Do you remember USENET?

polo · 27 Jan 2023, 07:39 AM

That was the "Mother" of all online forums today!
A lot of useful discussion and information but also a lot of spam on un-moderated groups.
What do you think?

webecedarian · 27 Jan 2023, 08:56 AM

Before my time

malcontent · 27 Jan 2023, 11:42 AM

I download tv shows and movies from usenet everyday. Kind of like torrents.

But I don't use it to talk or have discussions anymore. Not for a very very long time.

I have fond memories of having a great many discussions back when computer BBS systems were big. I would participate in discussions in BBS message forums that were "echoed" across the country. Message were transferred by BBS systems by calling other BBS systems over the phone line by modem. System to system. It would take a few days for messages to reach other systems across the country or world. Then the wait for any replies.

Just Bill · 28 Jan 2023, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polo

That was the "Mother" of all online forums today!
A lot of useful discussion and information but also a lot of spam on un-moderated groups.
What do you think?

I was an avid user of Usenet, but in my opinion, Facebook was the nail in it's coffin. It's been dead for many years. Most internet users today wouldn't even know how to use it.

janusz · 28 Jan 2023, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Bill

I was an avid user of Usenet, but in my opinion,[...] it's been dead for many years.

Really? Best Usenet providers of 2023. Not exactly cheap....

chrisretusn · 3 Feb 2023, 09:25 PM

Yes. Used it a lot back in the day. Dial up, download new post of the feeds I was subscribed to, hang up, do my thing with them, dial up, send post, hang up. Rinse and repeat daily.

sterdeus · 9 Feb 2023, 10:59 PM

I bought my first concert tickets from someone on usenet back in 1996.

I still use it today to download things. It's still very much useful but not for what it was in the 90s.

SideshowBob · 22 Feb 2023, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Bill

I was an avid user of Usenet, but in my opinion, Facebook was the nail in it's coffin.

I don't think it was Facebook in general. Most of USENET was either binary or specialized text groups. The text groups lost out to similarly specialized mailing lists and web forums. That was well underway when Facebook started and process has been a steady one. A lot of the groups I used to read are still being posted to, or petered-out fairly recently.

I do still pay for a monthly account, but only because easynews sells USENET+vpn for little more than either individually. Otherwise I'd get a block account where you pay for GBs that never expire. It's still useful for binaries that are hard to find elsewhere.

rmns2bseen · 27 Feb 2023, 05:47 AM

I used it back when I was a regular on this forum (nearly 20 years ago now. Wow...) and when I was a Fastmail fan, and constantly debating whether to use Outlook Express or Netscape. I miss those days.

NumberSix · 27 Mar 2023, 03:42 PM

First discovered USENET as an undergrad in 1983. Back in the 80s it was really The Thing. My university didn't have "real" Internet then, but even if we had, there wasn't any content on it... all it offered beyond what we had with dialup connections was FTP and telnet - boring

I suppose I continued reading USENET into the 90s... don't have a clear memory of when I stopped, but I have had no desire to get back into it since then.

27 Jan 2023, 07:39 AM	#1
polo Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 60	Do you remember USENET? That was the "Mother" of all online forums today! A lot of useful discussion and information but also a lot of spam on un-moderated groups. What do you think?

27 Jan 2023, 08:56 AM	#2
webecedarian Essential Contributor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 479	Before my time

27 Jan 2023, 11:42 AM	#3
malcontent Essential Contributor Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 275	I download tv shows and movies from usenet everyday. Kind of like torrents. But I don't use it to talk or have discussions anymore. Not for a very very long time. I have fond memories of having a great many discussions back when computer BBS systems were big. I would participate in discussions in BBS message forums that were "echoed" across the country. Message were transferred by BBS systems by calling other BBS systems over the phone line by modem. System to system. It would take a few days for messages to reach other systems across the country or world. Then the wait for any replies.

3 Feb 2023, 09:25 PM	#6
chrisretusn Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 843	Yes. Used it a lot back in the day. Dial up, download new post of the feeds I was subscribed to, hang up, do my thing with them, dial up, send post, hang up. Rinse and repeat daily.

9 Feb 2023, 10:59 PM	#7
sterdeus Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 182	I bought my first concert tickets from someone on usenet back in 1996. I still use it today to download things. It's still very much useful but not for what it was in the 90s.

27 Feb 2023, 05:47 AM	#9
rmns2bseen Master of the @ Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,426	I used it back when I was a regular on this forum (nearly 20 years ago now. Wow...) and when I was a Fastmail fan, and constantly debating whether to use Outlook Express or Netscape. I miss those days.

27 Mar 2023, 03:42 PM	#10
NumberSix Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: The Village Posts: 605	First discovered USENET as an undergrad in 1983. Back in the 80s it was really The Thing. My university didn't have "real" Internet then, but even if we had, there wasn't any content on it... all it offered beyond what we had with dialup connections was FTP and telnet - boring I suppose I continued reading USENET into the 90s... don't have a clear memory of when I stopped, but I have had no desire to get back into it since then.