Quote:
Originally posted by juanvaldes
There is no usenet.
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"rather, realize there is no spoon..."
Sorry, i couldn't help myself.
Usenet is basicaly a distributed buliten board system where all servers carrying a group are syncronized so that a post is availbable no matter what server you connect to.
It works in much the same way as the TFP but on a larger decentralized basis in that anyone with access can post and that post will propogate to all servers carrying the group.
There is a group for nearly every interest and long before HTML came around and created graphical web browsing, Usenet
was the internet.
Actualy, Usenet grew from Arpanet which was the decentralized computer network of government computers that where able to function in the case of a nuclear attack since there was no central server to destroy, therby maintaining the flow of information.
When Atpanet was opened in to the public, one of it's first worldwide uses was as a decentralized buliten board.
Google groups is a web front end that you can use for access that also has a page devoted to the history of usenet and some of the most famouse posts.
Amongst their archive you can find such things as Linus Trovalds post in the mid 80's seeking people to betatest a little program that now runs most of the major web servers better know as linux and a little mention in 1985 of this new program that's in it's beta stages called windows. It also contains one of the first know discussions of Aids in the early 80's that is in all probability the first time HIV was disscused on a world wide basis of any sort by usenet posters.
History really can be obseved from what has been posted on Usenet.
Just watch out for the trolls. that is after all where the term was coined in the first place
