Usenet can seem complicated, even intimidating, when you’re first getting started. But don’t worry, it’s actually pretty simple, once you understand the basics!
That’s part of what motivated us to put together this Usenet FAQ. All of the most frequently asked questions, in one place, for your easy perusal. Of course, some questions aren’t able to be truly answered in just a few sentences, in which case we provide extra resources for you to explore.
Without further ado, let’s jump into the FAQ.
Usenet FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Here we’ll focus on answering a whole host of the most common and pressing questions that people have about Usenet.
What is Usenet?
At its core, Usenet is a worldwide, decentralized discussion system. And in the past, it was largely used for just that: people could browse, read, and participate in discussions with people from around the world, on all sorts of topics.
It was Reddit before Reddit, if you will. In fact, some people have called it the internet before the internet.
But as the internet grew, that old school, message board-style community lost popularity. But Usenet never really went away. And it’s since been repurposed, with a focus on file sharing, and is enjoying new popularity.
Today, Usenet is mostly used for sharing and downloading stuff like movies, TV shows, and music. In practice, it functions a lot like torrenting, though with some key differences.
When was Usenet created?
The idea came to be in 1979, cooked up by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis, and was put in practice in 1980. For reference, AOL (American Online) was founded in 1983.
Does Usenet still exist?
Yes, it absolutely does still exist, though it isn’t quite used the way it once was.
What is a newsgroup?
You can think of a newsgroup much like an internet forum, where posts, messages, images, and even other files can be shared.
Rather than one big newsgroup, there are a whole range of them, focusing on different topics and subthemes, much like a web forum – or Reddit's "subreddits".
Are Usenet newsgroups still around?
Yes, though many of the once popular newgroups are no longer active, and most users don’t browse newsgroups manually anymore. Today’s Usenet tends to focus on using “indexers” to find and download “binaries”.
What is the difference between Usenet and torrents?
Well, there are quite a few differences, especially when it comes to the technical details, but we’ll focus on the basics:
- Usenet uses direct downloads rather than peer-to-peer
- Because of this, Usenet is generally considered safer than torrenting
- This also means that Usenet downloads don’t rely on seeders and are generally faster than torrent downloads (See Usenet vs Torrents for Speed: Which is Faster? for more info)
- Usenet is not entirely free, though the costs are generally quite low
Of course, there’s a bit more to it than that, but that’s the practical stuff.
Is Usenet free to use?
The short answer: no. The long answer: while you can browse Usenet newsgroups (or some indexers) for free, to actually download from Usenet, which is how it’s popularly used these days, you will need to at least pay for a provider.
Why does Usenet cost money?
The simple answer is that, unlike torrents, where files are hosted and shared by other users, with Usenet, it’s the providers themselves that are storing the information. We’re talking terabyte after terabyte worth of files. And well, that kind of storage ain’t cheap, so users are asked to help foot the bill via subscriptions.
How much does Usenet cost?
This can vary wildly depending on your setup, how much and how often you plan to download, whether you wait for a sale or pay full price, etc.
But on the low end, it’s possible to get unlimited downloads for as little as $5 or less per month. For instance, if you take advantage of Black Friday deals and only have a single, cheap indexer like NZBGeek.
If you pay full price for an an Omicron provider, a block account, and have a few indexers? Maybe closer to $15 per month.
Of course, it is possible to pay more than that, but most people are paying less for Usenet than they would for a single streaming service.
Is Usenet safe?
For the most part, yes. Usenet is generally much safer than torrenting, since it utilizes direct downloads (rather than peer-to-peer), which are much harder for ISPs to monitor.
You can find a more in-depth answer here: Is Usenet Safe?
Can Usenet be tracked?
Can it? Sure. Is it? Not usually. The big risk for downloaders typically comes from their internet service provider or “copyright trolls”, neither of which are much of an issue with Usenet, since direct downloads protect your activity.
It is possible that your provider could log your activity, but most providers do not. If you’d like to learn more, see the article linked above (Is Usenet Safe?).
Is Usenet illegal?
Usenet itself is perfectly legal. What is illegal is downloading copyrighted content, whether you use Usenet, torrents, or some other method to download it.
How do I use Usenet?
The streamlined version:
- Use an indexer to find a file you want to download.
- Send it to your NZB downloader.
- Wait for your downloader to get it from your provider.
In other words, it’s actually pretty easy. The “main” difficulty is simply getting setup with a provider, indexer, and NZB downloader, but even that isn’t very complicated at all.
