Genecast News Service FAQ

What content types do you support?

Sat, 30 Nov 2002 13:25:09 GMT

The Genecast News Service supports XML content only.

Supported document types are RDF (including RSS 1.0), RSS up to version 2.0 and OPML.

The HTTP response must carry one of the following MIME types in the content-type header:
- text/plain
- text/xml
- application/xml
- application/rdf+xml
- application/rss+xml

What is Genecast News Service?

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 14:12:23 GMT

The Genecast News Service is a news aggregator. It is collecting news and weblog updates 24 hours per day, from around the world.

The Genecast News Service converts these newsfeeds and weblogs to Usenet News. This means you can use any newsreader, such as Netscape or Microsoft Outlook Express, to access the Genecast News Service. If you set up your newsreader to check for new messages regularly, news will pop up in your inbox automatically.

The Genecast News Service runs on the Genecast server -- NOT on your PC. This means you do not have to download and install special software. Unlike other news aggregators, there's no need to stay on-line for longer periods of time, and wait for software to scan the web. The Genecast News Service is up-to-date when you connect, and synchronizes your newsreader in seconds.

You can experience the Genecast News Service right now. Go to the configuration page to read about how to set up your newsreader to access the free server, which is open for anonymous access.

What is the difference between GNS and Usenet?

Thu, 21 Nov 2002 14:38:41 GMT

Usenet is a global discussion framework, that anyone can post to. The Genecast News Service is not a part of this -- it has its own way of spanning the globe.

You can see the Genecast News Service as a private Usenet. The Genecast News Service is technically similar to Usenet, in that it implements the NNTP protocol and can therefor be accessed with any NNTP client (newsreader).

The Genecast News Service is different from Usenet because it is disjoint, requires a subscription, and you cannot directly post to it. All messages are created from XML newsfeeds that are continuously collected from around the world. It is also different because any one can create a newsgroup instantly, by adding the newsfeed URL on the submission page.

Where did you get that server software?

Thu, 21 Nov 2002 13:38:35 GMT

The Genecast News Service was coded entirely from scratch, by me, in 100% pure Java. It is fully integrated with the application server from Caucho, featuring EJB 2.0, that serves the websites. The platform is Debian GNU/Linux 3.1, running an RDBMS application back-end.

The NNTP server is fully compliant with RFC 977, including common extensions, and RFC 1036. It features NTLM authentication -- a Microsoft proprietary challenge/response protocol, multipart/alternative formatted MIME messages with both HTML and plain text content, multi-threaded culling, conversion from most character encodings to 7-bit ASCII, and support for all common XML formats, including OPML.

What is Usenet?

Thu, 21 Nov 2002 13:14:59 GMT

For a formal answer to that question you best ask Google or check out usenet.org.

The following is an excerpt from a Usenet FAQ.
Usenet is a world-wide distributed discussion system. It consists of a set of "newsgroups" with names that are classified hierarchically by subject. "Articles" are "posted" to these newsgroups by people on computers with the appropriate software. These articles are then broadcast to other interconnected computer systems via a wide variety of networks.

Genecast News Service
You must realize, however, that the Genecast News Service is not (part of) Usenet. It is technically similar, but disjoint. Look at the Genecast News Service as a private Usenet.

How does your newsfeed collection stay up-to-date?

Wed, 20 Nov 2002 10:55:55 GMT

There are two mechanism in place.

The first one is you, who's regularly adding new feeds on the submission page.

Secondly, the Genecast News Service recognizes subscription and blogroll URL's in RSS feeds. It requests these URL's and parses the content to create subscription and blogroll messages in the newsgroup, and adds any new XML newsfeeds it encounters to the service.

Can I try before I buy?

Wed, 20 Nov 2002 09:58:04 GMT

Sure. The Genecast News Service has a free server, freenews.genecast.com, that supports anonymous access. It contains a limited amount of newsfeeds.

Read all about how to set up your newsreader to try the Genecast News Service, at this configuration page.

Did I miss stuff by not reading the other sections?

Thu, 14 Nov 2002 16:24:26 GMT

Read these configuration tips, even if you're not using MS Outlook Express.

Do you have some useful configuration tips?

