<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
from	O
the	O
general-purpose	O
Unix-to-Unix	B-Protocol
Copy	I-Protocol
(	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
)	O
dial-up	O
network	O
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
read	O
and	O
post	O
messages	O
(	O
called	O
articles	O
or	O
posts	O
,	O
and	O
collectively	O
termed	O
news	B-Application
)	O
to	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
topic	O
categories	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
newsgroups	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usenet	O
resembles	O
a	O
bulletin	B-Application
board	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
BBS	B-Application
)	O
in	O
many	O
respects	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
precursor	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
forums	I-Application
that	O
have	O
become	O
widely	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Discussions	O
are	O
threaded	O
,	O
as	O
with	O
web	B-Application
forums	I-Application
and	O
BBSs	O
,	O
though	O
posts	O
are	O
stored	O
on	O
the	O
server	O
sequentially	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
difference	O
between	O
a	O
BBS	B-Application
or	O
web	B-Application
message	I-Application
board	I-Application
and	O
Usenet	O
is	O
the	O
absence	O
of	O
a	O
central	O
server	O
and	O
dedicated	O
administrator	O
or	O
hosting	O
provider	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usenet	O
is	O
distributed	O
among	O
a	O
large	O
,	O
constantly	O
changing	O
set	O
of	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
that	O
store	B-Protocol
and	I-Protocol
forward	I-Protocol
messages	O
to	O
one	O
another	O
via	O
"	O
newsfeeds	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Individual	O
users	O
may	O
read	O
messages	O
from	O
and	O
post	O
to	O
a	O
local	O
(	O
or	O
simply	O
preferred	O
)	O
news	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
operated	O
by	O
anyone	O
,	O
and	O
those	O
posts	O
will	O
automatically	O
be	O
forwarded	O
to	O
any	O
other	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
peered	B-Protocol
with	O
the	O
local	O
one	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
local	O
server	O
will	O
receive	O
any	O
news	B-Application
its	O
peers	O
have	O
that	O
it	O
currently	O
lacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
results	O
in	O
the	O
automatic	O
proliferation	O
of	O
content	O
posted	O
by	O
any	O
user	O
on	O
any	O
server	O
to	O
any	O
other	O
user	O
subscribed	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
newsgroups	B-Application
on	O
other	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
BBSs	O
and	O
message	B-Application
boards	I-Application
,	O
individual	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
or	O
service	O
providers	O
are	O
under	O
no	O
obligation	O
to	O
carry	O
any	O
specific	O
content	O
,	O
and	O
may	O
refuse	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
for	O
many	O
reasons	O
:	O
a	B-Application
news	I-Application
server	O
might	O
attempt	O
to	O
control	O
the	O
spread	O
of	O
spam	O
by	O
refusing	O
to	O
accept	O
or	O
forward	O
any	O
posts	O
that	O
trigger	O
spam	O
filters	O
,	O
or	O
a	O
server	O
without	O
high-capacity	O
data	O
storage	O
may	O
refuse	O
to	O
carry	O
any	O
newsgroups	B-Application
used	O
primarily	O
for	O
file	O
sharing	O
,	O
limiting	O
itself	O
to	O
discussion-oriented	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
unlike	O
BBSs	O
and	O
web	B-Application
forums	I-Application
,	O
the	O
dispersed	O
nature	O
of	O
Usenet	O
usually	O
permits	O
users	O
who	O
are	O
interested	O
in	O
receiving	O
some	O
content	O
to	O
access	O
it	O
simply	O
by	O
choosing	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
that	O
carry	O
the	O
feeds	O
they	O
want	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
shortly	O
before	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
became	O
commonly	O
affordable	O
,	O
Usenet	O
connections	O
via	O
Fidonet	O
's	O
dial-up	O
BBS	B-Application
networks	O
made	O
long-distance	O
or	O
worldwide	O
discussions	O
and	O
other	O
communication	O
widespread	O
,	O
not	O
needing	O
a	O
server	O
,	O
just	O
(	O
local	O
)	O
telephone	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Usenet	B-Application
group	I-Application
was	O
NET.general	O
,	O
which	O
quickly	O
became	O
net.general	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
Usenet	O
is	O
transported	O
via	O
the	O
Network	B-Protocol
News	I-Protocol
Transfer	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
NNTP	B-Protocol
)	O
on	O
TCP	B-Protocol
Port	I-Protocol
119	O
for	O
standard	O
,	O
unprotected	O
connections	O
and	O
on	O
TCP	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
563	O
for	O
SSL	B-Protocol
encrypted	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usenet	O
was	O
conceived	O
in	O
1979	O
and	O
publicly	O
established	O
in	O
1980	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
North	O
Carolina	O
at	O
Chapel	O
Hill	O
and	O
Duke	O
University	O
,	O
over	O
a	O
decade	O
before	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
went	O
online	O
(	O
and	O
thus	O
before	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
