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

• Article – Another name for a Message. Articles are individual Usenet posts submitted to a newsgroup.

• Article Retention – The period Tweaknews retains articles on its servers. High article retention allows broader access to older discussions.

• Auto Headers – A feature in NewsBin (Version 5) that keeps group headers up to date automatically.

• 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.

• Automatic Shutdown – A setting in NewsBin (Version 4) that closes the application once all selected groups have finished processing.

• Automatic Startup – In NewsBin (Version 4), enables header downloading to begin as soon as the software launches.

• Bandwidth – The data transmission capacity of an Internet connection, usually measured in Mbps. Tweaknews supports multiple connections for maximum use.

• Bandwidth Limiter – A setting in NewsBin that allows users to limit bandwidth usage.

• Beta – A testing stage for software before final release. May still include bugs.

• Cache Chunks – When enabled in NewsBin, stores chunks of posts in memory for faster assembly.

• Chunk – A piece of a multi-part post. Stored temporarily until all parts are received.

• Compact View – A layout setting in NewsBin that reduces visual clutter by grouping multi-part posts into single lines.

• Connection – A communication path to a Usenet server. More connections typically improve speed.

• Connection Limit – The maximum number of simultaneous server connections NewsBin allows. Up to 100.

• Crash – An unexpected termination of the NewsBin application.

• Display Age – Determines how many days of headers are displayed when a group is opened in NewsBin.

• Download Age – Controls how far back NewsBin retrieves headers from the server.

• Download Limit – Any set threshold for data retrieval over a given period.

• Download Path – The directory where NewsBin saves articles. Configurable by group or globally.

• Enabled – Indicates a feature or setting is turned on.

• Fill – Reposted data meant to complete missing parts of a post. Also refers to servers that activate when others fail to retrieve the article.

• Filters – Tools for narrowing displayed results or excluding unwanted posts in NewsBin.

• Freeze – See Stall.

• FTR – First Time Records. Deprecated; replaced by Display Age.

• GIF – A limited-color image format. Common in early Internet use but largely replaced by PNG.

• Groups – See Newsgroups.

• Hang – See Stall.

• Header – Metadata in a Usenet article, including subject, date, and sender. Used for indexing.

• Indexer – A service that organizes headers and produces NZBs for simplified access.

• JPEG – A common image format with strong compression. Uses .jpg extension.

• Lock Up – A system condition where input is no longer responsive.

• Master Splitter – A program for dividing large data into numbered segments. NewsBin can reassemble them.

• Message – The main unit of communication on Usenet. Contains a header and a message body.

• Message ID – A unique, server-independent identifier assigned to each Usenet message.

• MP3 – Digital audio format using MPEG-1 compression.

• MPA – See Max Post Age.

• MPG – Compressed video file format.

• Multi-part Post – A single post divided into smaller parts. NewsBin merges them for reading.

• Multi-threaded – Describes software that can perform multiple tasks at once.

• New – Indicates articles that have not been read. In NewsBin v5, this status applies until all parts are marked.

• NewsBin – A robust client for accessing Usenet, retrieving articles, and decoding multi-part posts.

• Newsgroup – A forum for topic-specific discussions within Usenet.

• NZB – A file format that references message IDs to simplify article retrieval.

• Part – A section of a Usenet post or a file in an archive.

• PNG – A modern image format with lossless compression.

• POS – Informal label for malfunctioning software.

• Post – A message sent to a Usenet group or the act of sending it.

• Post ID – See Message ID.

• Poster – The user who submitted the article.

• Post List – Interface in NewsBin that shows articles in a group.

• Quade – The developer responsible for creating NewsBin.

• RAR – A file compression format used to package multi-part articles.

• Record Number – A unique article number tied to a specific server.

• Recycle Servers – A NewsBin (Version 4) mode that restarts article processing from the beginning after a delay.

• Restart Delay – Specifies the waiting period before restarting in Recycle Servers mode.

• Robot – A utility for automating repetitive Usenet-related actions.

• Sequential – Refers to events occurring one after another.

• Signature Cache – Stores digital signatures of previously processed articles to detect duplicates.

• Simultaneous – Tasks that run at the same time.

• Size – The total data volume of a post.

• Spool – Where NewsBin stores header information for each group.

• SSL – Encryption protocol that secures the connection between the user and Tweaknews.

• Stackable – All applied filters must be satisfied for the post to appear.

• Stall – A temporary freeze or slowdown in NewsBin. May recover automatically.

• Storage Age – Duration headers remain saved on the user’s device. Configurable globally.

• Subject – A description in the header, usually indicating what the post contains.

• Usenet – A worldwide, distributed discussion system organized by topic and accessed via newsgroups.

• UUEncode – Outdated encoding method for converting data into ASCII text. Replaced by yEnc.

• Virus – A harmful program that replicates and causes disruptions.

• yEnc – An efficient encoding format replacing UUEncode. Minimizes overhead to around 3%.