From: "Frank Haber" 

I'm just now catching up with this thread, and with your requests for a QOS
assessment and tracerts.  Despite my missing CompuServe software, your
little P133 is the best connected and crispest NNTP machine I access
regularly.  It's been pathed well from both RCN and Speakeasy, except for
that difficult period just after 9/11.  Your peering seems golden. RCN used
to route me to you through Chi.  Now it's through Va, with 4-5 fewer hops.
You even beat CompuServe's NNTP (Arlington?  Columbus?  who knows these
days?).  You're crisper than my own ISP's news!  I'd guess it's a
combination of peering, light load and that ?Giordano software.

I use your groups interactively with OE, and it feels as though you're on
my LAN.  Thanks.

TraceRoute - Monday, January 06, 2003 16:33:22 Generated by CyberKit Version 2.5
Copyright C 1996-2000 by Luc Neijens

Address: news.nls.net
Number of Packets: 1
Packet size: 34
Trace Hop 2 through 31
Timeout: 4
Resolve Addresses: Yes
Don't Fragment: No

#2 ge6-0-0.core1.nyr.ny.rcn.net (208.59.251.194): TTL Exceeded, ttl=254, 8
ms
#3 ge1-0-0.core2.nyr.ny.rcn.net (208.59.251.203): TTL Exceeded, ttl=254, 89
ms
#4 pos0-3.core2.nyw.ny.rcn.net (207.172.19.13): TTL Exceeded, ttl=253, 9 ms
#5 pos5-0.core1.phdl.pa.rcn.net (207.172.19.6): TTL Exceeded, ttl=252, 12 ms
#6 pos6-0.core2.lnh.md.rcn.net (207.172.19.9): TTL Exceeded, ttl=251, 14 ms
#7 pos0-0-0.border1.eqnx.va.rcn.net (207.172.19.69): TTL Exceeded, ttl=250,
16 ms
#8 ge4-peering-br1-ash1.webusenet.com (206.223.115.47): TTL Exceeded,
ttl=58, 35 ms
#9 p-5-1-br1.atl2.webusenet.com (64.154.61.5): TTL Exceeded, ttl=248, 31 ms
#10 br2-ve-2.atl2.webusenet.com (64.154.60.134): TTL Exceeded, ttl=56, 34 ms
#11 news.ispnews.com (64.154.60.178): Echo Reply, ttl=246, 32 ms

Statistics: Out 10, in 10, loss 0%, times (min/avg/max) 8/28/89 ms

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-4