Usenet or Uselessnet The Internet has its own public bulletin boards, called Usenet newsgroups, usually shortened to newsgroups. On the wild frontier of cyberspace, newsgroups are a series of notes posted by interested users for anyone else to read.

Google Groups has solved that by filtering unrelated trash from groups. Google Groups is also one of the most effective ways to search for topics in newsgroups.

Most browsers offer direct access to newsgroups, and commercial services may also carry groups in a special area. Specific software such as NewsWatcher can also let you get to newsgroups directly. You "subscribe" to a newsgroup, but not in the same way that you subscribe to a LISTSERV. Subscribing to a newsgroup does not mean you get more e-mail; it simply means that when you go into the newsgroup area on your browser or through your Usenet reader software, it automatically lists those groups you joined earlier.

Groups are divided into categories, called hierarchies, according to topics or geography. Each group has a multi-part name, such as rec.pets cats or sci.bio.microbiology.

The first part tells you the general category of the group. For example, some of the most popular hierarchies are:

• alt: eclectic, unpredictable groups that don't really fit anywhere else. Probably the most popular and certainly the wildest hierarchy.
• bionet: dealing with biological issues
• biz: business and commercial groups
• fl: Florida-related issues
• comp: all things related to computers
• misc: miscellaneous
• news: usenet-related matters
• rec: recreational
• sci: scientific
• soc: social science issues

The way the messages appear on your screen depends on the system and reader you are using. Usually the notes will be displayed in some order, such as by date or by topic. Together, the original note followed by the responses is called a "thread." Sometimes the responses even stay on the same topic.

There are from 35,000 to 50,000 groups on the Internet, not counting the groups which are limited to a specific audience (such as a university) or those which are available only by paid subscription (news services such as ClariNet).

ClariNet is one of those Internet success stories. Brad Templeton, who founded rec.humor.funny in 1987 wanted a way to read his favorite columnist, Dave Barry of the Maimi Herald, via the Internet. In 1989 he founded ClariNet and developed it into the first Internet news service long before there were online newspapers.

ClariNet grew for several years and eventually was acquired by NewsEdge, which was then acquired by a large media company, Thompson CSF, who felt Clarinet's business was not on interest, and intended to shut it down. Both because he saw business possibilities, and to preserve the jobs of the Clarinet employees , in one the stranger twists of fate , Roy Folk arranged to spin Clarinet back out of the doubly-merged companies. Much like the pink bunny on television, the company kept going.

ClariNet was acquired by YellowBrix and in 2005, ClariNet ceased operations.

Your service may not provide access to all groups; you may have to ask to add a particular group, and sometimes the request is granted. Certain groups are closed, however, to paid subscribers or to members of a particular community, such as a university.

Tips

Finding groups can be a challenge, especially since most services do not carry all groups. Check anTopica.com interactive search on the Web for a group, or start with groups which specialize in identifying new or interesting groups:

news.announce.newusers
news.newusers.questions
alt.best.of.Internet

Another good starting point is the FAQ site for newsgroups, where those Frequently Asked Questions are answered. Most newsgroups post their own FAQ file so read it if you have questions. "Lurk" on a group for a while to get a feel for the topics and the communication style of the group.

Google Groups list more than 1,200 groups about computers -- ranging from linux to large scale databases. The computer user and scientific groups tend to be very focused. There are also sections for folks seeking good advice for beginners.

Check out the Netiquette section of the Bytewriter Internet Guide for tips on e-mail propriety.

You cannot block access to groups which you find offensive, especially since many are listed under innocent-sounding names. The best way to avoid being offended is to skip posts you find offensive.

Sometimes it's very difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

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