A service that organizes headers and produces NZBs for simplified access.
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JPEG – A common image format with strong compression. Uses .jpg extension.
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Lock Up – A system condition where input is no longer responsive.
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Master Splitter – A program for dividing large data into numbered segments. NewsBin can reassemble them.
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Message – The main unit of communication on Usenet. Contains a header and a message body.
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Message ID – A unique, server-independent identifier assigned to each Usenet message.
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MP3 – Digital audio format using MPEG-1 compression.
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MPA – See Max Post Age.
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MPG – Compressed video file format.
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Multi-part Post – A single post divided into smaller parts. NewsBin merges them for reading.
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Multi-threaded – Describes software that can perform multiple tasks at once.
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New – Indicates articles that have not been read. In NewsBin v5, this status applies until all parts are marked.
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NewsBin – A robust client for accessing Usenet, retrieving articles, and decoding multi-part posts.
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Newsgroup – A forum for topic-specific discussions within Usenet.
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NZB – A file format that references message IDs to simplify article retrieval.
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Part – A section of a Usenet post or a file in an archive.
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PNG – A modern image format with lossless compression.
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POS – Informal label for malfunctioning software.
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Post – A message sent to a Usenet group or the act of sending it.
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Post ID – See Message ID.
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Poster – The user who submitted the article.
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Post List – Interface in NewsBin that shows articles in a group.
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Quade – The developer responsible for creating NewsBin.
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RAR – A file compression format used to package multi-part articles.
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Record Number – A unique article number tied to a specific server.
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Recycle Servers – A NewsBin (Version 4) mode that restarts article processing from the beginning after a delay.
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Restart Delay – Specifies the waiting period before restarting in Recycle Servers mode.
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Robot – A utility for automating repetitive Usenet-related actions.
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Sequential – Refers to events occurring one after another.
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Signature Cache – Stores digital signatures of previously processed articles to detect duplicates.
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Simultaneous – Tasks that run at the same time.
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Size – The total data volume of a post.
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Spool – Where NewsBin stores header information for each group.
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SSL – Encryption protocol that secures the connection between the user and Tweaknews.
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Stackable – All applied filters must be satisfied for the post to appear.
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Stall – A temporary freeze or slowdown in NewsBin. May recover automatically.
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Storage Age – Duration headers remain saved on the user’s device. Configurable globally.
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Subject – A description in the header, usually indicating what the post contains.
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Usenet – A worldwide, distributed discussion system organized by topic and accessed via newsgroups.
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UUEncode – Outdated encoding method for converting data into ASCII text. Replaced by yEnc.
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Virus – A harmful program that replicates and causes disruptions.
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yEnc – An efficient encoding format replacing UUEncode. Minimizes overhead to around 3%.