For a more detailed breakdown, check out our Newbie’s Guide to Usenet. For an even more in-depth look, there’s How to Use Usenet.
What do I need to use Usenet?
Just the basics: a provider, an indexer, and a downloader. The more complicated stuff, like multiple providers/indexers, automatic tools, etc. are completely optional – and likely kind of overkill for most people.
Do I need a VPN for Usenet?
Do you need a VPN? No, not really. Since Usenet doesn’t use peer-to-peer downloads, your ISP (and third-parties) aren’t able to monitor your downloads, which is usually what a VPN is trying to prevent in the first place when torrenting.
Does it hurt to use a VPN? No, not at all. In general, we think everyone should have a VPN subscription, since it’s useful for so many things, but it’s not strictly necessary for using Usenet.
If you're in the market for a VPN, check out our article on the Best No-Logs VPNs. If you'd just like a quick recommendation, go with Private Internet Access.
What is a provider?
In short, a Usenet provider is the party that mirrors the files that are uploaded to Usenet and allows you to download them. Without a provider, you can find files, but you won’t be able to actually access them.
If we compare it to torrenting, a provider is basically a seeder: just a really, really big seeder who seeds tons of files for 10+ years at a time.
What is the difference between a Usenet provider and an indexer?
While the provider stores and gives you access to files, the indexer is what helps you find them on the Usenet in the first place. You can browse the latest uploads, search for specific file names (e.g., movies, TV shows, etc.), and “grab” their respective NZBs.
Again, if we use torrenting as an analogy, indexers are a torrent site, like The Pirate Bay or RuTracker.
We got into a little more detail on the differences here: Usenet Indexer vs. Provider.
What is the best provider?
Wellll… that’s somewhat subjective – and a little difficult to sum up in a sentence or two. However, Newshosting is currently our top-recommended provider.
If you’d like a more thorough explanation (and more options), check our article on the Best Usenet Providers.
What is the difference between an unlimited and block account?
An unlimited account refers to a subscription, typically paid monthly or yearly, that allows you to download basically as much as you want from Usenet, as long as the subscriptions active.
On the other hand, a block account is paid for upfront and gives you a certain data allowance, which you can utilize whenever you so choose. For instance, you may download a few GBs this week, not use it at all for a couple months, then come back and download another 20 GBs.
tl;dr: unlimited = subscription (good for regular use), block = pay-as-you-go (good for sporadic/inconsistent use)
Why is it worth having both an unlimited and a block account?
The real reason requires a slightly deeper understanding of how Usenet works. However, the simplified answer is this:
- Not every provider has every file at all times.
- By having an unlimited account from one provider and a block account from another, the block account can “fill in” when the main account doesn’t have a particular file you’re looking for.
But since the block account is pay-as-you-go, you only pay for it as much as you use it. It’s basically a backup.
To use an analogy, let’s say you go to the same grocery store every week. But one day, they don’t have, say, a certain type of cookie that you want. So, you finish buying the rest of your groceries at store A, then go down the street to store B for the cookies that you couldn’t find at the other store.
In this analogy, Store A is your unlimited plan, while Store B is your block. You do most of your shopping at Store A (unlimited), but Store B (block) is always there if you need something you can't find elsewhere.
What is a backbone?
Backbones are basically the foundation of Usenet, since they’re where the actual data you want to access is stored, whether it’s a text post or a movie file. Each provider uses a specific backbone, though there are a handful of providers that use multiple backbones.
Backbones are a major topic of discussion in the Usenet space, since the backbone your Usenet provider uses effects which files you’re able to download.
One way to think of a backbone is almost like a cell phone network. You have the bigger carriers, like Verizon, which have their own, competing networks. And then smaller carries, that use the same network. Your network (or backbone, in the case of Usenet) dictates what kind of “coverage” you get.
In a good coverage area? You’re free to call, text, download, and stream to your heart’s content. No coverage area? Whelp, you’re out of luck.
For more on backbones, check out our Usenet Provider Map.
Why does retention time matter?
The higher the retention, the further back a backbone’s collection of cached files goes. Meaning that you’ll have access to older files, which were uploaded years ago.
In practice, this not only gives you access to a larger number and range of files, it’s particularly useful if you’re looking for older or more niche content (since the latter is less likely to be re-uploaded regularly).
Of course, if you’re only interested in the latest content or stuff that’s a few years old at most, then having the highest possible retention is less of a concern, since even “low” retention tends to go back at least a few years.
tl;dr: more retention = easier to download the files you’re looking for
What providers don’t take down DMCA content?
