what is a good newsgroup to experiment with my gnus nntp settings?

[Brady Trainor <algebrat@uw.edu>]

I took a couple stabs at using GNUS in the past, but was still probably 
too green with Emacs and the type of thinking. But finally, I think GNUS 
is here to stay, and it feels WAAAAYY better than relying solely on 
"more GUI" clients. Managing emails and emailing has never felt so easy.

However, my use of newsgroups is still a little rough around the edges, 
and I anticipate some fiddling. In the end, I usually download all the 
headers, for instance with Thunderbird I've done this across a dual 
boot. Unfortunately, I think this has provoked the gmane to block my 
ISP, though I was lucky enough I think the block was removed soon after.

MY QUESTION:

Is there another entity similar to gmane, more recreational say, or less 
valuable to me, where I can mess with my configuration and not risk an 
ISP block? I've read online something about ISP providers may do this, 
but I don't really understand. Is this my internet provider? Or would I 
contact a local institution such as University of Washington?

Thank you,
Brady