Back
to Internet 101
|
Question: What are newsgroups? -or- what is usenet? |
|
Answer: Newsgroups are a place where people can share information about a certain topic that interests them. |
| Usenet or Newsgroups are basically a very large number of gathering places for people to discuss topics that they have in common. There are well over 50,000 newsgroups (the last time I checked) that range from great topics with great discussion to stuff that shouldn't be on the internet at all. It can be a good way to find out what other people are doing or thinking about a certain topic. You need to search for a topic that interests you and then evaluate the group to verify that the content is worth reading. |
Practically any subject you can think of has its own newsgroup. The list below is just a small (extremely small) list to show some of the variation in topics.
| Newsgroup | Discussion Topic |
|---|---|
| alt.animals.dolphins | dolphins |
| alt.brother-jed | brothers named jed |
| alt.support.tall | support group for tall people |
| bionet.women-in-bio | women in biology |
| bit.listserv.ozone | ozone discussions |
| comp.fonts | computer fonts |
| k12.ed.math | Math in school k-12 |
| misc.forsale.computers.mac | Mac computers for sale |
| rec.motorcycles | motorcycles |
| rec.arts.bonsai | Bonsai - tree shaping |
| rec.arts.wobegon | Wobegon |
| rec.food.veg.cooking | Vegetarian Cooking |
| sci.environment | The environment |
| and thousands of others, with more arriving every day. | |
There is no central authority that oversees the thousands of Newsgroups and millions of participants. Acceptable content (or conventions) have evolved that vary from newsgroup to newsgroup. It is suggested that you read a group for a while before you start participating in the discussions so you get a good sense of the topic and background of people involved. Newsgroups are run by the people using it and for the most part people choose to cooperate.
Newsgroups are free to those with Internet access. It was started as a computerized version of a bulletin board for notices and news items, but is now used primarily for discussion groups.
Individual articles (or posts) are stored and managed by a news server. These articles are accessable through a newsreader - which is built into Netscape and Internet Explorer.
Newsgroups usually post a FAQ periodically to answer basic questions of new users. These FAQ's usually have some common questions and basic guidelines that have been established by the group over time. It is strongly encouraged to read these FAQ's before posting to the newsgroup. If you can not find a FAQ for a particular newsgroup, you could post a message asking for the FAQ or request someone to email you a copy.
Question: I've heard the term Lurking. What is that?
- Answer: Lurking refers to people that read newsgroups without contributing
to the discussions. There is nothing wrong with doing this and it is encouraged prior
to participating so that you will get a sense of the discussion and the participants.
Question: What does FAQ stand for?
- Answer: Frequently Asked Questions.
9770
| |
Back to Internet 101 |