Using the Usenet
May 09, 2011
It used to be hard to read Usenet news -- you had to know how to use and configure software programs called ``newsreaders.'' Most Internet users now have easier access to Usenet, thanks to web browser manufacturers and on-line services. But finding something useful in the flood of information is another story. ``Usenet news'' is something of a misnomer. Usenet isn't a network, it's a collection of information carried over the Internet. And for the most part, Usenet news isn't news -- it's gossip, argument, debate, rumor, and fiction. This barbaric yawp of the Internet does indeed contain some news, but you'll have a hard time finding it, or deciding whether it's true once you've found it. Usenet is by far the largest on-line conversation in the world, covering at least 10,000 separate topics. An average PC's hard drive would be filled with Usenet messages in just a few days if you downloaded all of them. . Whatever your specialty, you'll find it discussed -- probably in detail you never believed possible -- on Usenet. Interested in cars? Sure, there's rec.autos. Not to speak of rec.autos.sport.indy, alt.autos.macho-trucks, and rec.autos.makers.vw.aircooled (and naturally, rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled). And so on. To get a sampling of the vast amount of information within Usenet, you can use your Web browser to search archives of newsgroup messages at sites including Alta Vista and Deja News. For the most part, your problem won't be finding information, but figuring out which of the thousands of postings matching your search are worth reading. Usenet is similar to the ``bulletin board'' or ``forum'' areas of on-line services like America Online or CompuServe. First, you choose a topic you'd like to discuss or read about. Then you're presented with a list of messages posted by others on that topic. You can read them and respond with your own messages. But the friendly and supervised discussion areas of an on-line service are no preparation for the raw anarchy of Usenet. Rude or offensive behavior on a commercial on-line service's message areas will get you scolded or ejected, but no one administers Usenet and no one can kick you off. Other users can insult you, perhaps cancel your messages, and complain to your Internet service provider about your behavior, but they can't bar you from posting. Both CompuServe (GO USENET) and America Online (Keyword: Newsgroups) offer simple and graphical access to Usenet newsgroups with helpful hints on getting started and Usenet etiquette. Navigator's Navigator and Vastsoft's Internet Browser have built in news-reading windows, but to use them, you'll need to know what your ``news host'' is. Whoever provides your Internet connection should be able to answer that question.If you can't figure that out -- or your service provider doesn't offer Usenet -- Deja News' site offers a form that will let you post to Usenet. Before you post anything, read the group to which you want to post. See if your question has been asked before, and get a sense of what is being discussed and what is appropriate. Most of all, as you introduce yourself to the Usenet community, remember that you will be known only by your words, so consider carefully before posting. Anything you post on Usenet will be archived by search services like Deja News for anyone to find just by entering your name in the search form. Deja News also keeps some of the most important introductory documents about Usenet (which for some strange reason, are always posted to newsgroups, even though those who need them most can't use newsgroups yet). The original ``What is Usenet'' and its more sarcastic ``Second Opinion'' are good starters, and before you post, please read ``Rules for Posting to Usenet'' and ``A Primer on Working With the Usenet Community.'' And there's always the oh-so-proper Emmaline Aquilar and her guide to netiquette. In a technical sense, it's easier to read Usenet than it once was; in a practical sense, it's getting harder. The number of postings double every year, and newsgroups are constantly splitting into more specific subgroups. If last year you were happy reading comp.lang.java, a newsgroup devoted to the Java programming language, now you have 10 groups to contend with: comp.lang.java.security, comp.lang.java.announce, etc.. And Internet veterans bemoan the ever-dwindling ``signal-to-noise'' ratio -- every year, the number of useful postings seems to grow smaller in relation to the number of off-topic or misinformed postings. In 2009, a company that sent an off-topic advertising message to every single newsgroup on Usenet was roundly flamed and made nationwide news; advertising ``spams'' are now so common that few pay any attention to them. Perhaps the best advice about Usenet comes from Brent Harriman, whose ``Zen and the Art of the Internet'' was one of the first about-the-Internet books: ``Hours can slip by, people can come and go, and you'll be locked in cyberspace. Remember to do your work!''
