Newsgroups filtering certain posts?

[barf0r]

Hi has anyone else noticed certain posts not appearing on ntl/virgin's newsgroups?

I know a while ago they got rid of some more popular groups like a.b.boneless
But in one of the ones they didn't get rid of, a.b.games, I've noticed that certain posts haven't been turning up lately. I know the posts are there because binsearch.info reports them and I have a pay by download account with astraweb which I can get them from.


So is NTL filtering certain posts? Can anyone confirm?

[Web-Junkie]

Yup, been doing that for a while! You search Binnews or whatever for posts and check it's a group on NTL and when you grab the headers/NZB's it's not there!! Yet on my pay newswerver the post IS there!

Welcome to the world of VTL/Virgin News!

[Mick Fisher]

I doubt it's filtering.

Most likely to be just due to poor retention.

[Web-Junkie]

Poor retention where? Virgin/NTL news is about 10 Days, where talking posts that show up on a pay server but never make it to the Virgin/NTL groups on the same day!

Either they are blocking certain ISP's or News servers or there is a leak in the newsfeed to Virgin/NTL!

[brundles]

Is this affecting just the NTL server or the Blueyonder server too?

I had been looking at setting up my client to go for the Blueyonder server first and only my paid server if that doesn't have the posts. No point in that if they're filtering the ones I'm after though.

Ironicly, the only reason I'm looking at setting this up is to keep VMs external carriage costs down! I'm getting full speed from my paid server (and will be keeping that) but am quite happy to use VMs and keep the transfers internal if I can.

[barf0r]

Yeah its definately not retention. I check a few hours after the post and its not there. Then I check for the next 4 days and it never shows up. All the while its on my pay server.


I believe these posts do make it to the blueyonder servers as I downloaded some when I was at my parents house. But I can't get them off the NTL servers.

Is there any way for an NTL customer to connect to the blueyonder servers?
When I tried news.blueyonder.co.uk it said I wasn't recognised (can't remember the exact error right now and not on that computer).

[Richy99]

no you cannot use blueyonders servers if you are ntl side and vice versa

[brundles]

I might try re-configuring my news client again then. When I tried last night it ran at max speed for an hour and half without actually getting any of the post data.

I'll give it another go in case it's my client but I have a suspicion that's been standardised. Although as mentioned it is something VM might want to look in to as a way of reducing external carriage costs. If people are going to hammer these particular groups anyway then why force them external. :confused:

[Web-Junkie]

Could be a crosspost filter on NTL servers? If the posts are crossposted to more than say 2 or 3 groups then they may get rejected hence never show up on NTL servers?

[Player22]

NTL/Virgin should drop all Newsgroup/USENET access, 95% illegal usage with only less than 2% of customers using the service.

[barf0r]

Could be a crosspost filter on NTL servers? If the posts are crossposted to more than say 2 or 3 groups then they may get rejected hence never show up on NTL servers?
Why would posts to more than one group be filtered out? Should they not keep the post for at least one group instead of removing from all groups?

Is there basically no way for me to get these posts from NTL's servers? Need to use my payserver for them? Could NTL not be asked to stop filtering posts to the groups, as like brundles said, "If people are going to hammer these particular groups anyway then why force them external.".


NTL/Virgin should drop all Newsgroup/USENET access, 95% illegal usage with only less than 2% of customers using the service.
This thread isn't about whether NTL should carry newsgroups. Lets save this argument for another time.

[Web-Junkie]

Crosspost filtering is to avoid BULK SPAMMING of newsgroups, it may be setup to reject ALL the post as SPAM if the crosspost threshold is exceeded.

But this is all a guess, there's no evidence that crosspost filtering is the cause!

[DABhand]

So people understand most of these public sites posting posts in groups are days old.

They are not usually posted on the same day its been sent.


And also depending on your reader, make sure words like .com isnt filtered.

[barf0r]

Its definitely not an issue with retention. I know for a fact the post is under a day old when I first check. And I check again after a day and two days and it doesn't appear.

[Carl J]

Bad completion. It happens.

Problems with spools, incoming news feed being incomplete, a few reasons why but filtering isn't going to be one of them.

[Mick Fisher]

It is an established fact that ISP's news servers are, in the main, crap for a whole variety of reasons.

To that lengthy list you can now add "Very poor propagation". :)

[Web-Junkie]

Bad completion. It happens.

Problems with spools, incoming news feed being incomplete, a few reasons why but filtering isn't going to be one of them.

