Open-Access Usenet Server
news.tcpreset.net operates as an open-access system without account registration. We support unrestricted communication while applying transparent, layered abuse controls.
Layered Usenet Anti-Spam Architecture
TCPReset uses a layered anti-spam architecture designed specifically for Usenet. Cleanfeed-NG examines articles received from newsfeeds during ingestion. Postfilter-NG is active for NNTP client submissions in audit mode: it applies privacy-preserving header transformations and records policy decisions without enforcing ordinary technical rejections. NoCeM processes cryptographically signed abuse notices from explicitly trusted issuers, allowing identified spam to be withdrawn after propagation. INN structural checks and connection limits protect the NNTP service at the protocol level. Public aggregate reports for each layer are available in the right-hand status menu. SpamAssassin remains temporarily enabled as a non-blocking internal comparison tool and will be reviewed after a representative Postfilter-NG observation period.
Privacy-Preserving Pseudonymous Infrastructure
TCPReset separates network identity from content authorship: Nym hides the source of standalone N2Usenet posts, Tor protects the legacy onion path, while a persistent pseudonymous identity lets readers verify authorship over time without exposing a real-world identity.
N2Usenet is the primary standalone posting interface:
Browser -> https://n2usenet.virebent.art -> Nym -> mail2news@mail2news.tcpreset.net -> news.tcpreset.net NNTP
Pseudonymity with Provable Authorship
The browser creates an Ed25519 keypair locally from a CSPRNG. The secret key never leaves the user’s device and can be exported as a portable JSON identity. A chosen username, an unverified e-mail label and the public key form username | email | ed25519-pubkey. The body is signed locally, and anyone can verify that successive, unmodified posts come from the same pseudonym.
Ch1ffr3punk's VFACE algorithm derives a deterministic identicon from that identity. Supporting newsreaders display it through the RFC 4021 Face: header. Each post carries:
From:- pseudonym and chosen e-mail label.Face:- base64 VFACE identicon derived from the identity.X-Ed25519-Pub:- the public key of the pseudonym.X-Ed25519-Sig:- Ed25519 signature over the message body.
Hashcash Proof-of-Work Anti-Abuse
Every submission includes a Hashcash challenge bound to the timestamp, destination, nonce and message. Finding 24 leading zero bits costs roughly 16 million SHA-1 operations, normally 5-15 seconds for a person but expensive in bulk. The server verifies it immediately, accepts a ±2 hour window and keeps replay protection in memory. Together, Hashcash and the Ed25519/Face identity provide cost-to-post and verifiable pseudonymous authorship without registration.
