some news servers have very long article retention, with terabytes
of overview and article storage, and some newsgroups with millions
of articles, from historical usenet archives, commercial providers
e.g. utzoo-wiseman archive http://annex.retroarchive.org/utzoo and https://archive.org/details/usenethistorical with many hierarchies;
these archives can also be searched by retrieving overview headers
online> sample headers from selected groups > download all headers
(up to 'x'), the total available depending on server and newsgroup,
or select a smaller number as needed; after downloading be sure to
set group > selected group options to "never" purge read or unread
article headers; subscribe to newsgroup, and backup entire program
folder (c:\40tude dialogue) to removable media; with the newsgroup
article list pane selected [f6], try subject > has, and enter some
keyword probably found in that group, e.g. famous historical event
in news:alt.history.ocean-liners.titanic, type "iceberg" and press
enter (or click button on right side) to filter the list, which if
using the popular "news.blueworldhosting.com" server, should yield
about three dozen articles; select all and press enter to download
these small article bodies; in edit > find [ctrl+f] > text to find
in article body pane, try "olympic" in scope > selected group, and
click ok, total of ten instances may be found using find next [f3];
but there are about three thousand four hundred (3400) articles in
this newsgroup, many dating back over twenty years, so it's easier
to search overview subject headers first for keywords, then filter
the list before downloading several dozen rather than thousands of
article bodies (any server may block ip if excessive use detected);
many free newsservers store articles for only about one year, some
even less, but others have longer retention, so the best way is to
test them; add as many servers as you like, and get complete group
list for each; at this writing news.alt119.net, paganini.bofh.team, news.usenet.ovh, freenews.netfront.net, news.novabbs.org, and some
others (see news:alt.free.newsservers) should be added to the list;
pick one popular newsgroup and download all headers on each server
for comparison; the server i've been using regularly on "localhost"
has less than one year of article retention, but connects securely
via omnimix and using tor browser, socks 5, implicit ssl, port 563;
while some newsgroups have remained popular over the years, others
have not or had long ago succumbed to troll farm infestation which
overran that formerly active discussion forum--perhaps hundreds of
newsgroups fit that description? but sometimes the public interest
in a particular subject like the sinking of a luxury liner in 1912
waxes and wanes over time; sometimes the subject of a newsgroup is
too obscure or lacks common definition, e.g. politics and religion
are not alone in that category; anything other-worldly, paranormal,
occult, ufos, aliens, ghosts, crop circles, tarot, astrology, etc.,
is also too far removed from this weaponized world of human beings
who are united in but one common purpose, namely the love of money;
even so, there are many newsgroups that still attract some modicum
of on-topic discussion and that makes archive searches worth while;
also, recommended reading about how articles are stored on servers:
https://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/software/inn/docs/install.html
Choosing an Article Storage Format >>https://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/software/inn/docs/install.html#S6
Choosing an Overview Storage Mechanism >>https://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/software/inn/docs/install.html#S7
The only thing that's keeping Usenet alive is servers run by volunteers, like Eternal September and Cybernews.
yeti <yeti@tilde.institute> wrote:
The Running Man <running_man@writeable.com> writes:
The only thing that's keeping Usenet alive is servers run by volunteers, >> > like Eternal September and Cybernews.
Maybe the data <https://olduse.net/> uses can be restored somewhere else
too?
I think the Google archive can still be queried but it is no longer
being updated.
... In my view Google's attempt to usurp
Usenet's place on the Internet has been profoundly damaging to
Usenet from the very outset.
If you're looking for a villain for Usenet's demise, look at
technology. The general population decided that web-based facilities
that didn't require downloading software were "better" than Usenet,
Sn!pe wrote:
... In my view Google's attempt to usurp
Usenet's place on the Internet has been profoundly damaging to
Usenet from the very outset.
If you're looking for a villain for Usenet's demise, look at technology.
The general population decided that web-based facilities that didn't require downloading software were "better" than Usenet, ISPs read their users' preferences and stopped supporting it, and the useful material
moved with the users.
On 04/09/2024 21:51 Steve Bonine <spb@pobox.com> wrote:
Sn!pe wrote:
... In my view Google's attempt to usurp
Usenet's place on the Internet has been profoundly damaging to
Usenet from the very outset.
