Why isn't an article available?
[Summary: news server article expiration ; news reader trouble ; cancelled articles ; expired articles]
Your news reader can only display articles which are present on the news server. If an article is not present on the server, it is because:
- The article has never arrived at your server
- The article has been cancelled
- The article has expired
Be aware that an article may be available, but just not shown in the article list. See the topic:
Doesn't list all articles
Articles which do not arrive
There is no central distribution point which is responsible for getting all the articles to your news server. Because of various delivery and system problems, an article may never arrive at your server. See the topic (coming later!)How news gets to you for details.
Articles which are cancelled
The author of an article may decide that the article was a mistake, or it is no longer useful. (For example, a personal ad to buy or to sell used equipment which has just been sold.) This can cause an article which previously existed on a news server to be removed.
In some cases, articles which are Spam are cancelled by someone other than the author.
Articles which expire
Articles cannot be kept on news servers forever: it would require too much disk storage space (2GB per day can add up quickly!). After a period of time, the article will be removed from the server automatically. This expiration period can be set differently for individual groups and in some cases, individual articles.
Articles which have expired cannot be shown by the news reader, since they are not available on the news server. If the article you are looking for has expired on the news server you use, then you might be able to find it in one of the news archive databases. See the topic: Usenet RKT: How to search article text for more details.
If articles are expiring too soon, then try contacting the news server administrator to increase the expiration time.
Usenet RKT: (coming later!)Getting help with news reader software
Usenet RKT: (coming later!)How news gets to you
Usenet RKT: (coming later!)Cancelling articles
Usenet RKT: Spam
Usenet RKT: Trouble with news reader software
Usenet RKT: Doesn't list all articles
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Copyright 1997, Forrest J. Cavalier III, Mib Software, INN customization and consulting