Hi researchers, I'm enjoying the discovery of newsgroups/usenet and I
see that there are binaries, eg; alt.binaries.* What is a binary? What
is a binaries NG, and are they different from any other NG? If so,
how? If they are in some kind of code, what do you need to decipher
them? Any other information not asked would be appreciated and tipped!

Greetings meego!

In short, binary newsgroups are used to trade non-text files: images,
music, pc applications, etc.

When Usenet was first started, it only contained text messages. 
People eventually figured out a way to post non-text messages (i.e.
files).  What they did is converted (or encoded) the files to ASCII
(text) and then a user elsewhere could download that text and decode
the ASCII, turning it back into its original file format.  So, for
example, someone could use this method to post an image (a JPG or
GIF), a music file (a MP3), or any type of binary (non-text) file.

I recommend reading this good summary:
"What are the Binary Newsgroups?"
http://www.tifny.com/binaryfaq.html

Here is a little further information on encoding:

"Transport of messages by News and Mail was restricted to US-ASCII
characters when the protocols were written (20 years ago). These
services have been created to transport only plain US-text. Special
characters (control-characters, symbols, non- US-characters) were
forbidden - and used for special purposes. But because people wanted
to send also binary attachments by News and Mail some 'tricks' were
implemented: The binary was changed to "allowed US-ASCII-characters"
before transmission (encoding) - and back to a binary after
transmission (decoding).
above text from "What is an encoding - and why is it used?"
http://www.yenc.org/whatis.htm

Converting a file from its original binary format into ASCII file
usually creates a really big file.  This is one reason why a binary
file will be posted as many segments.  If you check out a binary
newsgeroup, you might see the subject line of a message mention
something like "Part 3 of 40."  To properly decode to file, you need
to grab all the sections.  If any section is missing, the file will be
incomplete.

The process for grabbing all the binary parts and decoding them
depends on what operating system and software you are using.  The
newsgroup reader you are currently using may already offer the ability
to view or download files in binary newsgroups.

Here is a listing of some Windows-based newsgroup readers, most
offering binary support:
"Newsreaders/Usenet"
http://www.webattack.com/Shareware/network/swusenet.shtml

And here's a list of newsreaders for other operating systems as well,
just select your OS to view the ones for it:
"DMOZ 'Software: Internet: Clients: Usenet' page":
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Internet/Clients/Usenet/

Some specific examples of newsreaders designed for binary files:

"Turbo TIFNY 3.8":
http://www.tifny.com/

"Binary Boy":
http://www.binaryboy.com/

In addition to the standard encoding method, a newer one has recently
been developed, called yEnc.  You may see yEnc-encoded messages on
some newsgroups but you won't be able to decode those files unless you
are using software that supports this newer yEnc format.  To read a
little more about yEnc and which newsreaders support it, I recommend
checking out their site:

"yEncoder/yDecoder for Usenet":
http://www.yenc.org/

Since postings to binary groups can be very very large, many news
servers do not carry all binary newsgroups.  Additionally, as stated
by someone below, some people use binary newsgroups to trade
copyrighted items (music, pc games, etc.) and so some news servers may
not carry certain binary newsgroups that are typically used for such
purposes.  Also, it's not uncommon for news servers to not carry all
or many of the porn-related binary newsgroups.  As stated, binary
newsgroups can take up a lot of bandwidth.

Lastly, binary newsgroups are just for that: binaries.  You usually
won't find discussions in a binary newsgroup, although you will
sometimes see requests for certain files.

I hope this information has been useful.  And I hope you find some
interesting files.  If you would like for me to clarify any portion of
my answer, please let me know before issuing a rating.  Thanks!

leep-ga

Perfect answer Leep. As ususal, I wasn't using good search terms when
I went googling myself. And thanks to commentors also.

would suggest that a binaries news group is one that is concerned with
the sharing/distribution of "binaries" - the term binaries refers to
non-textual data such as images (sometimes pornographic), sounds and
computer programs (sometimes distributed in violation of copyright).

Here is the answer that I came up with for this question but ran into
some technical problems and wasn't able to post it. Hopefully it will
add some additional information or links to leep's answer:

Hello meego,

Binary Newsgroups are basically a separate section of Usenet where,
instead of text, files are posted. These files can be all sorts
imaginable, and there are many different newsgroups with different
topics (and different files). Sometimes the files are split up into
many smaller posts which have to be downloaded and then combined to
get the real file.

You do not need anything special to decipher them (usually the popular
newsreader programs will support all the major formats). However, many
isps do not support binary newsgroups, usually because people
downloading from them take up too much bandwidth. If you open messages
on a binary newsgroup and do not see any attached files (shown as a
paperclip attachment in outlook express), your isp might not be
allowing the files to come through (see bottom of this answer if this
is the case). It is not that they prohibit files, but they often do
not "pass along" certain files which have a certain size.

Binary Newsgroups are not in some kind of code, they work exactly the
same as text groups, except it is the accepted place to post files.
Note that you have to be careful you are not breaking any laws when
downloading from or uploading to a binary newsgroup.

Here are some links that I located so that you can find out more about
binary newsgroups:

This link probably has everything you want to know about Binary
Newsgroups:
http://www.canadianalien.com/newsgroups_access.htm

“Originally the Usenet contained text only messages. Due to the
increasing popularity of pictures, music, video and other multi-media
on the Internet it was necessary to devise a method to post binary
files to the Usenet. Today binary file attachments are used for
non-textual messages which can contain any known file type.”
What are the Binary Newsgroups?
http://www.tifny.com/binaryfaq.html

“Some newsgroups are primarily devoted to the exchange of graphic
(picture) files or other binary files (such as programs). Newsgroups
which were not established for this purpose usually frown on having
binary files posted!”
Binary Newsgroups
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Help/News/BinaryNewsgroups.html

“There's something you should know right from the start: Binary files
are only allowed in binary Newsgroups!”
Binary Files on Usenet
http://tgos.org/newbie/binaries.html

If your ISP does not carry files over binary newsgroups, or has poor
retention (retention is the time the files stay on the server without
being removed) you might want to sign up for a third party binary
newsgroup provider. Retention is usually lower on binary groups than
on the non-binary groups because the files take up much more space on
the servers, and are removed faster as a result.

Here is one provider that I have used in the past who has a free three
day trial with 1GB of download during the three days:
https://secure.giganews.com/signup/cgi-bin/signup.cgi  You will not be
able to post messages, but you will be able to see what types of files
are out there before making a decision on whether or not binary groups
are something you want to get into.

You can find some more binary newsgroup at the bottom of the page
here: http://www.canadianalien.com/newsgroups_access.htm (same link as
above).

You should remember that it is always important to respect Copyright
law and that Usenet is not as anonymous as it may seem. There is
however some great stuff to be found in the binary newsgroups.

If you need any clarifications, let me know and I will do my best to
further assist you.

tisme-ga


Search Strategy:

binary newsgroups
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=binary+newsgroups

binary usenet servers
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=binary+usenet+servers

Since Usenet is a massive collection of fairly unorganized data,
(mainly binaries) it is helpful to have a guide.

Here are a few links to get you started:
http://www.binnewz.net - Has links to many Usenet indexes.
http://www.newzbin.com - The best index imho.

I hope this helps bring more ease to the wonderfully complex world of
binary newsgroups :)

-digitalborn