If you're looking for a villain for Usenet's demise, look at technology.
The general population decided that web-based facilities that didn't
require downloading software were "better" than Usenet, ISPs read their
users' preferences and stopped supporting it, and the useful material
moved with the users.
I'm not sure that's the reason. Users download apps on smartphones all the time to access a service. Why would a Usenet app suddenly be a problem?
The decline of Usenet began before smartphones were an option. For
example, AOL discontinued their Usenet service in 2005 based on the fact
that most Usenet users had moved to web-based facilities.
Obtaining Usenet is much more complicated than opening a web browser and >going to a website. You need a news reader and a provider. While this
might not seem "a big deal" to anyone remotely technically inclined, the >general population is not remotely technically inclined.
But why would anyone go to the trouble to access a Usenet newsgroup when
all the participants have moved to a different platform?
That's not to say that there aren't a few active Usenet groups these
days, but Usenet is a shadow of its former self and the groups that are
left active tend to be niche groups populated by regulars who have been
there for years. The number of new users is vanishingly small due to
the barriers to entry, the learning curve, and the lack of motivation to >overcome these obstacles.
Usenet is an important part of the history of the Internet and the >development of what we call "social media" today. But as a valuable
tool used in people's everyday life, its golden age has passed.
golden age
noun
1. A period of great peace, prosperity, and happiness.
2. The first age of the world, an untroubled and prosperous
era during which people lived in ideal happiness.
3. A happy age of peace and prosperity.
The American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language,
5th Edition * More at Wordnik
...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age_(metaphor)
Golden age (metaphor) - Wikipedia
A golden age is a period of high achievement or harmony in the
history of a country or people. The term originated from Greek
and Roman mythology and has been applied to various cultures and
eras, such as the Athenian, Islamic, and Chinese golden ages.
...
Obtaining Usenet is much more complicated than opening a web browser and >going to a website. You need a news reader and a provider. While this
might not seem "a big deal" to anyone remotely technically inclined, the >general population is not remotely technically inclined.
On Fri, 6 Sep 2024 10:07:01 -0500, Steve Bonine <spb@pobox.com> wrote:
snip
Obtaining Usenet is much more complicated than opening a web browser and >>going to a website. You need a news reader and a provider. While this >>might not seem "a big deal" to anyone remotely technically inclined, the >>general population is not remotely technically inclined.
p.s. the rocksolid light backend server is easily accessible to anyone
using a web browser: https://news.novabbs.org/common/grouplist.php, e.g. https://news.novabbs.org/arts/thread.php?group=alt.fan.usenet, thread... https://news.novabbs.org/computers/article-flat.php?id=800&group=alt.fan.usenet#800
rocksolid runs in any web browser, including tor browser which makes it
more secure...and many usenet news servers carry most of the newsgroups listed at https://news.novabbs.org/common/grouplist.php, so posting can
be done from any newsserver, including gateways and anonymous remailers,
so anyone visiting the "novabbs" website https://news.novabbs.org/ will
be able to find articles posted there; and if desired can register with username, email, password: https://news.novabbs.org/common/register.php
to enable posting using the web browser (no need for usenet newsreader)
always better to use a selection of nntp newsservers with the dedicated newsreader, especially because there are many thousands of other groups
that the "novabbs.org" website does not include, even though the server https://news.novabbs.org/common/connect.php has "approximately 42,000",
and other servers have much longer and more complete article retention, news.blueworldhosting.com/paganini.bofh.team/freenews.netfront.net etc.
Sn!pe wrote:
... In my view Google's attempt to usurp
Usenet's place on the Internet has been profoundly damaging to
Usenet from the very outset.
It has always been a mystery to me why Google got into the business of
being a portal to Usenet, and why they kept the facility going for so
long.
They generated spam
If you're looking for a villain for Usenet's demise, look at technology.
The general population decided that web-based facilities that didn't
require downloading software were "better" than Usenet
| Sysop: | Keyop |
|---|---|
| Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
| Users: | 349 |
| Nodes: | 16 (0 / 16) |
| Uptime: | 146:44:25 |
| Calls: | 7,614 |
| Calls today: | 2 |
| Files: | 12,792 |
| Messages: | 5,684,930 |
| Posted today: | 2 |