received	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
)	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
oldest	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
communications	O
systems	O
still	O
in	O
widespread	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
built	O
on	O
the	O
"	O
poor	O
man	O
's	O
ARPANET	O
"	O
,	O
employing	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
as	O
its	O
transport	O
protocol	O
to	O
offer	O
mail	O
and	O
file	O
transfers	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
announcements	O
through	O
the	O
newly	O
developed	O
news	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
such	O
as	O
A	B-Application
News	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
"	O
Usenet	O
"	O
emphasizes	O
its	O
creators	O
 '	O
hope	O
that	O
the	O
USENIX	B-Operating_System
organization	O
would	O
take	O
an	O
active	O
role	O
in	O
its	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
articles	O
that	O
users	O
post	O
to	O
Usenet	O
are	O
organized	O
into	O
topical	O
categories	O
known	O
as	O
newsgroups	B-Application
,	O
which	O
are	O
themselves	O
logically	O
organized	O
into	O
hierarchies	O
of	O
subjects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Or	O
,	O
talk.origins	B-Application
and	O
talk.atheism	O
are	O
in	O
the	O
talk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
user	O
subscribes	O
to	O
a	O
newsgroup	B-Application
,	O
the	O
news	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
software	O
keeps	O
track	O
of	O
which	O
articles	O
that	O
user	O
has	O
read	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
newsgroups	B-Application
,	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
the	O
articles	O
are	O
responses	O
to	O
some	O
other	O
article	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
modern	O
newsreaders	B-Protocol
display	O
the	O
articles	O
arranged	O
into	O
threads	O
and	O
subthreads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
wine-making	O
newsgroup	B-Application
rec.crafts.winemaking	O
,	O
someone	O
might	O
start	O
a	O
thread	O
called	O
;	O
"	O
What	O
's	O
the	O
best	O
yeast	O
?	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
user	O
posts	O
an	O
article	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
initially	O
only	O
available	O
on	O
that	O
user	O
's	O
news	B-Application
server	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
news	B-Application
server	I-Application
talks	O
to	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
other	O
servers	O
(	O
its	O
"	O
newsfeeds	O
"	O
)	O
and	O
exchanges	O
articles	O
with	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
fashion	O
,	O
the	O
article	O
is	O
copied	O
from	O
server	B-Protocol
to	I-Protocol
server	I-Protocol
and	O
should	O
eventually	O
reach	O
every	O
server	O
in	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
difference	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
is	O
that	O
Usenet	O
articles	O
can	O
be	O
read	O
by	O
any	O
user	O
whose	O
news	B-Application
server	I-Application
carries	O
the	O
group	O
to	O
which	O
the	O
message	O
was	O
posted	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
email	O
messages	O
,	O
which	O
have	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
specific	O
recipients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
Usenet	O
has	O
diminished	O
in	O
importance	O
with	O
respect	O
to	O
Internet	B-Application
forums	I-Application
,	O
blogs	O
,	O
mailing	O
lists	O
and	O
social	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usenet	O
differs	O
from	O
such	O
media	O
in	O
several	O
ways	O
:	O
Usenet	O
requires	O
no	O
personal	O
registration	O
with	O
the	O
group	O
concerned	O
;	O
information	O
need	O
not	O
be	O
stored	O
on	O
a	O
remote	O
server	O
;	O
archives	O
are	O
always	O
available	O
;	O
and	O
reading	O
the	O
messages	O
does	O
not	O
require	O
a	O
mail	O
or	O
web	B-Application
client	I-Application
,	O
but	O
a	B-Application
news	I-Application
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
now	O
possible	O
to	O
read	O
and	O
participate	O
in	O
Usenet	B-Application
newsgroups	I-Application
to	O
a	O
large	O
degree	O
using	O
ordinary	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
since	O
most	O
newsgroups	B-Application
are	O
now	O
copied	O
to	O
several	O
web	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
Internet	O
service	O
providers	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
other	O
Internet	O
sites	O
,	O
operate	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
for	O
their	O
users	O
to	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
news	B-Application
implementations	O
,	O
the	O
server	O
and	O
newsreader	B-Protocol
were	O
a	O
single	O
program	O
suite	O
,	O
running	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
one	O
uses	O
separate	O
newsreader	B-Protocol
client	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
program	O
that	O
resembles	O
an	O
email	O
client	O
but	O
accesses	O
Usenet	O
servers	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Not	O
all	O
ISPs	O
run	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	B-Application
news	I-Application
server	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
