Background:
Before you can download anything, you should know what exactly what that means: How does this work_ What is happening here_ If you don’t need this background info, skip to What is…_
A binary file on Usenet is essentially the same thing that a non-text data file is on your hard drive; be it a .jpg, a .zip, or any other form of non-ASCII data file. The difference is that Usenet is not binary, it is all ASCII, so that all 8-bit binary data has to be translated into 7-bit ASCII as it is sent up to Usenet. It is stored in that 7-bit encoded format on the news servers, and you download it in that format. When it is decoded (usually automatically) by your newsreader back into the original 8-bit binary format, and saved to your hard drive you now have the file as the poster uploaded it.
Posting programs automatically encode any attachments (an attachment being anything you didn’t type into the body of the message,) in either UUencoded or Mime format. These are the two methods used to translate binary data into the 7-bit ASCII data that Usenet uses. The vast majority use UUencoding. Although UUencoding is not the most efficient scheme, it is the most common, and causes the fewest problems with non-Windows clients. Newsreaders handle UUencoding automatically, and almost all clients handle Mime that way as well.
What is…_ Definitions of terms.
The word “part” has multiple meanings which can be confusing. Referring to fig. 1 below, you can see that the file “Homesite50.P01″ is one file with the extension .P01 The (*/5) shows that it consists of 5 “parts” or segments. Those parts exist as separate pieces on the news server, but the newsreader has combined them automatically to make it easier to read this listing. The word part is also used to refer to each file as well as each segment of each file! That can be terribly confusing, and new-comers are warned to consider carefully the context in which the word “part” is being used. Part is also used to refer to a single file in an archive set. Except when speaking about Usenet propagation and segmenting, ‘part’ generally means: Less than the complete set of related files which constitute a complete post. And frequently to a single file.
“Multi-part binary” is a term you will see frequently. It means all the binary files that constitute an archive set. In Illus.1 below, all the files from .rar to .r08 are all the parts of that multi-part binary, but the post also includes the parity files, and might also include NFO, SFV, and any other related files which the poster included as being necessary. Such as jpgs of the box or the CD, or a manual in PDF format (PDF= “Portable Document Format”), for example.
Is a file a post_ Yes, and no. A post could consist of a single file, but a post can also consist of many related files, even when posted over several days! “The post” refers to the entire set of related files that are to be taken as one entity. For example: Someone posts an application that has 10 RAR or ZIP files in it, but it’s all just the one application, despite consisting of 10 files, so it’s all one “post.” As in the example below, an archive can consist of from one to many files. Each .rar-.rxx is a file, and part of both the archive, and the post.
Selecting:
This is an example of a post with parity files included, but no NFO. There might be an NFO in the archive, or there might not. If the application requires some special information to install, such as a serial number, and there’s nothing in the archive about that, you would have to contact the poster and hope he can help you. This poster did a good job, except for the lack of an NFO. Even one that merely said “Un-RAR and install, no serial # needed”, would have been helpful.
If you choose to download this post, first download without the PAR-PXX files. Only if there is a problem with the RARs would you need to get the parity files.
Note the entire set of files is referred to as a “post” because it’s all of one cohesive set of related files. The “0″ file for this is the first one, of 1 line. The poster might have made that his NFO-equivalent, but in this case it was empty. He might have said “Serial.txt in the RAR files”, or something to that effect. Before downloading the whole post, read the 0-file or the NFO if posted. They can contain valuable information.
Incomplete posts:
If a post doesn’t have all the parts in, should you download what parts there are and try to complete it_ Let’s assume in the example shown above in Illus 1 that .r01 was missing, but that there was an NFO that gave you all the information you would need to install it. Would it be ok to download_ Since the poster has included parity files, the answer is yes. Since you would need to download only the rars, the PAR file, and any one of the PXX files, such as P01. Then, using either mirror or SmartPAR, you would be able to recreate the missing r01, and have the complete post. There are enough parity files to recreate two of the missing files only. If the post were to be missing three rars, then it would depend on your faith in the poster, as to whether or not he/she would post the parts you need.
If there is a part missing, and there are no parity files, should you download the post_ That is a judgment call that depends on many factors, some of which are personal. For example: Does your news server have long retention_ If so, you might want to wait a few days to see if the poster fills the missing part on his own. Or if anyone else requests fills from that poster, how does he/she handle those requests_ In other words, “Is this a responsible, reliable poster with a good history of completing his posts_” If you can answer yes to that, then by all means download the parts that are there, and wait a bit to see if the poster completes the fills on his own. If not, then go ahead and make a request for the fill(s) you need.
If it was a “Here’s What I Have” post, ignore it. The poster doesn’t have the fills, and they are almost never posted in response to that type of post, mainly because it irritates almost everyone. So that poster ends up in dozens of killfiles of people who might have helped him, had he acted responsibly.