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The CanadianISP.com Guide to Usenet |
Usenet is one of the oldest "sections" or parts of the Internet, after email and some older technologies like Archie, Veronica, Gopher and the like. It is a collection of discussion groups that can be accessed by a dedicated newsreader, like the excellent - and free - Xnews or via the web like Google Groups (more on web access vs dedicated Usenet access later). How many of these "discussion groups" (or, more accurately, "newsgroups") are there ? At my last count, there were approximately 120,000 newsgroups, with more being created on a regular basis. You can access most of them, yes (literally: tens of thousands) Why the caveat ? Because some newsgroups (usually no more than a dozen or so) will be specific to a given ISP or access provider. Others, your Usenet provider may not necessarily carry them, though this is often rectified simply by sending a request to your Usenet provider, asking them to carry the group. What kind of groups are there ? What topics can I find ? Anything. Literally: Anything What about censorship / parental controls / language filters ? Usenet is best described, at least in terms of content control, as "organized anarchy". There are no filters or controls in newsgroups, with the exception of moderated newsgroup, which are groups in which posts are first approved by a person or a program before being sent out to the world at large. (Moderated newsgroups are in the very tiny minority on Usenet).While you may find groups where some people post off-topic notes, spam or are generally disruptive, most groups generally do a good job of policing themselves. In general, someone who has nothing relevant to contribute to a newsgroup are ignored by the regulars. They get bored and move on. If you are using a dedicated news program, you will most likely have the option of blocking (or "killfiling" in Usenet parlance) people you dislike or do not wish to read. It should be said, however, that sometimes, Usenet is not for the faint-of-heart; If your children are using usenet, it is a good idea to have them do so in a supervised manner: Just like in chat rooms and web boards, there can be some not-so-nice people in Usenet that parents would be well advised to keep their children from posting to. What is the benefit of using a commercial usenet service, when I can get it for free from Google Groups ? There are several reasons. First and foremost, we've all heard the expression "You get what you pay for" - This is no less true with Usenet access than anything else.A dedicated newsfeed will give you more newsgroups, longer retention (articles are kept much longer, so you can search and read further back in a groups' history) and faster access and updates. In many newsgroups, you will find that many of the 'regulars' might not take a poster as seriously from a "freebie" news provider as they would from a "real" news provider. Speed is also a big issue with news providers, especially if you are into binaries. Most free news providers will not give access to binaries groups at all. Even for (especially for) text newsgroups: With a dedicated news reader, you are getting what you're looking for: Newsgroup content -i.e. text. When using free news providers, especially web-based, you are downloading website overhead, plus any advertising they wish to push at you. Personally, if I am looking in a home repair newsgroup for help on how to fix a plumbing mess-up that I made, I want to see the responses to the questions I posed and not have to sit there while some website transfers irrelevant banners to my desktop. While there are over a hundred thousand newsgroups, there are tens of millions of cities, towns and villages in the world :) That being said, you will often find groups dedicated to your closest large city. For example, I live near Pembroke, Ontario: My favourite "local" hangout in usenet is ott.general - a general discussion newsgroup for Ottawa, Ontario. You will also find general discussion groups for your province or state, as well as your country in general. What about in-depth discussions ? Is this a bunch of kids talking about video games ? While there are newsgroups dedicated to video games (Which I, as a gamer, have found really useful!), there are groups dedicated to mathematics, physics, astrogeology, politics, policing, law, business, programming, learning... the list goes on and on and on.Many of these newsgroups are very active. can.politics, for example, sees hundreds and hundreds of posts per hour from people talking about the political parties, news headlines, elections and what-not. You will find some very passionate people in Usenet, be they focused on politics or astrology (You should see some of the discussions in alt.astrology!) If you believe strongly in a topic and enjoy debating in, Usenet is just the place for you. Unlike the web, there is no one that can "kick you off", silence you, ban you or edit your words. Usenet discussion groups can also put you in touch with people working to make a difference in things you care about. For example, recent discussions in the newsgroup can.internet.highspeed have caused a great many people to get in touch with their MPs and MPPs about the perceived unfairness of recent CRTC actions and rulings concerning the Internet. Newsgroups like news.admin.net-abuse.email keep systems administrators aware of spamming and network abuse issues, keeping the Internet running a litle smoother for everyone. Groups like alt.support.cancer are great not only for moral support, but spreading awareness about treatments and thereapies for related diseases. This list, too, goes on and on. Does my ISP provide Usenet Access ? It used to be a common feature amongst ISPs to include full Usenet access to all their subscribers. Over the past few years, the majority of ISPs have either eliminated their Usenet access to customers entirely, or offer severely reduced usage, with reduced speeds, limited groups, limited retention and/or (more often and) no binaries access. |
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