US Cable Support > RCN > [Newsgroups] "Unable to connect to news.rcn.com:119"

[Newsgroups] "Unable to connect to news.rcn.com:119"

Can't connect in LV either.
Went down around 9:15 PM last night.

reply to Jim5
Is it official? Has RCN discontinued newsgroups, like Time Warner did in August?

Or is this just a temporary outage or connectivity issue.

Could we get an update on the news server problems?

reply to Jim5

Yea, you could say it's official. The news (nntp) service as provided by RCN is being phased out. In large part due to non usage yes there were a few (and by few I mean an incredibly small number) customers who used it however, several times that are using nntp service from a third party.

Additionally for the same reasons that other MSO's are discontinuing the service we are going in the same direction.
--
Bryan Laird
Director Product and Technology

reply to Jim5
Looks like its dead in chicago too.

Bryan, phasing out, or phased out already?
--
Insanity is living in a state of disillusion.

reply to Jim5
Last night I discovered that my newsgroups stopped working (its been quite a while since I used them). I checked the settings but I was unable to resolve the problem despite my skillset so I called for RCN tech support. Why couldn't RCN just tell me that RCN discontinued newsgroups when I called with this problem of server not found?

Instead, last night the RCN tech support guy scripted me click by click through the Outlook Express setup to add the account for news.rcn.com, which I already tried and knew backwards and forwards, but try and try we did, amazingly it just wouldn't work - go figure - then he kindly informed me that he has completed all the support on this problem that RCN is obliged to do - which struck me as an odd thing for him to say - and he advised me there was nothing else he could do - and then he told me that this problem is due to the configuration of my computer not RCN and I need to call Microsoft - he said they know this problem and they will be able to help me. But even as I pressed for a better explanation of this fishy posture he would not say anything more about this problem supposedly he knows Microsoft knows about except that I should call Microsoft. It was very peculiar and now that I have found this post I have to conclude that it was all a snowjob. I sincerely resent this deceptive brushoff and who wouldn't? . Why not just tell me RCN no longer provides newsgroups instead of wasting my time and sending me off on a fools errand? Is RCN worried that someone might be upset over this or spread the word that this contracted item is no longer provided? Maybe if I call back I can get a different story. That happens sometimes with tech support but this was really not the way to treat customers.

reply to negativeduck
Bryan,

I suppose it would have been proper to give customers at least a 30 day notice before terminating the service [instantly].

I reviewed several months of past statements. Could not find any indication of impending service changes.

It's like one of the cell companies removing a feature and informing the customers after the fact.
--
Insanity is living in a state of disillusion.

reply to alany301
Alany,

Honestly, the call center was aware they had all of the information sent to them a few weeks ago and then an update sent last week. That's not say that a tech didn't make an error and what not. I appreciate the feedback and I'll have the note sent again so nobody else has to feel the pain that you did.

All of their "scripts" as you put it should have been updated but I'll get this double checked to make sure something didn't get missed.

Sorry for the inconvenience and your wasted time.
--
Bryan Laird
Director Product and Technology

reply to nickcatal
Unfortunately, we are in an area where only RCN provides service. Can't even get DSL service here.

reply to wbertram
Most ISPs have horrible news services anyways, and they monitor your usage... going with a 3rd party provider is probably the best bet anyways

reply to Jim5
RCN Newsgroups were contracted out to Giganews, with it's excellent 200day+ retention, though at a severe cap of 35k/s with 2 connections. So network drain as an excuse for this service termination is certainly not the case.

It's a shame the way this change of service was handled. I knew immediately something was strange, since Giganews was clearly still up while news.rcn.com did not resolve.

Newsgroups are a major part of traditional ISP services. I can't understand why RCN decided to drop their distinction as one of the few ISPs still offering Usenet access the way they should.

RCN's newsgroups was a major factor in my signing up for bundled TV/Phone/Internet service with RCN. Terminating an entire class of service without even a notice and leaving customers to go figure it out themselves is in poor taste, RCN. FiOS just got into my building, after this stunt I'm unsure if I will be keeping my business with you.

reply to wbertram
Get a 3rd party USENET provider

Your entire life will change

reply to Jim5
Wow, this is outrageous. To simply take away a provided service without any notice! They raised rates recently, still provide crappy cable TV service, and now abruptly discontinue newsgroup service!

Since my apt building forces RCN on us as our only cable tv and internet provider, I will surely look to move immediately so I can get rid of RCN from my life once and for all!

reply to negativeduck

Re: [Newsgroups] "Unable to connect to news.rcn.com:119"

reply to negativeduck
Or at the very least a post on the RCN official pages.

I was a daily newsgroup user. Very sad to see them gone. It was one of the things that separated them from the other ISPs that I could choose from. Now, not so much.

-jason