Bert Olton
2011-06-18 21:23:20 UTC
The following is clipped from the Usenet Newsgroup
alt.os.linux.mandriva. Pay particularly close attention to the last two
what Usenet is, but you should view things from the proper perspective.
See, when Usenet came into being, the only people using it were those
with a proper technical background. Engineers and computer hobbyists.
This was in a time long before (virtually) everyone owned a computer,
and of those who did, not everyone had a modem. There was no such thing
yet as the internet as we know it today. Usenet was simply scattered
across BBS systems, and one had to dial into one of those.
Nowadays, Usenet is part of the internet, and (virtually) everyone's got
at least one computer and an internet connection - and most of those are
broadband connections. But just because the general populace has a PC
and a broadband connection to the internet doesn't mean that they've
suddenly become more aware. Quite the contrary, people are deliberately
being dumbed down by governments and corporations. The human species
has been reduced to being just a cogwheel in the financial-economical
construct.
As such, I think that the amount of people who communicate via Usenet
may be around the same as it used to be before the advent of the
internet as we know it, and possibly there are even more Usenet denizens
now. But of course, due to the now more widespread use and ownership of
computer systems - most of which have of course been reduced to the role
of a household appliance, thanks to Microsoft Windows - the statistical
percentage of people who own a computer and a broadband connection *and*
who know about (and dwell on) Usenet is smaller.
And then there's also the fringe use of Usenet which has arisen from the
opening up of the internet to the public, i.e. the binary newsgroups,
most of which deal with the distribution of illegal and/or copyrighted
material. And that too is a consequence of the financial-economic
system, and a few of its children, i.e. proprietary and commercially
sold software on the one hand, and the audiovisual industry on the other
hand. I'm not going to touch upon the illegal stuff such as child
pornography et al, because sadly enough, there have always been and will
always be perverts.
Web-based forums are hardly a valid replacement for Usenet. Most web-
based forum software lacks threading, everything is cataloged under
multiple pages rather than a visually more comprehensive thread,
moderators often abuse their privileges, et al.
Web-based forums are for the point & click crowd, who think that the
World Wide Web and the internet are one and the same, and who want to
select emoticons with their mouse from a choice box, rather than to type
them. :p
-- Aragorn (registered GNU/Linux user #223157)
Hear, hear Aragorn!!
Best regards to all,
Bert
alt.os.linux.mandriva. Pay particularly close attention to the last two
Usenet is dying. Ask anyone what Usenet is.
I disagree with that. You are correct in that not too many people knowwhat Usenet is, but you should view things from the proper perspective.
See, when Usenet came into being, the only people using it were those
with a proper technical background. Engineers and computer hobbyists.
This was in a time long before (virtually) everyone owned a computer,
and of those who did, not everyone had a modem. There was no such thing
yet as the internet as we know it today. Usenet was simply scattered
across BBS systems, and one had to dial into one of those.
Nowadays, Usenet is part of the internet, and (virtually) everyone's got
at least one computer and an internet connection - and most of those are
broadband connections. But just because the general populace has a PC
and a broadband connection to the internet doesn't mean that they've
suddenly become more aware. Quite the contrary, people are deliberately
being dumbed down by governments and corporations. The human species
has been reduced to being just a cogwheel in the financial-economical
construct.
As such, I think that the amount of people who communicate via Usenet
may be around the same as it used to be before the advent of the
internet as we know it, and possibly there are even more Usenet denizens
now. But of course, due to the now more widespread use and ownership of
computer systems - most of which have of course been reduced to the role
of a household appliance, thanks to Microsoft Windows - the statistical
percentage of people who own a computer and a broadband connection *and*
who know about (and dwell on) Usenet is smaller.
And then there's also the fringe use of Usenet which has arisen from the
opening up of the internet to the public, i.e. the binary newsgroups,
most of which deal with the distribution of illegal and/or copyrighted
material. And that too is a consequence of the financial-economic
system, and a few of its children, i.e. proprietary and commercially
sold software on the one hand, and the audiovisual industry on the other
hand. I'm not going to touch upon the illegal stuff such as child
pornography et al, because sadly enough, there have always been and will
always be perverts.
The Mageia WWW forum may be a new way forward.
based forum software lacks threading, everything is cataloged under
multiple pages rather than a visually more comprehensive thread,
moderators often abuse their privileges, et al.
Web-based forums are for the point & click crowd, who think that the
World Wide Web and the internet are one and the same, and who want to
select emoticons with their mouse from a choice box, rather than to type
them. :p
-- Aragorn (registered GNU/Linux user #223157)
Best regards to all,
Bert
--
Si vis pacem, para bellum. To those who have served or are serving the
cause of freedom in peace or in war at home or abroad, thank you. “Let's
roll!”, Todd Beamer, United Airlines Flight 93, September 11, 2001.
Si vis pacem, para bellum. To those who have served or are serving the
cause of freedom in peace or in war at home or abroad, thank you. “Let's
roll!”, Todd Beamer, United Airlines Flight 93, September 11, 2001.