What is Usenet?
- Usenet is a worldwide distributed discussion system. It is a collection of user-submitted notes or messages on various
subjects that are posted to servers on a worldwide network. Each subject
collection of posted notes is known as a newsgroup. Each group functions like an internet message board, usually covering special interests such as sports or internet technology.
- It was developed from the general-purpose UUCP dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was established in 1980. Users read and post messages (called articles or posts, and collectively termed news) to one or more categories, known as newsgroups. Usenet resembles a bulletin board system (BBS) in many respects and is the precursor to Internet forums that are widely used today. Usenet can be superficially regarded as a hybrid between email and web forums. Discussions are threaded, as with web forums and BBSes, though posts are stored on the server sequentially.
