Usenet
What is Usenet?If you ask this question on the Web, you'll find plenty of answers, not one of which will actually explain what you want to know. For a decade or more, Usenet was the more or less exclusive playground of geeks; and they still resent the intrusion of people who don't instinctively know what an RFC is. Truth is, it's a lot simpler than that. People will deny that it's anything like a mailing list or a bulletin board, but from the user's point of view, it's very like them. You post a message; an unknown number of people read it and may or may not respond. It's as simple as that. It's important to remember that it's a public forum: whatever you say here, you have absolutely no control over who reads it or who replies to it, and you will never have any way of telling who has seen it and who hasn't. On a high-traffic newsgroup, your message may well be seen by tens of thousands of readers worldwide. But you'll never know who they are. |
One of my favourite hobbies is Usenet. If you know what Usenet is, you can usually find me on alt.fan.pratchett, posting as Miq. Less frequently, you can find me in various other groups, such as alt.vampyres.
Of all the possibilities opened up by the Internet, Usenet is the most exciting. Yes, the Web attracts more attention and makes more money; but in terms of the worth, excitement and sheer reward of using it, it just doesn't compare.
If you want to be amused, if you want to know about a particular subject, if you want to find a particular piece of information, then the Web is all you need. But if you want to learn, to gain actual understanding, then it's not enough just to read and absorb: you have to discuss things with other people who are interested in the same thing. And that is where Usenet comes in.
Of course, it can be a mite predictable at times. But if you want to get the most out of the 'net, at least look to see what's there.
Without Usenet I would never have taken up poetry; I've made friends in four continents, made enemies, won and lost respect, composed poems, found work, even fallen in love, thanks to Usenet.