difficult	O
Internet	B-Protocol
services	I-Protocol
to	O
administer	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
data	O
involved	O
,	O
small	O
customer	O
base	O
(	O
compared	O
to	O
mainstream	O
Internet	O
service	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
disproportionately	O
high	O
volume	O
of	O
customer	O
support	O
incidents	O
(	O
frequently	O
complaining	O
of	O
missing	O
news	B-Application
articles	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
ISPs	O
outsource	O
news	B-Application
operations	O
to	O
specialist	O
sites	O
,	O
which	O
will	O
usually	O
appear	O
to	O
a	O
user	O
as	O
though	O
the	O
ISP	O
itself	O
runs	O
the	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
these	O
sites	O
carry	O
a	O
restricted	O
newsfeed	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
limited	O
number	O
of	O
newsgroups	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commonly	O
omitted	O
from	O
such	O
a	O
newsfeed	O
are	O
foreign-language	O
newsgroups	B-Application
and	O
the	O
hierarchy	O
which	O
largely	O
carries	O
software	O
,	O
music	O
,	O
videos	O
and	O
images	O
,	O
and	O
accounts	O
for	O
over	O
99	O
percent	O
of	O
article	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
Usenet	O
providers	O
that	O
offer	O
a	O
full	O
unrestricted	O
service	O
to	O
users	O
whose	O
ISPs	O
do	O
not	O
carry	O
news	B-Application
,	O
or	O
that	O
carry	O
a	O
restricted	O
feed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newsgroups	B-Application
are	O
typically	O
accessed	O
with	O
newsreaders	B-Protocol
:	O
applications	O
that	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
read	O
and	O
reply	O
to	O
postings	O
in	O
newsgroups	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
applications	O
act	O
as	O
clients	B-Protocol
to	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Historically	O
,	O
Usenet	O
was	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
developed	O
at	O
AT&T	O
,	O
but	O
newsreaders	B-Protocol
were	O
soon	O
available	O
for	O
all	O
major	O
operating	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Email	O
client	B-Protocol
programs	I-Protocol
and	O
Internet	B-Protocol
suites	I-Protocol
of	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
and	O
2000s	O
often	O
included	O
an	O
integrated	O
newsreader	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newsgroup	B-Application
enthusiasts	O
often	O
criticized	O
these	O
as	O
inferior	O
to	O
standalone	O
newsreaders	B-Protocol
that	O
made	O
correct	O
use	O
of	O
Usenet	O
protocols	O
,	O
standards	O
and	O
conventions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	O
front	O
ends	O
have	O
lowered	O
the	O
technical	O
entry	O
barrier	O
requirements	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
one	O
application	O
and	O
no	O
Usenet	O
NNTP	B-Protocol
server	O
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
numerous	O
websites	O
now	O
offering	O
web	O
based	O
gateways	O
to	O
Usenet	B-Application
groups	I-Application
,	O
although	O
some	O
people	O
have	O
begun	O
filtering	O
messages	O
made	O
by	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
web	O
interfaces	O
for	O
one	O
reason	O
or	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Groups	I-Application
is	O
one	O
such	O
web	O
based	O
front	O
end	O
and	O
some	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
can	O
access	O
Google	B-Application
Groups	I-Application
via	O
news	B-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
protocol	O
links	O
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
minority	O
of	O
newsgroups	B-Application
are	O
moderated	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
messages	O
submitted	O
by	O
readers	O
are	O
not	O
distributed	O
directly	O
to	O
Usenet	O
,	O
but	O
instead	O
are	O
emailed	O
to	O
the	O
moderators	O
of	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
for	O
approval	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moderators	O
ensure	O
that	O
the	O
messages	O
that	O
readers	O
see	O
in	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
conform	O
to	O
the	O
charter	O
of	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
,	O
though	O
they	O
are	O
not	O
required	O
to	O
follow	O
any	O
such	O
rules	O
or	O
guidelines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
moderators	O
are	O
appointed	O
in	O
the	O
proposal	O
for	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
,	O
and	O
changes	O
of	O
moderators	O
follow	O
a	O
succession	O
plan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Now	O
,	O
moderated	O
newsgroups	B-Application
may	O
appear	O
in	O
any	O
hierarchy	O
,	O
typically	O
with	O
.moderated	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
group	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usenet	B-Application
newsgroups	I-Application
in	O
the	O
Big-8	B-Architecture
hierarchy	I-Architecture
are	O
created	O
by	O
proposals	O
called	O
a	O
Request	O
for	O
Discussion	O
,	O
or	O
RFD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
RFD	O
is	O
required	O
to	O
have	O
the	O
following	O
information	O
:	O
newsgroup	B-Application
name	O
,	O
checkgroups	O
file	O
entry	O
,	O
and	O
moderated	O
or	O
unmoderated	O
