Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is usenet?
  2. What newsgroups do you carry?
  3. How many concurrent connections am I allowed?
  4. How does LightningNews count downloads? Are headers counted?
  5. Are uploads (posts) counted?
  6. Where can I find usenet faqs?
  7. What can I do if port 119 (NNTP) is blocked on my network?
  8. How do I join movie files, or split files?
  9. What are .rar or .r01, .r02 ... files?
  10. Why doesn't the size of the files I downloaded match my usage stats?
  11. What should my mail server setting be?
  12. How do I cancel an account?
  13. How do I contact LightningNews?
  14. Why can't I download any more?
  15. How can I get more credits before my Automated renewal date?
  16. Can I renew two times in a row for extra credits?
  17. If I manually renew two days before an automated renewal date do I have to use the data in two days?
  18. I would like to close my account. Can I have money back for the time/credits I didn't use?
  19. I just signed up and cannot post to usenet. why?
  20. Do unused download credits roll over when I renew?
  21. Can I log in from multiple computers at the same time?




Questions & Answers

1. What is usenet?
Here are some links with a LOT of good information:

  • http://www.usenet.org/
  • http://www.faqs.org/usenet/
  • http://www.hypernews.org/HyperNews/get/usenet.html

2. What newsgroups do you carry?
A complete list can be found at http://www.LightningNews.com/grouplist.txt.

3. How many concurrent connections am I allowed?
LightningNews allows 8 connection from the same IP on our standard accounts.

4. How does LightningNews count downloads? Are headers counted?
All bytes are counted as they leave our servers. Text articles and binary attachments are included in the download total. Headers are counted and displayed in your usage statistics, however, they are not included in the total bytes downloaded, and are not charged against your download limit.

5. Are uploads (posts) counted?
LightningNews does not currently count posts.

6. Where can I find usenet faqs?
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/

7. What can I do if port 119 (NNTP) is blocked on my network?
Point your newsreader to any of the following ports: 23, 25, 80, 3128, 9000

8. How do I join movie files, or split files?
If you are looking to join files (usually MPEG's, AVI's), either small ones into one large one, or combine parts into one, check out Freeware's list of file splitting utilities: http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/98/file-split.html

9. What are .rar or .r01, .r02 ... files?
RAR files are compressed archives (just like zip files) that contain any number and type of files. To get access to these files, make sure that you download all the parts (.r01, .r02, .r03, ...) and then run WinRAR to extract the files.
Get WinRAR from: http://www.rarsoft.com/

10. Why doesn't the size of the file I downloaded match my usage stats?
Please remember that binary attachements are uuencoded by the posting software, which converts the binary data to text for transfer over the internet. This can add as much as 40% to the size of the file. Your news reader uudecodes the attachment after it is downloaded, before it is saved to your harddrive.

11. What should my mail server setting be?
we do not currently offer email services .

12. How do I cancel an account?
You can cancel your account by sending a request to:

support *at* lightningnews.com

13. How do I contact LightningNews?
Sales: sales *at* LightningNews.com
Support: support *at* LightningNews.com
BIlling: sales *at* LightningNews.com
Abuse: abuse *at* LightningNews.com

14. Why can't I download any more?
Do you have credits? Send us an email to verify your account .

15. How can I get more credits before my Automated renewal date?
just re-signup for the amount of GB you need and send us a note so we can adjust your account

16. Can I renew two times in a row for extra credits?
Yes , of course but both accounts will rebill unless cancelled

17. If I manually renew two days before an Automated renewal date do I have to use the data in two days?
NO, Automated renewal dates are reset after every Manual or Automated renewal based on your reoccurring rate.

18. I would like to close my account. Can I have money back for the credits/time I didn't use?
No, we do not provide prorated refunds for unused time/kilobytes.

19. I just signed up and cannot post to usenet. why?
By default, all new accounts have posting access disabled. You can enable posting by sending us a note .

20. Do unused download credits roll over when I renew?
No, paid credit expires at the end of your pay period.

21. Can I log in from multiple computers at the same time?
Our standard accounts allow multiple IP's to connect, except for unlimited accounts.