Though some providers follow NTD rather than DMCA (or vice versa), all providers take down content that they receive complaints for. In other words, takedowns are unavoidable; you simply have to work around them, i.e., by having multiple backbones and indexers, etc.
That being said, if you want to know which providers follow DMCA vs. NTD, you can find it on our Guide to Usenet Backbones.
What providers don’t take down NTD content?
As we covered above, all providers honor takedown requests, though they may handle them somewhat differently. Check the guide linked above (Guide to Usenet Backbones) for info on which backbones follow DMCA rather than NTD.
What providers are free?
Easy answer: there are none.
Though there are a selection of Usenet Free Trials to take advantage of.
What is an indexer?
Indexers are where Usenet files, NZBs in particular, are, well, “indexed”. They allow you to search by file name or type, browse the latest uploads, see file ratings/comments, and more.
To be clear, the indexes do not store the files themselves, only their location and info about them. If you’re familiar with torrenting, they’re very similar to torrent sites, like 1337x.
Which indexer should I use?
Some of the top indexers include NZBGeek (open registration) and DrunkenSlug (closed registration).
You can find out more info (and options) here: Best NZB Sites.
How many indexers do I need?
How many do you need? Just one. How many do you want? That will ultimately depend on how much you use Usenet and what you’re looking for. Though even advanced users tend to find 2-3 good indexers to be plenty.
Read more in our article on How Many NZB Indexers Do You Need?
What indexers are free?
While completely free indexers tend to leave a lot to be desired, there are a few paid indexers that offer a free tier, which is usually limited to a handful of downloads per day. These include:
Just keep in mind that both DrunkenSlug and Tabula Rasa only open registrations a few times per year.
What’s a binary?
The simple version is that, in Usenet parlance, binaries simply refer to video, audio, image, and software files. In other words, movies, TV shows, music, games, etc. This is in contrast to the text files that Usenet was built on.
The slightly more complicated version is that, since Usenet was designed around sharing text files, in order to share other types of files and media, they have to be broken down into hundreds and thousands of tiny text-based parts, which are then encoded and posted.
When you download the file, all of the parts are put back together in the proper order, leaving you with the file you wanted, e.g., a working video file, audio file, etc.
What is an NZB file?
The easier version: an NZB is the file you “grab” which then allows you to download the file you want. In that way, it operates much like a .torrent file or even a magnet link.
The harder version: the NZB functions by indexing all of the parts of a binary file, telling your NZB downloader where to find them and how to put them back together after it has downloaded them.
What is obfuscation?
Basically, in order to avoid (or at least delay) the process of copyrighted files being identified by holders and a takedown requested, uploaders “obfuscate” the file’s name. For instance, That New Horror Movie becomes 13453415, just a random string of numbers.
Fortunately, indexers allow you to search and navigate these files without ever having to actually deal with obfuscation. But this is one of the reasons that users no longer manually search or browses newsgroups: you won’t know what these obfuscated file names refer to without your indexer to tell you.
What is an NZB downloader?
NZB downloaders, like SABnzbd and NZBGet, take an NZB file that you feed it, use it to download all of the parts you want, then assembles them all, spitting out a complete, functional file, whether that be a song or an episode of a TV series.
You can find out more about them here: Which NZB Downloader Should You Use?
Usenet Troubleshooting
Here we’ll address some of the most common problems that users encounter.
Why didn’t my file complete?
There are a number of potential causes, but the two main ones are:
- The backbone no longer having the file, perhaps due to a copyright takedown
- The downloader not being able to locate every piece of the file, possibly due to its age
You can try to repair the file, but if that fails, your best bet is to try downloading from a different backbone (provider), a different NZB from your indexer, or a different indexer entirely.
How do I repair a file?
An NZB downloader, like SABnzbd, should automatically repair the file for you. If it’s not able to do so, you’ll need to either try another backbone (with a block account to another provider, for instance) or find another file entirely. Sometimes just finding a newer or different upload of the same file can do the trick.
Usenet FAQ and Troubleshooting: Wrap-Up
That was a doozy! But hopefully we’ve managed to address all of your questions – or at least shown you where to find the answer – whether it’s about the nuts and bolts of Usenet or how to actually use it.
Is there something we missed? Feel free to ask in the comments, and we’ll try our best to answer. Your question may even get added to the FAQ in a future update!