status	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Discussion	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
newsgroup	B-Application
proposal	O
follows	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
finished	O
with	O
the	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
Big-8	O
Management	O
Board	O
making	O
the	O
decision	O
,	O
by	O
vote	O
,	O
to	O
either	O
approve	O
or	O
disapprove	O
the	O
new	O
newsgroup	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unmoderated	O
newsgroups	B-Application
form	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
Usenet	B-Application
newsgroups	I-Application
,	O
and	O
messages	O
submitted	O
by	O
readers	O
for	O
unmoderated	O
newsgroups	B-Application
are	O
immediately	O
propagated	O
for	O
everyone	O
to	O
see	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
little	O
cited	O
defense	O
of	O
propagation	O
is	O
canceling	O
a	O
propagated	O
message	O
,	O
but	O
few	O
Usenet	O
users	O
use	O
this	O
command	O
and	O
some	O
news	B-Application
readers	O
do	O
not	O
offer	O
cancellation	O
commands	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
because	O
article	O
storage	O
expires	O
in	O
relatively	O
short	O
order	O
anyway	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Almost	O
all	O
unmoderated	O
Usenet	B-Application
groups	I-Application
tend	O
to	O
receive	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
spam	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usenet	O
is	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
protocols	O
for	O
generating	O
,	O
storing	O
and	O
retrieving	O
news	B-Application
"	O
articles	O
"	O
(	O
which	O
resemble	O
Internet	O
mail	O
messages	O
)	O
and	O
for	O
exchanging	O
them	O
among	O
a	O
readership	O
which	O
is	O
potentially	O
widely	O
distributed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
protocols	O
most	O
commonly	O
use	O
a	O
flooding	B-Protocol
algorithm	I-Protocol
which	O
propagates	O
copies	O
throughout	O
a	O
network	O
of	O
participating	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
collection	O
of	O
Usenet	O
servers	O
has	O
thus	O
a	O
certain	O
peer-to-peer	O
character	O
in	O
that	O
they	O
share	O
resources	O
by	O
exchanging	O
them	O
,	O
the	O
granularity	O
of	O
exchange	O
however	O
is	O
on	O
a	O
different	O
scale	O
than	O
a	O
modern	O
peer-to-peer	O
system	O
and	O
this	O
characteristic	O
excludes	O
the	O
actual	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
who	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
with	O
a	O
typical	O
client-server	O
application	O
,	O
much	O
like	O
an	O
email	O
reader	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Copyright	O
holders	O
may	O
still	O
request	O
the	O
manual	O
deletion	O
of	O
infringing	O
material	O
using	O
the	O
provisions	O
of	O
World	O
Intellectual	O
Property	O
Organization	O
treaty	O
implementations	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Online	O
Copyright	O
Infringement	O
Liability	O
Limitation	O
Act	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
would	O
require	O
giving	O
notice	O
to	O
each	O
individual	O
news	B-Application
server	I-Application
administrator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
Usenet	O
is	O
transported	O
via	O
the	O
Network	B-Protocol
News	I-Protocol
Transfer	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
NNTP	B-Protocol
)	O
on	O
TCP	B-Protocol
Port	I-Protocol
119	O
for	O
standard	O
,	O
unprotected	O
connections	O
and	O
on	O
TCP	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
563	O
for	O
SSL	B-Protocol
encrypted	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
major	O
set	O
of	O
worldwide	O
newsgroups	B-Application
is	O
contained	O
within	O
nine	O
hierarchies	O
,	O
eight	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
operated	O
under	O
consensual	O
guidelines	O
that	O
govern	O
their	O
administration	O
and	O
naming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
Big	B-Architecture
Eight	I-Architecture
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
news	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
See	O
also	O
the	B-Architecture
Great	I-Architecture
Renaming	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
alt	B-Architecture
.	I-Architecture
</s>
<s>
*	O
hierarchy	O
is	O
not	O
subject	O
to	O
the	O
procedures	O
controlling	O
groups	O
in	O
the	O
Big	B-Architecture
Eight	I-Architecture
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
less	O
organized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Groups	O
in	O
the	O
alt	B-Architecture
.	I-Architecture
</s>
<s>
*	O
hierarchy	O
tend	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
specialized	O
or	O
specific	O
—	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
there	O
might	O
be	O
a	O
newsgroup	B-Application
under	O
the	O
Big	B-Architecture
Eight	I-Architecture
which	O
contains	O
discussions	O
about	O
children	O
's	O
books	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
group	O
in	O
the	B-Architecture
alt	I-Architecture
hierarchy	I-Architecture
may	O
be	O
dedicated	O
to	O
one	O
specific	O
author	O
of	O
children	O
's	O
books	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
other	O
hierarchies	O
