In the last couple of weeks I've had increasing problems with trying to 
access news servers through Tiscali. It looks as though their network id 
dropping NNTP connection attempts at "peak times"--weekday evenings and 
as much as half the day on Saturdays and Sundays.

Can't even telnet to port 119 on their own news server.

And the rest of the time, things work.


I don't have certainty on where the problem, but for me it's got beyond 
reasonable doubt.

So do the ISPs care? And what's the use of paying for an external 
service--the usual alternative to a poor ISP provision of content--if 
they're pulling tricks like this?

How long before the big ISPs drop net-news altogether?


-- 
David G. Bell -- SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.

On the horizon, a carrier task force of the Salvation Navy was 
turning into the wind, preparing to launch Zeppelins.