some lusers started posting here
not knowing netiquette
and they’ll continue posting here
they haven’t finished yet
–Eternal September Anthem
The oldest computer network communication system still in widespread news is USENET (USEr NETwork). It is a distributed internet discussion system where users read and post email-like messages (called articles) to a number of distributed newsgroups (categories that resemble
bulletin board systems in most respects).
Even though USENET is over a decade older than the www, it is still a significant part of the internet, laden with history, as many USENET newsgroups are passionate communities of discussion and the sharing of ideas. The early internet was very much shaped by USENET. Therefore, it is the place to go if you’re looking to get more involved in the internet by taking part in online discussions.
USENET is of significance cultural importance in the networked world having given rise to popular terms such as FAQ or spam. However, it has diminished in importance to mailing lists, web forums and blogs – maybe because it is accessed with special software(newsreader clients) that connects to a news server.
Fortunately, USENET is again experiencing a revival of sorts mainly due to Google Groups which allows reading and posting of articles to USENET newsgroups. Go on, join in on USENET discussions and let’s make sure that September Never Ends.
The easiest way to join is by Google Groups or usenet.com. At first, you may feel lost. That’s just because you’re a newbie. Here are some helpful FAQs and other introductory information.
There’s an interesting observation on the Endless September here. Someone put up a webpage about America Online (the main culprits of Endless September), criticizing the company and the service it provided. The response was interesting.
There is a warning about “disturbing images”, but as long as you only read the page, you’ll be fine 🙂 .
Thanks for the link, the post was very interesting and the story about the newbie moderator from AOL was quite funny. I guess the phenomenon of endless September has both its good and its bad. What do you think?
There will always be newbies and veterans. I feel sorry for newbies who are so excited to finally be online, only to get a cold or even arrogant reaction from the veterans. It’s worth it if the newbies vumilia, though. Just don’t expect a welcome parade 🙂 .
yeah its sad for newbies but I think non-newbies should try and be a bit more considerate. After all, we were all newbies at one point or another.