of	O
newsgroups	B-Application
are	O
distributed	O
alongside	O
these	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
*	O
hierarchy	O
from	O
the	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
closed	O
its	O
newsserver	B-Application
in	O
June	O
2010	O
,	O
providing	O
support	O
for	O
its	O
products	O
over	O
forums	O
now	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
users	O
prefer	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
Usenet	O
"	O
to	O
refer	O
only	O
to	O
the	O
Big	B-Architecture
Eight	I-Architecture
hierarchies	O
;	O
others	O
include	O
alt	B-Architecture
.	I-Architecture
</s>
<s>
The	O
more	O
general	O
term	O
"	O
netnews	O
"	O
incorporates	O
the	O
entire	O
medium	O
,	O
including	O
private	O
organizational	O
news	B-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
FAQ	O
would	O
be	O
posted	O
within	O
one	O
group	O
and	O
a	O
cross	O
post	O
to	O
the	O
*	O
.answers	O
group	O
at	O
the	O
head	O
of	O
the	O
hierarchy	O
seen	O
by	O
some	O
as	O
a	O
refining	O
of	O
information	O
in	O
that	O
news	B-Application
group	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
subgroups	O
are	O
recursive	O
—	O
to	O
the	O
point	O
of	O
some	O
silliness	O
in	O
alt	B-Architecture
.	I-Architecture
</s>
<s>
Usenet	O
was	O
originally	O
created	O
to	O
distribute	O
text	O
content	O
encoded	O
in	O
the	O
7-bit	B-Protocol
ASCII	I-Protocol
character	O
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
programs	O
that	O
encode	O
8-bit	O
values	O
into	O
ASCII	B-Protocol
,	O
it	O
became	O
practical	O
to	O
distribute	O
binary	O
files	O
as	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Binary	O
posts	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
size	O
and	O
often-dubious	O
copyright	O
status	O
,	O
were	O
in	O
time	O
restricted	O
to	O
specific	O
newsgroups	B-Application
,	O
making	O
it	O
easier	O
for	O
administrators	O
to	O
allow	O
or	O
disallow	O
the	O
traffic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
oldest	O
widely	O
used	O
encoding	O
method	O
for	O
binary	O
content	O
is	O
uuencode	B-Device
,	O
from	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
UUCP	B-Protocol
package	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
header	O
extensions	O
and	O
the	O
Base64	B-Protocol
and	O
Quoted-Printable	O
MIME	B-Protocol
encodings	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
new	O
generation	O
of	O
binary	O
transport	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
practice	O
,	O
MIME	B-Protocol
has	O
seen	O
increased	O
adoption	O
in	O
text	O
messages	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
avoided	O
for	O
most	O
binary	O
attachments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Mac	O
OS	O
,	O
both	O
BinHex	O
and	O
special	O
MIME	B-Protocol
types	O
are	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
lesser	O
known	O
encoding	O
systems	O
that	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
used	O
at	O
one	O
time	O
were	O
BTOA	O
,	O
XX	B-Device
encoding	I-Device
,	O
BOO	B-Application
,	O
and	O
USR	O
encoding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
achieves	O
about	O
a	O
30%	O
reduction	O
in	O
data	O
transferred	O
by	O
assuming	O
that	O
most	O
8-bit	O
characters	O
can	O
safely	O
be	O
transferred	O
across	O
the	O
network	O
without	O
first	O
encoding	O
into	O
the	O
7-bit	B-Protocol
ASCII	I-Protocol
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
common	O
method	O
of	O
uploading	B-Application
large	O
binary	O
posts	O
to	O
Usenet	O
is	O
to	O
convert	O
the	O
files	O
into	O
RAR	O
archives	O
and	O
create	O
Parchive	B-General_Concept
files	O
for	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Parity	B-General_Concept
files	I-General_Concept
are	O
used	O
to	O
recreate	O
missing	O
data	O
when	O
not	O
every	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
files	O
reaches	O
a	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
news	B-Application
server	I-Application
allocates	O
a	O
certain	O
amount	O
of	O
storage	O
space	O
for	O
content	O
in	O
each	O
newsgroup	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Binary	O
newsgroups	B-Application
are	O
only	O
able	O
to	O
function	O
reliably	O
if	O
there	O
is	O
sufficient	O
storage	O
allocated	O
to	O
handle	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
articles	O
being	O
added	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
at	O
one	O
time	O
how	O
posting	O
undesired	O
content	O
was	O
countered	O
;	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
would	O
be	O
flooded	O
with	O
random	O
garbage	O
data	O
posts	O
,	O
of	O
sufficient	O
quantity	O
to	O
push	O
out	O
all	O
the	O
content	O
to	O
be	O
suppressed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
Usenet	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
have	O
enough	O
capacity	O
to	O
archive	O
years	O
of	O
binary	O
content	O
even	O
when	O
flooded	O
with	O
new	O
data	O
at	O
the	O
maximum	O
daily	O
speed	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
part	O
because	O
of	O
such	O
long	O
retention	O
times	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
growing	O
Internet	O
upload	B-Application
speeds	O
,	O
Usenet	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
