For those who are not familiar with newsgroups, they can be likened to an Internet forum with a broad range of subject matters. What makes free alt newsgroups different is that there are no moderators, so anyone can say pretty much anything. They can be created at any time and for any subject, so you can expect them to be chaotic, a little confusing but always interesting.

The first thing that you need to do to have access to free alt newsgroups is to install a news server, the software that will download these newsgroups. Some of the most popular ones are Usenet Unlimited, GigaNews and Astraweb.

Before downloading these news servers though, check your local Internet provider, because it may have its own Usenet application. It is unlikely that it will have the free alt newsgroups though, as they consume a lot of bandwidth.

Whichever news server you download and install, you will be required to create an account and you also need to install a news reader, which will be the application that will read the free alt newsgroups. You can try out Grabit and Alt.binz, both freeware.

An alternative way of accessing free alt newsgroups is through Usenet. Here you will need to use your web browser and through services like Interbulletin, Google Groups, Randori News. http://NewsOne.Net and many more, you will be able to enjoy the services of newsgroups.

Whichever type of software you use, there are a few things that you need to be aware of. First is that you can subscribe or unsubscribe anytime. Second, if this is your first time to access them, do not be surprised if the discussion (or thread) veers away from the subject matter; that is par for the course in a lot of newsgroups.

Another thing that you will notice is that people get emotional about a subject (this often happens). If this irritates you, feel free to just drop out.

Another thing that you should know about free alt newsgroups is that because they can have a lot of users at the same time, you might have to wait a while before you can log in. If you cannot access it right now, just try again a little later.

You might also be interested to know that these free alt newsgroups are not just about discussing things, but there are also some dedicated to pictures. Some groups are devoted to posting images of computer fractals, animals, celebrities, etc. Downloading these images are done the same way as you would the messages, as most of the software have a picture decoder installed.

Free alt newsgroups can be a lot of fun, and now that you know the ways and means of accessing them, you will be able to join in the discussions too.