What Is Usenet Server?
A Usenet server is a computer that provides online discussion "newsgroups." The newsgroups can be public or private and may require a subscription fee to access if your Internet Service Provider (ISP) doesn't offer them as part of the Internet service package.
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History
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Usenet groups were first developed in 1979 at Duke University as a way for Duke students to communicate with each other across different campuses. As other universities set up their own Usenet servers, the service spread. Usenet groups were the precursor to web-based forums and blogs, offering online discussion on thousands of topics.
Differences from Forums or Blogs
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While the term "discussion group" can refer to any service where multi-way discussion is possible, Usenet groups are not forums or blogs. Blogs and forums run on web servers located at single domain addresses, while Usenet groups are distributed and updated daily across many "subscribing" servers. If one Usenet server goes down, only the users who log in to that server are affected.
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Newsreader Software
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To access Usenet server newsgroups, a newsgroup client or "newsreader" must be used. Free clients are available to download on the Internet. Internet Explorer includes a newsreader as part of the browser software, and Firefox offers a separate free client called Thunderbird.
Naming Conventions
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Newsgroups have a hierarchical naming system. Groups are divided into several categories, such as "rec" for "recreation," then subdivided, sometimes many times over, to narrow the focus of each group to a very specific topic. Periods are used to show this hierarchy with newsgroup names like "rec.arts.movies" and "alt.comp.mail.qmail."
Public vs. Private Usenet Groups
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While the majority of newsgroups are international public groups propagated across all Usenet servers, server administrators can also create groups that are only available on their local Usenet server. Many colleges, for example, set up newsgroups for students and faculty that to do not propagate outside their local intranet.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Catherine Chant