by	O
individual	O
users	O
to	O
store	O
backup	B-Protocol
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
commercial	O
providers	O
offer	O
easier	O
to	O
use	O
online	B-General_Concept
backup	I-General_Concept
services	I-General_Concept
,	O
storing	O
data	O
on	O
Usenet	O
is	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
(	O
although	O
access	O
to	O
Usenet	O
itself	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
method	O
requires	O
the	O
uploader	B-Application
to	O
cede	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
distribution	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
;	O
the	O
files	O
are	O
automatically	O
disseminated	O
to	O
all	O
Usenet	O
providers	O
exchanging	O
data	O
for	O
the	O
news	B-Application
group	I-Application
it	O
is	O
posted	O
to	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
general	O
the	O
user	O
must	O
manually	O
select	O
,	O
prepare	O
and	O
upload	B-Application
the	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
data	O
is	O
typically	O
encrypted	O
because	O
it	O
is	O
available	O
to	O
anyone	O
to	O
download	O
the	O
backup	B-Protocol
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
files	O
are	O
uploaded	B-Application
,	O
having	O
multiple	O
copies	O
spread	O
to	O
different	O
geographical	O
regions	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
on	O
different	O
news	B-Application
servers	I-Application
decreases	O
the	O
chances	O
of	O
data	O
loss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
binary	O
newsgroups	B-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
distribute	O
completely	O
legal	O
user-created	O
works	O
,	O
Free	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
and	O
public	O
domain	O
material	O
,	O
some	O
binary	O
groups	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
illegally	O
distribute	O
Proprietary	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
copyrighted	O
media	O
,	O
and	O
pornographic	O
material	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
SMTP	B-Protocol
email	O
,	O
servers	O
generally	O
assume	O
the	O
header	O
and	O
origin	O
information	O
in	O
a	O
post	O
is	O
true	O
and	O
accurate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
SMTP	B-Protocol
email	O
,	O
Usenet	O
post	O
headers	O
are	O
easily	O
falsified	O
so	O
as	O
to	O
obscure	O
the	O
true	O
identity	O
and	O
location	O
of	O
the	O
message	O
source	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
manner	O
,	O
Usenet	O
is	O
significantly	O
different	O
from	O
modern	O
P2P	O
services	O
;	O
most	O
P2P	O
users	O
distributing	O
content	O
are	O
typically	O
immediately	O
identifiable	O
to	O
all	O
other	O
users	O
by	O
their	O
network	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
but	O
the	O
origin	O
information	O
for	O
a	O
Usenet	O
posting	O
can	O
be	O
completely	O
obscured	O
and	O
unobtainable	O
once	O
it	O
has	O
propagated	O
past	O
the	O
original	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
P2P	O
services	O
a	O
downloader	O
is	O
identifiable	O
to	O
all	O
others	O
by	O
their	O
network	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
UUCP/Usenet	O
Logical	O
Map	O
,	O
original	O
by	O
Steven	O
McGeady	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newsgroup	B-Application
experiments	O
first	O
occurred	O
in	O
1979	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tom	O
Truscott	O
and	O
Jim	O
Ellis	O
of	O
Duke	O
University	O
came	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
idea	O
as	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
a	O
local	O
announcement	O
program	O
,	O
and	O
established	O
a	O
link	O
with	O
nearby	O
University	O
of	O
North	O
Carolina	O
using	O
Bourne	B-Device
shell	I-Device
scripts	O
written	O
by	O
Steve	O
Bellovin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
public	O
release	O
of	O
news	B-Application
was	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
conventional	O
compiled	O
software	O
,	O
written	O
by	O
Steve	O
Daniel	O
and	O
Truscott	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UUCP	B-Protocol
networks	O
spread	O
quickly	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
lower	O
costs	O
involved	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
existing	O
leased	O
lines	O
,	O
X.25	B-Protocol
links	O
or	O
even	O
ARPANET	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1983	O
,	O
thousands	O
of	O
people	O
participated	O
from	O
more	O
than	O
500	O
hosts	O
,	O
mostly	O
universities	O
and	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
sites	O
but	O
also	O
a	O
growing	O
number	O
of	O
Unix-related	O
companies	O
;	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
hosts	O
nearly	O
doubled	O
to	O
940	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
than	O
100	O
newsgroups	B-Application
existed	O
,	O
more	O
than	O
20	O
devoted	O
to	O
Unix	B-Application
and	O
other	O
computer-related	O
topics	O
,	O
and	O
at	O
least	O
a	O
third	O
to	O
recreation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
mesh	O
of	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
hosts	O
rapidly	O
expanded	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
desirable	O
to	O
distinguish	O
the	O
