# recent authorization failure - usenet - why?



## gandyman (Mar 9, 2008)

I've been a mac user since the mac+, and a usenet user/reader/poster for 12 years. For the past several years, I've used "Hogwasher" as my newsreader. Always worked. Now, I have been unable to get into/onto usenet reliably. The failure message is "authorization failed", and an error code says 100502. In several weeks, I have successfully gotten "in" once. I tried a different newsreader, but was still not able to get in. Again, an authorization failure. 

The only change in my setup is a recent upgrade to OSX 10.4.11. Aha! That could be the culprit... but what, perzactly?
gandyman (ret)


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## Yankee Rose (Jul 14, 1999)

Hi there gandyman - welcome to TSG. 

In your Hogwasher preferences somewhere, do you have 'Server Requires Authentication' checked? If so - that is likely your culprit.

Hope that helps!


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## gandyman (Mar 9, 2008)

Yankee Rose - thanks for the welcome greeting, and thanks for your reply. 

There is a check option for required authentication, and I have tried it both ways - checked and non-checked. Still problematic. Y'know, there have also been times when I could not get through with e-mail or the Web. In those cases, shutting down the computer and then re-starting was helpful. I tried this for usenet, but no go.

I'll just keep trying, but if/when I can get the usenet connection, I don't know why it *works* either, y'know? Thank you, all the same. I appreciate your effort.
gandyman


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## Yankee Rose (Jul 14, 1999)

Hello again:

Who is your ISP? And do you use a router with this Mac to connect to the Internet? If so, I would try updating the firmware for it, to see if that helps.


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## gandyman (Mar 9, 2008)

Yankee Rose said:


> Hello again:
> 
> Who is your ISP? And do you use a router with this Mac to connect to the Internet? If so, I would try updating the firmware for it, to see if that helps.


Good morning, Yankee Rose, and thanks again for your efforts on my behalf. My service provider is my phone company, Frontier - here in northern Minnesota. I live close enough to the relay house that I have a good DSL connection... a straight pipe to the outer world. I did try the tech support offered by Frontier. At first, my impression of the initial response was that the tech was not entirely familiar by what I called usenet. The person seemed to think maybe I had some kind of problem with an expired subscription of some sort. I tried some further explanation and the next response was, "there has been no change on our end." I have used the activity monitor utility program, and can see a nice little data spike when I attempt to connect, but then the same error message pops up about the connect failure.

I am afraid I will have to attempt an analog interface with a carbon unit at the phone company, at this point. I'd rather have a root canal with a beer can opener, but am bordering on desperation at this point.
gandyman


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## gandyman (Mar 9, 2008)

Oh, for dumb! Problem solved. Frontier said that nothing had changed on their end, but something did. Had to. Part of the data string for authorization or authentication - which ever you call it, is the username. For as long as I've been on usenet, and for as long as I've been with my current ISP, the username was simply the first part of what you use in your e-mail address, before the "@" sign. Well, now I gotta use the whole darn e-mail addy for my usenet connection userid. uffda.
Thank you all for your help and consideration.
gandyman


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