Any other usenet freaks out there?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

Usenet is the internet's most amazing (and least known of) treasure- it existed years before the web was even dreamed of. Usenet was the original online text messaging system. It existed back in the day of 300 baud acoustic modems, and was originally meant for communication between networked computers at universities (I don't think I'll mention the DARPA uses). Remember the modem the kid had in War Games? He had to physically put the phone into the modem's cradle? THAT is an acoustic modem.

With the advent of such coding schemes such as Mime and UUencoding, it eventually became possible to post files, and thus came the "alt." hierarchy where amazing things can be found.

For instance, I am at this moment downloading Rebel Without A Cause. When it's done, next in line is The Day Of The Triffids. If I were inclined (and had the bandwidth), I could also snag what appears to be the complete Our Gang/Little Rascals set. Many of the kitty and puppy pics I post on DU were found on usenet. (Of course there's a very sordid flip side to that graphics download angle, but I'll stay away from that subject.) There are thousands of subject groups available in many hierarchies, and I'll bet that if any of you were to explore it, you'd be hooked.

Imagine a simple text-only DU chatroom. It could easily be created- people here get paranoid about the web being shut down, perhaps usenet is an option you should consider.

The web is pretty, but usenet has many adherents who prefer its directness and clarity, and its amazing variety. I'm one of them.

[qnr]

1. Absolutely. I'm downloading some stuff as we speak.

Edit: I spend much more time on usenet and IRC than I do anywhere else online, actually.

[Syncronaut Seven]

2. Shhh.....

There is great beauty to be found on usenet, but also great peril. Common sense should be enough to protect. Are the masses truly ready No6?

I would recommend reading a primer first, just to keep yourself out of trouble. Then go here:

http://www.forteinc.com/main/homepage.php

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

3. The masses already know.

It's the rest of 'em we need to protect. :rofl:

[Atmashine]

4. Day of the Triffids is awesome

And used to give me nightmares.

How do you get on Usenet nowadays? I used to use it when I had AOL 10 years ago and had their interface.