When Usenet began, it was a genuinely new way for Internet pioneers to collaborate with each other. Instead of having to use hit-and-miss methods of finding electronic mailing lists of interest and import to your work, you could set up a server for public bulletin boards where everyone interested in some topic could drop in, find out the latest information (or "news") about that topic, and drop out again. Anyone who had news could post it there for everyone else's use. People could ask questions and get expert answers, from real people. No one was obligated to read every message, nor would irrelevant postings begin to clutter one's mailbox (at a time when disk space was at a premium). What could be better? For a long time, nothing could. Newsgroups were created on most topics imaginable, organized hierarchically under a few basic categories: Computers (comp), Recreation (rec), Natural Science (sci), Society and Culture (soc), Debate and Controversy (talk), Miscellaneous (misc), and Usenet itself (news). Anyone could propose to create a new group in these hierarchies, and there are democratic procedures in which users vote to approve new groups. This procedure grew oppressive for some people, leading to the rise of the Alternative (alt) hierarchy, where anyone could start a group, and many did (witness the existence of the alt.swedishchef.bork.bork.bork group). Other hierarchies developed as hardware and software companies delivered Usenet support channels; colleges and universities set up internal newsgroups for students and faculty; and enterprising community-oriented geeks set up newsgroups for their local communities. Some are still functioning today. Spam first raised its ugly head on Usenet when a pair of immigration attorneys posted an ad for their services in every newsgroup then active. Before the millennium arrived, spam had almost completely obliterated real postings on many groups. But many others are still quite useful. Chances are good that your ISP offers at least some form of Usenet access. Contact them to find out the address of their Usenet server and the newsgroups they offer (also called their newsfeed). Many ISPs are selective in the content of their feed, especially when it comes to the alt groups. These are often seen as the seedier virtual neighborhoods, with pirated software, malware, and less-than-family-friendly text and images abounding. If there is a particular group you're looking for, and it's not included, it can often be added on request. There are a few public news servers available, and you can find a list of them at http://freenews.maxbaud.net. Unfortunately, spammers often take advantage of this opportunity to peddle their wares, so be careful when using this.
When reading Usenet postings, your client makes it easy to respond, either by email or as a public follow-up posting. Some clients support multiple "identities" for posting and emailing, so you can choose a different signature or return address. Caution Spammers use software "bots" to collect every email address they find on Usenet, so never post a real email address. Use something that a human can read, but a bot would have trouble with, like mynameNO@SPAMmyISP.com. |