Apart from email, there are two very easy lines of communication between members. They are the Newsgroup and the Web Forum. These are both mirror images of each other, but can be accessed in different ways. If you prefer to keep up to date by accessing the Web Forum all you have to do is follow this link.
There you will find the main Forums page which will keep you up to date with the many newsgroups VROC has to offer. VROC Techtalk is the main one to keep in contact with VROC Members Worldwide. The DUVROC forum can be found at the bottom of the page.
While it may look complicated for those who are not "Computer Confident", Toa has written a guide on how to access the Newsgroup via Outlook Express. Other Email programs can also be used, but Outlook Express seems to be the most popular. Simply follow his instructions and you will be cruising the newsgroup like a pro!
Accessing the DUVROC newsgroup using MS Outlook Express
NOTE: This applies to Microsoft Outlook Express Version 6.0 (MSOE6) that hasn't
had the factory settings altered significantly. Most of this will also apply to
earlier versions of MSOE, no guarantees.
If you are already accessing the main VROC newsgroup then accessing the DUVROC
newsgroup is easy. Just go to the main VROC newsgroup as you normally do, press
Ctrl-W and you'll get a window showing the various newsgroups available on VROC.
The first one should be DUVROC. Click on it and then click on the "Subscribe"
button to the right. Then click on "Go To" and it should dopwnload all the
message headers.
If you are not already accessing the main VROC newsgroup, you are best to follow
these steps below.
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#1 Print out this message then log onto your usual internet provider (if
not already connected)
#2 Click here
news://news.vroc.org/local.vroc.duvroc
#2 note (a): This should start up the newsreader within MSOE6. It will appear in
the left hand window (called folders) and will probably display at the bottom of
the list as "news.vroc.org" with a sub folder listed as "local.vroc.duvroc"
#2 note (b): It will then automatically download a batch of message headers,
probably the most recent 300 (depending on settings). It will not at this point
download the message content.
#2 note (c): Depending on your configuration, the right hand side should be
split into two panes, in the upper pane it will display the headers of each
message and in bottom pane is to display the content of the currently read
message.
#3: Right Click on the title "news.vroc.org" (in the left pane). From the
available options, click on "Set as Default Account"
#4: Right Click on the title "local.vroc.duvroc" (in the left pane). >From the
available options, click on "Subscribe"
#4 note: This process should ensure that the next time you load up MSOE6, the
newsgroup will be available for immediate access and contain details of previous
messages downloaded.
#5: Click on one of the message headers in the upper right hand pane. This
should download that particular message and it should be displayed in the bottom
pane.
#6: Press and hold the CTRL button and while holding that button, press A. This
should have the effect of highlighting all the message headers
#7: Right click on one of the message headers (any one) and select "Download
Message Later"
#8: Click on Tools and select "Synchronise Newsgroup". This should then commence
the procedure for downloading the bodies (contents) of all the highlighted
messages.
#8 note: While the messages are downloading you can click on and read any of the
messages and you should also be able to reply.
#9: Once the message bodies are downloaded you can log off. Click on File, Work
Offline and when asked "would you like to hang up the moden before going
offline?", answer Yes.
#9 note (a): This will allow you to reduce your online time (good if you're
paying by the hour/minute). You can read and reply to messages while offline and
then later upload the messages back to the newsgroup.
#9 note (b) It is not essential to go offline, everything will work fine online
also.
#10: Click on View, Current View and select "Hide Read Messages". This will
ensure that the next time you access the newsgroup, it will only display the
messages you have not yet read. You can later (if you wish) change this wetting
back to "Show All Messages" if you want to find a message you have previously
read.
#11: Click on Tools, Accounts and click on the News tab. Find the "news.vroc.org",
click on it then click on Properties. In that window, you should then enter your
name (or whatever you wish to be known as) in the field marked "Name". you
should also enter your email address in the field marked "E-mail address".
NOTE!!! Ensure it is typed correctly. Click on OK, then click on Close.
#12: Click on Tools, Options and then the Read tab. Under the News section, set
the number for how many headers you want the system to download each time. This
setting determines the "maximum" number of messages it will download at any
session. I suggest 300 if you access the newsgroup daily. Click on OK.
#13: Click on Tools, Options and then the Send tab. Under Mail sending format
and News sending format, select Plain Text. This will ensure your messages do
not go out in peculiar colours or fonts that are often difficult to read. Click
on OK.
#14: Click on Tools, Options and then the Signatures tab. Select "Add signatures
to all outgoing messages". In the Edit Signature section, select Text and in the
box alongside, type in a little bit of detail about yourself, your bike and your
location (keep it brief) eg
Ben #4567
'00 FI Nomad
Seattle, WA
This will ensure that anyone reading your message will know what sort of bike
you ride and where you live, very helpful if you are seeking advice of a
technical nature. Click on OK.
#15: You can now read and reply to messages as you wish.
#16: To reply to a particular message directly to the writer, click on Message,
Reply to Sender. There should be a button below the menu bar allowing for just
that. This reply will go to the sender of the message but not to the group
#17: To reply to a particular message to the newsgroup, click on Message, Reply
to Group. There should be a button below the menu bar allowing for just that.
This reply will go to the group but not to the sender of the message.
#18: To reply to a particular message to the newsgroup AND to the writer, click
on Message, Reply to All. There should be a button below the menu bar allowing
for just that. This reply will go to the group and also to the sender of the
message. This is useful if you believe the person you are replying to usually
checks email but only occasionally checks the newsgroup.
#20: To post a new message to the newsgroup, click on Message, New Message
#20 note: your replies and new messages will not automatically show in the list
of messages. they only show when you have downloaded them from the server.
#21: If you have been operating offline, you will need to upload them to the
news server. To do this, connect to your Internet provider and select Tools,
Send and Receive, Send and Receive All.
#22: To check if your messages have successfully uploaded, click on your Inbox
(top of the Folders pane, left hand side) then click back onto your newsgroup
(bottom of Folders pane, left hand side). This should then download all the
message headers which have hit the newsgroup since you last did a message
download. Go back to step #5
From now on, accessing the newsgroup should be simple. Apart from your normal
procedure of downloading email, all you will need to do is click on the
newsgroup icon (bottom of the Folders pane, left hand side) then do steps #5 to
#9 and #16 to #22
If all else fails, send a message for help to the newsgroup or send an email to
toa@duvroc.org
Toa has plenty of useful hints and tips for "newbies" on his VROC Links Page.