Maybe, but explain why NONE of the parts from those posts EVER get to the servers, even the PARS, SFVs and NFOs if posted? If it was bad completion you'd think SOME of the parts would get through at least? It can't be the message size being too big as we'd see only the smaller parts plus PARS, SFVs and NFOs from posts appearing, but the WHOLE post going AWOL just smacks of filtering or somekind of deliberate intervention.

[Carl J]

Maybe, but explain why NONE of the parts from those posts EVER get to the servers, even the PARS, SFVs and NFOs if posted? If it was bad completion you'd think SOME of the parts would get through at least? It can't be the message size being too big as we'd see only the smaller parts plus PARS, SFVs and NFOs from posts appearing, but the WHOLE post going AWOL just smacks of filtering or somekind of deliberate intervention.

Perhaps bad news peering then and VM's servers not having a feed from wherever they're posted.

I should mention that if VM were to start filtering specific content on Usenet (as opposed to dropping entire groups) that does actually mean they lose 'common carrier' protection which is the reason ISPs don't get their asses sued off for what their news servers hold. ;)

[lucadam]

i know this is not the right thread, but does anyone know what this phone number may be 001111, when check last recieved call. tried phone but am told dialled incorrectly:confused:

[AndyIggs83]

Have any of you ever considered buying usenet access?

Its so much more reliable and if your not downloading very much, it isn't that expensive

[Babbage11]

I'm on the BY side of the network and to get full completion have to point newsbin at all 3 BY news servers, fe1, fe2 and news. Header counts are different a lot of the time. Not sure what the setup on Ntl side is, but assume it would be similar. If you haven't already done so, find out names of all Ntl servers, then point reader at all of them. BTW, if you are in an area where traffic shaping is being trialled, doing this can kick in shaping.

You mention a.b.boneless being missing on Ntl side, wonder if now they've joined together, it will disappear from BY side? Hope not. So far never had to resort to pay servers.

[barf0r]

I am absolutely certain that NTL is filtering certain words in the headers.
In a.b.games the amount of incomplete files is about 0.5%, there is very good completion in that group. I don't believe it is to do with propagation as anything else I look for there is present.

All the posts which have been missing (and I mean missing completely - no .nfo, sfv or par files there either) over the past couple of weeks have had the same string in the header saying a website's name.
The fact that everything I look for in this group is there apart from posts containing that string can only mean that filtering is taking place.

Incidentally, posts with this website's name appear in other groups. It seems solely a.b.games which is affected (as far as I have noticed).
And its only NTL's servers which are doing it because the posts where there on the Blueyonder servers (I checked at my parents home).


Can any sort of complaint be made about this?

[Web-Junkie]

>Can any sort of complaint be made about this?<
Not if the posts are infringing copyrighted material!

[Hugh]

I am absolutely certain that NTL is filtering certain words in the headers.
In a.b.games the amount of incomplete files is about 0.5%, there is very good completion in that group. I don't believe it is to do with propagation as anything else I look for there is present.

All the posts which have been missing (and I mean missing completely - no .nfo, sfv or par files there either) over the past couple of weeks have had the same string in the header saying a website's name.
The fact that everything I look for in this group is there apart from posts containing that string can only mean that filtering is taking place.

Incidentally, posts with this website's name appear in other groups. It seems solely a.b.games which is affected (as far as I have noticed).
And its only NTL's servers which are doing it because the posts where there on the Blueyonder servers (I checked at my parents home).


Can any sort of complaint be made about this?

You could try, but according the Virgin Media AUP (http://http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/legal/oncable/acceptableuse.html) , if you are downloading "prohibited material", they can "Suspend, Restrict or Terminate Your Services"; so the question you have to ask yourself is - "Do you feel lucky?".
4. Use of Material

4.1. You are prohibited from storing, distributing, transmitting or causing to be published any Prohibited Material through your use of the Services. Examples of "Prohibited Material" shall be determined by us (acting in our sole discretion) and shall include (but are not limited to) material that:
4.1.1. is threatening, harassing, invasive of privacy, defamatory, racist, obscene, indecent, offensive, abusive, harmful or malicious;
4.1.2. infringes or breaches any third party's intellectual property rights (which shall include, but not be limited to copyright, trade mark, design rights, trade secrets, patents, moral rights, paternity rights and performance rights) - this includes the use, distribution and/or copying of any material without the express consent of the owner;
4.1.3. is in violation of any law or regulation that is enforceable in the United Kingdom;4.2. For the avoidance of doubt, the storage upon and/or distribution over our systems by any User of "pirated" software, or any other materials that are not expressly licensed to the User, will constitute a violation of this section 4 of the AUP.