Virgin Media > help > internet > newsgroups

Newsgroups FAQ

What are they?

The Virgin Media newsgroups (easily identifiable as they start with "virginmedia." in their name) are a collection of private newsgroups that can only be read by and posted to by Virgin Media customers.

They are there for all of our customers to discuss with each other and give us feedback on our services, and we intend to increase the number of these over time.

Unless stated otherwise, these groups are for text-only discussion. Binary files (e.g. music files, images, software etc) cannot be posted to these groups unless explicitly stated.

What newsgroups are available?

virginmedia.announce - Contains a copy of all updates to the Virgin Media status page (for cable customers) plus some additional automated postings such as this FAQ. This group is for posting to by Virgin Media only and not for our customers.

virginmedia.announce.internet - For status page updates of faults that affect the Internet service.

virginmedia.announce.maintenance - For status page updates of faults that are about customer affecting maintenance work.

virginmedia.announce.phone - For status page updates of faults that affect the land-line Telephony service.

virginmedia.announce.tv - For status page updates of faults that affect the TV service.

virginmedia.announce.updates - For copies of the Daily Status update that is posted on the status page.

virginmedia.classifieds - Post your classified ads here, but please don't use this group for commercial purposes.

virginmedia.comp.linux - Discussion of the Linux Operating System. For enthusiasts and those who need help, as well as for Linux news and reviews.

virginmedia.comp.mac - Discussion of the Apple Mac, and all Apple related computing matters.

virginmedia.comp.other - Other computing discussion, including for users of other computers such as Amigas and Acorns.

virginmedia.comp.windows - For users of Microsoft's Windows operating systems - news, reviews, help and other topics.

virginmedia.dev.null - The ultimate wasteland - for posts that have no value and would otherwise be deleted!

virginmedia.discussion.broadband - For discussion of broadband (cable, ADSL and any other types), both that provided by Virgin Media and by others, as well as broadband technology and advances.

virginmedia.discussion.dialup - Discussion of dialup technology, products and services for those who are yet to join the broadband revolution.

virginmedia.discussion.e-mail - A place to talk about e-mail. Posts can include those about e-mail service, about others' services, about what software you choose to use, webmail, anti spam and anti virus technologies and any other e-mail related matters.

virginmedia.discussion.general - This group is for you to discuss anything you want - from football to French cooking, to what happened on your favourite soap last night.

virginmedia.discussion.mobile - To discuss mobile telephony technology, products and services (including Virgin Mobile).

virginmedia.discussion.pcguard - For discussion around the PCguard security software that is offered to Virgin Media customers (you can download this from www.virginmedia.com). Discussion can also include that around Netguard, which will be transforming into PCguard at a later date.

virginmedia.discussion.phone - To discuss fixed line telephony technology, products and services.

virginmedia.discussion.tv - Discussion around TV technology, programming and content, including V+, on demand programming and high definition TV.

virginmedia.discussion.usenet - For discussion of Usenet news services, products and technology. Posts can including those about news services provided by Virgin Media.

virginmedia.discussion.webspace - To discuss webspace, web based technologies, get help and work out how to get the most out of your webspace. We will be unifying the webspace offerings our customers get at a later date.

virginmedia.faqs - For the posting of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and guides. This group is for posting to by Virgin Media only and not for our customers, and is for regular posting of information such as the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and this guide.

virginmedia.feedback - This group is for you to give feedback on our products and services, and is also where our staff members will try to answer as many customer queries as possible. For this reason we ask you to work with us to ensure that postings to this group are relevant.

virginmedia.gaming.console - A group for console gamers to compare notes, review games and consoles, as well as help each other out with any problems.

virginmedia.gaming.console.playstation - Console gaming group for Playstation owners.

virginmedia.gaming.console.wii - Console gaming group for Nintendo Wii owners.

virginmedia.gaming.console.xbox - Console gaming group for Xbox owners.

virginmedia.gaming.pc - A group for PC gamers - such as for players of World of Warcraft.

virginmedia.support.broadband.cable - Technical support for problems cable broadband customers are having with their Internet access can be found in this group. This group is for the posting of diagnostics on problems you are experiencing only. When reporting issues, please post sufficient relevant information to enable technical support to assist.

virginmedia.support.dialup - Technical support for problems dialup customers are having with their Internet access can be found in this group. This group is for the posting of diagnostics on problems you are experiencing only. When reporting issues, please post sufficient relevant information to enable technical support to assist.

virginmedia.support.e-mail - Technical support for e-mail problems experienced by customers.

virginmedia.support.pcguard - Technical support for those who need help with the PCguard security software that is offered to Virgin Media customers (you can download this from www.virginmedia.com).

virginmedia.support.telephony - Support for those who need help with their phone service from Virgin Media. Virgin Mobile support is not currently offered via newsgroups.

virginmedia.support.tv - Help for Virgin TV issues can be found here. When posting about any problems you are having, please include any error messages or error codes that may assist support in resolving your issues.

virginmedia.support.usenet - Technical support for users of Virgin Media's Usenet newsgroups service can be found here.

virginmedia.support.webspace - Help with Virgin Media's residential web hosting offerings.

virginmedia.test - A place for you to post test messages. Customers are permitted to post binary files in here for purposes such as including screen-shots when asking other customers for help.

virginmedia.users.self-help - Stuck with a problem on your PC? This is the place to post to see if anyone else has any ideas on how to help out.

virginmedia.users.self-help.networking - A group for users to help each other with home networking problems.

virginmedia.users.self-help.security - A group for users to help each other with security problems.

virginmedia.users.self-help.voip - A group for VoIP (Voice over IP) users to help others who are having problems.

How do I identify staff members in the newsgroups

Our staff members will all clearly identify themselves with their job title when posting in the newsgroups. They will try to help as much as possible... but as you may appreciate they are extremely busy.

How should I act in the Virgin Media newsgroups?

Customers using the Virgin Media groups should contribute in accordance with our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) which can be found here: Acceptable Use Policy.

In brief, we ask you to remember that these groups are intended for a family audience. Any swearing, abuse or other offensive behaviour in these groups isn't acceptable and our Internet Security team will follow up any reports of breaches of the AUP.

We also ask that customers work with us to ensure that the groups are kept as on topic as much as possible. Any off topic postings can (and will) have 'Followup' (sometimes shortened to 'FU') set to another, more relevant group so that any responses will appear there. Please abide by these when they are set as they help both us and our customers.

Cross posting should only be used in extreme circumstances, and should only be made if the Followup is set to one particular, and correct, group.