The Internet

Usenet

• What is Usenet -- Usenet can be considered as a huge bulletin board for posting messages of various topics organized in groups (they are called newsgroups). Usenet groups are different from Listserv discussion groups as messages are not distributed to individual members' email addresses.

• History -- Usenet began in 1979 when two universities developed a software to exchange information and files, and made them available to a group of people by topics. Many universities, corporations and other institutions participated in this way of communication gradually, and the Usenet now has thousands of sites with millions of readers all over the world.

• Things you can do on the Usenet
  • Subscribe to newsgroups of your interest
  • Read messages (they are called articles) in the groups you subscribed
  • Reply to the messages
  • Post new messages to the newsgroups
  • Unsubscribe to newsgroups

• The organization of Usenet -- The Usenet newsgroups are organized and named in hierarchical order, from broad topics to specific ones; for example, rec.music.makers.violin. Some of the top level hierarchies are:
  • alt -- newsgroups of mix unusual topics
  • bit -- newsgroups dealing with BITNET
  • biz -- business related newsgroups
  • comp -- computer related newsgroups
  • fj -- topics in Japanese language
  • k12 -- newsgroups of topics related to K12 education
  • misc -- miscellaneous topics that do not fit into other categories
  • news -- newsgroups of topics related to the use and discussion of Usenet
  • rec -- recreation related newsgroups
  • sci -- science related newsgroups
  • soc -- newsgroups of topics related to social issues
  • talk -- discussions on various topics

• What are the newsgroups out there?
  • There are thousands of newsgroups out there, but each Usenet site has a news administrator who decides which newsgroups the site receives, and sends news. The administrator also controls users' read and post functions. You can check your Usenet site for a list of the newsgroups available for your subscription.

• How to connect to the Usenet
  • News server -- Usenet messages are delivered through a news server.
  • Newsreader -- the software to read messages on the Usenet.
    • If your server provides Usenet access, usually the newsreader is also provided.
    • Download one of the free newsreaders available on the Internet.
    • Use the newsreader on Netscape Navigator