Thu, 14 Nov 2002 16:20:06 GMT

The following applies to MS Outlook Express. If you're not using Outlook Express, check if your newsreader has similar options.

1. If you have a permanent internet connection, select the option "include this account when checking for new messages", in the account properties dialog.

2. Disable the option "delete news messages ... days after being downloaded". This can be very confusing when reading weblogs. It is on tab "Maintenance" when you select "Options" from the "Tools" menu.

3. You may find it convenient to enable the option "mark all messages as read when exiting a newsgroup". This option is on tab "Read" when you select "Options" from the "Tools" menu.

What is XML?

Mon, 04 Nov 2002 21:16:39 GMT

Mind if I bring in the experts? W3School.com has an excellent introduction and tutorial.

What are common mistakes in feed content?

Mon, 04 Nov 2002 20:50:34 GMT

Dates
Are either missing or incorrectly formatted. Even professional news sites regularly don't bother to put a timestamp on their content, or make up some random format.

If you want your stream to be properly processed by anything non-human, make sure dates are formatted according to RFC 822.

Character encoding
It can happen to anyone. Your stream doesn't properly define its character encoding. All goes well until at one point you use special characters. Parsers that attempt to read your XML feed, expecting UTF-8 by default, may now return gibberish or come to a grinding halt.

Can I post to newsgroups?

Mon, 04 Nov 2002 20:25:42 GMT

No, you can not post to the newsgroups in the Genecast News Service. All content is generated from XML newsfeeds.

If you want to be present in the Genecast News Service, set up an XML newsfeed and add the URL to the Genecast server at this submission page.

Who's moderating these newsgroups?

Mon, 04 Nov 2002 20:19:33 GMT

No one is. The Genecast News Service is completely automated.

Anyone can add a newsfeed/newsgroup to the service, using this submission page. A name for the newsgroup will be generated from the feed title or description. The new feed will be available as a newsgroup immediately.

Occasionally I rename newsgroups to more appropriate distributions like "news", "sports", "technology", etc. When this happens the old newsgroup will contain a status message indicating the transition (for some time -- after which the newsgroup will be removed).

How long are messages stored on the server?

Mon, 04 Nov 2002 20:09:02 GMT

A newsgroup contains exactly what the corresponding XML feed contains. This means that messages are deleted from the server as soon as they disappear from the newsfeed.

Why does MS Outlook Express not remember my password?

Mon, 04 Nov 2002 17:27:15 GMT

Here are two possible answers to that question.

Secure Password Authentication
While implementing NTLM auhtentication for the Genecast server I noticed the following: Outlook Express remembers the account credentials you enter when setting up your account perfectly well when you leave the option "log on using secure password authentication" UNchecked.

As soon as you choose to log on with secure password authentication, Outlook Express forgets the username/password combination you specified and attempts to log on with your local windows account settings. When this fails, it prompts you to enter your password manually.

Although it is inconvenient to have to manually enter your Genecast password when you start Outlook Express, we strongly recommend that you use the "secure password authentication" option.

Multi-user access
If you attempt to access the Genecast News Service from multiple computers simultaneously, the server denies access to log-in requests exceeding the subscription maximum. This causes Outlook Express to bring up the password dialog.

Why does MS Outlook Express ask for my password twice?

Mon, 04 Nov 2002 17:25:07 GMT

Most newsreaders, including MS Outlook Express, make multiple simultaneous connections with the Genecast server. For example, one connection to fetch the message you just selected, and one to check if there are new messages in the active newsgroup.

When Outlook Express needs your account credentials, it may prompt you with several password dialogs at the same time -- one for each active connection. Unfortunately this is normal behaviour. There's nothing you can do but enter your password twice. Outlook Express should not bother you again as long as it is running.

How good are your GETs?

Sun, 03 Nov 2002 11:08:04 GMT

Excellent -- thanks.

HTTP requests for XML feeds done by the Genecast News Service carry the "if-modified-since" and "if-none-match" headers when possible, as described by RFC 2616.

Where can I find information on how to set up my newsreader?

Sun, 03 Nov 2002 10:57:36 GMT

You'll find it on the Genecast News Service configuration page.