Usenet	O
subset	O
from	O
the	O
overall	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
vote	O
was	O
taken	O
at	O
the	O
1982	O
USENIX	B-Operating_System
conference	O
to	O
choose	O
a	O
new	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
Usenet	O
was	O
retained	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
established	O
that	O
it	O
only	O
applied	O
to	O
news	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
,	O
early	O
Usenet	O
traffic	O
was	O
also	O
exchanged	O
with	O
Fidonet	O
and	O
other	O
dial-up	O
BBS	B-Application
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Widespread	O
use	O
of	O
Usenet	O
by	O
the	O
BBS	B-Application
community	O
was	O
facilitated	O
by	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
feeds	O
made	O
possible	O
by	O
MS-DOS	O
implementations	O
of	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
,	O
such	O
as	O
UFGATE	O
(	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
to	O
FidoNet	O
Gateway	O
)	O
,	O
FSUUCP	O
and	O
UUPC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1986	O
,	O
RFC	O
977	O
provided	O
the	O
Network	B-Protocol
News	I-Protocol
Transfer	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
NNTP	B-Protocol
)	O
specification	O
for	O
distribution	O
of	O
Usenet	O
articles	O
over	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
as	O
a	O
more	O
flexible	O
alternative	O
to	O
informal	O
Internet	O
transfers	O
of	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
traffic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
Internet	O
boom	O
of	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
almost	O
all	O
Usenet	O
distribution	O
is	O
over	O
NNTP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
versions	O
of	O
Usenet	O
used	O
Duke	O
's	O
A	B-Application
News	I-Application
software	O
,	O
designed	O
for	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
articles	O
a	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Matt	O
Glickman	O
and	O
Horton	O
at	O
Berkeley	O
produced	O
an	O
improved	O
version	O
called	O
B	B-Application
News	I-Application
that	O
could	O
handle	O
the	O
rising	O
traffic	O
(	O
about	O
50	O
articles	O
a	O
day	O
as	O
of	O
late	O
1983	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
C	B-Application
News	I-Application
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Geoff	O
Collyer	O
and	O
Henry	O
Spencer	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Toronto	O
,	O
was	O
comparable	O
to	O
B	B-Application
News	I-Application
in	O
features	O
but	O
offered	O
considerably	O
faster	O
processing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
InterNetNews	B-Application
by	O
Rich	B-Application
Salz	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
continuous	O
message	O
flow	O
made	O
possible	O
by	O
NNTP	B-Protocol
versus	O
the	O
batched	O
store-and-forward	B-Protocol
design	O
of	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
that	O
time	O
INN	B-Application
development	O
has	O
continued	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
news	B-Application
server	I-Application
software	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
developed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
place	O
where	O
Tim	O
Berners-Lee	O
announced	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
,	O
where	O
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
announced	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
project	O
,	O
and	O
where	O
Marc	O
Andreessen	O
announced	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
the	O
Mosaic	B-Application
browser	I-Application
and	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
image	O
tag	O
,	O
which	O
revolutionized	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
by	O
turning	O
it	O
into	O
a	O
graphical	O
medium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Segan	O
said	O
that	O
some	O
people	O
pointed	O
to	O
the	O
Eternal	B-Application
September	I-Application
in	O
1993	O
as	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
Usenet	O
's	O
decline	O
,	O
when	O
AOL	O
began	O
offering	O
Usenet	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
argues	O
that	O
when	O
users	O
began	O
putting	O
large	O
(	O
non-text	O
)	O
files	O
on	O
Usenet	O
by	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
,	O
Usenet	O
disk	B-General_Concept
space	I-General_Concept
and	O
traffic	O
increased	O
correspondingly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
4	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
the	O
Usenet	O
news	B-Application
service	O
link	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
North	O
Carolina	O
at	O
Chapel	O
Hill	O
(	O
news.unc.edu	O
)	O
was	O
retired	O
after	O
32	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
,	O
John	O
Biggs	O
of	O
TechCrunch	O
said	O
"	O
As	O
long	O
as	O
there	O
are	O
folks	O
who	O
think	O
a	O
command	B-Application
line	I-Application
is	O
better	O
than	O
a	O
mouse	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
text-only	O
social	O
network	O
will	O
live	O
on	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
there	O
are	O
still	O
some	O
active	O
text	O
newsgroups	B-Application
on	O
Usenet	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
now	O
primarily	O
used	O
to	O
share	O
large	O
files	O
between	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
underlying	O
technology	O
of	O
Usenet	O
remains	O
unchanged	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
the	O
number	O
of	O
all	O
text	O
posts	O
made	O
in	O
all	O
Big-8	O
newsgroups	B-Application
averaged	O
1,800	O
new	O
messages	O
every	O
hour	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
average	O
of	O
25,000	O
messages	O
per	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
of	O
this	O
traffic	O
increase	O
reflects	O
not	O
an	O
increase	O
in	O
discrete	O
users	O
or	O
newsgroup	B-Application
discussions	O
,	O
but	O
instead	O
the	O
combination	O
of	O
massive	O
automated	O
spamming	O
and	O
an	O
increase	O
in	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
newsgroups	B-Application
in	O
which	O
large	O
files	O
are	O
often	O
posted	O
publicly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Verizon	O
reduced	O
its	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
Big	B-Architecture
8	I-Architecture
"	O
hierarchies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sprint	O
stopped	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
alt	B-Architecture
.	I-Architecture
</s>
<s>
JANET	O
announced	O
it	O
would	O
discontinue	O
Usenet	O
service	O
,	O
effective	O
July	O
31	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
citing	O
Google	B-Application
Groups	I-Application
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
discontinue	O
support	O
for	O
its	O
public	O
newsgroups	B-Application
(	O
msnews.microsoft.com	O
)	O
from	O
June	O
1	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
offering	O
web	B-Application
forums	I-Application
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
by	O
stating	O
that	O
he	O
was	O
,	O
"	O
afraid	O
to	O
admit	O
it	O
,	O
but	O
I	O
started	O
archiving	O
most	O
'	O
useful	O
 '	O
newsgroups	B-Application
as	O
of	O
September	O
18.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1985	O
,	O
two	O
news	B-Application
archiving	O
systems	O
and	O
one	O
RFC	O
were	O
posted	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
system	O
,	O
YA	O
News	B-Application
Archiver	O
by	O
Chuq	O
Von	O
Rospach	O
,	O
was	O
similar	O
to	O
keepnews	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
"	O
designed	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
much	O
larger	O
archives	O
where	O
the	O
wonderful	O
quadratic	O
search	O
time	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
...	O
becomes	O
a	O
real	O
problem.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
included	O
was	O
C	B-Language
code	O
for	O
the	O
internal	O
data	O
structure	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
some	O
sort	O
of	O
keyword	O
index	O
for	O
[	O
the	O
news	B-Application
archive ]	O
.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Alt	O
Sex	O
Stories	O
Text	O
Repository	O
(	O
ASSTR	B-Application
)	O
site	O
archives	O
and	O
indexes	O
erotic	O
and	O
pornographic	O
stories	O
posted	O
to	O
the	O
Usenet	B-Application
group	I-Application
alt.sex.stories	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
has	O
partly	O
been	O
countered	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
X-No-Archive	B-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Yes	I-Protocol
header	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
itself	O
controversial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web-based	O
archiving	O
of	O
Usenet	O
posts	O
began	O
in	O
1995	O
at	O
Deja	O
News	B-Application
with	O
a	O
very	O
large	O
,	O
searchable	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2001	O
,	O
this	O
database	O
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Groups	I-Application
hosts	O
an	O
archive	O
of	O
Usenet	O
posts	O
dating	O
back	O
to	O
May	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
posts	O
,	O
which	O
date	O
from	O
May	O
1981	O
to	O
June	O
1991	O
,	O
were	O
donated	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
by	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Western	O
Ontario	O
with	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
David	O
Wiseman	O
and	O
others	O
,	O
and	O
were	O
originally	O
archived	O
by	O
Henry	O
Spencer	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Toronto	O
's	O
Zoology	O
department	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
archive	O
of	O
posts	O
from	O
March	O
1995	O
onward	O
was	O
started	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
Deja	O
News	B-Application
(	O
later	O
Deja	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
purchased	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
in	O
February	O
2001	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
began	O
archiving	O
Usenet	O
posts	O
for	O
itself	O
starting	O
in	O
the	O
second	O
week	O
of	O
August	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
by	O
Vice	O
and	O
Wired	O
contributors	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
former	O
employees	O
for	O
its	O
stewardship	O
of	O
the	O
archive	O
and	O
for	O
breaking	O
its	O
search	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
