bgraham
join:2001-03-15
Smithtown, NY
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Newsgroups are part of the Internet
Newsgroups are part of the Internet and I have used them since the internet started. I would be mad if my ISP dropped them because I would have to subscribe to a service.
I guess that 99% of mom and pop internet users do not even know they exist so they will get very few complaints. |
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battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000
| "I guess that 99% of mom and pop internet users do not even know they exist so they will get very few complaints."
When we signed people up I used to tell people about newsgroup access. I used to hear replies like "Oh you mean like CNN?" After a while I gave up on anyone understanding or knowing what newsgroups are and just stopped telling people about it.
We dropped our newsgroups several years ago. I didn't want it to happen but then I was asked for the number of people who used newsgroups. When I looked at the usage and divided out the cost of offering newsgroups by the number of people that were using newsgroups it worked out that each user was costing two to three times what they were paying for service. |
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djrobx
join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
 ·PHONE POWER
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| I've enjoyed it while it lasted, but I can't say I'm surprised with TW's decision at all. Most legitimate Usenet purposes can still be done by Google Groups.
Hey TW: You better get SciFi HD now. I've used your newsgroups to acquire the HD versions of Battlestar Galactica. The "other" way to get it is to just switch to DirecTV. 
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Laser eye surgery rocks! I love frickin' laser beams. |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| reply to bgraham
said by bgraham  :Newsgroups are part of the Internet and I have used them since the internet started. I would be mad if my ISP dropped them because I would have to subscribe to a service. I guess that 99% of mom and pop internet users do not even know they exist so they will get very few complaints. I wouldn't call myself "mom and pop" I've been on the internet for nearly 9 years now and I consider myself pretty knowledgable. I've never used a newsgroup or even been to one. Not sure what one even looks like. I really don't see what the big deal is. Enlighten me. |
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battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000 | reply to djrobx
I was probably the only one that used newsgroups on a regular basis. It was cheaper for me to get a giganews account instead of running the stuff we had. |
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Qumahlin
Never Enough Time
Premium,MVM
join:2001-10-05
united state
| reply to BF69
There really is no big deal except for the people who use their ISP provided newsgroup accounts primarily for warez/movie downloads. Now those people will need to pay for that ability.
Otherwise as another poster pointed out thanks to google and a few other sites you can pretty much access newsgroups as normal via the web, and quite frankly accessing them via the web for actual discussion purposes (thier original use) is actually easier to use and makes discussions easier to follow.
As for what are newsgroups? »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet
Seriously though, piracy is pretty much the only thing still driving the newsgroup industry, it's also the #1 cause of increase in costs to the newsgroup industry due to the immense amount of storage required.
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Forum Posts:7500 |
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Homer J
Mmmm, Free Goo
join:2000-10-05
Springfield
| reply to BF69
Hate to say this, but if you have been on the Internet for 9 years and are not aware of what a Newgroup is, I would not call you knowledgable. They have been around a long time, and any knowledgable Internet user would know what they are.
D'oh
Just my .02
Homer J |
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old_dawg
"I Know Noting..."
join:2001-09-22
Westminster, MD
| reply to BF69
said by BF69 :said by bgraham :Newsgroups are part of the Internet and I have used them since the internet started. I would be mad if my ISP dropped them because I would have to subscribe to a service. I guess that 99% of mom and pop internet users do not even know they exist so they will get very few complaints. I wouldn't call myself "mom and pop" I've been on the internet for nearly 9 years now and I consider myself pretty knowledgable. I've never used a newsgroup or even been to one. Not sure what one even looks like. I really don't see what the big deal is. Enlighten me. No offense, but it sounds contradictory to claim to be a knowledgeable nine year "veteran" of the intertubes and not know what Usenet and newsgroups are...for the record, they're in the same aisle with the ftp's and whois. |
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drivebyposter
@o1.com
| reply to BF69
said by BF69 :I wouldn't call myself "mom and pop" I've been on the internet for nearly 9 years now and I consider myself pretty knowledgable. I've never used a newsgroup or even been to one. Not sure what one even looks like. I really don't see what the big deal is. Enlighten me. It's like email but with a topic hierarchy that goes 4 (or more) levels deep. It "looks" however you want it to look (unless you're using a screen reader). All functionality is provided by the client program.
The client programs provided advanced functions still not available in most forums and blogs. For example, you could block entire threads with a single command. Most modern forums only allow you to block the poster, not the replies to their posts.
As with email, posters pick a subject line for each message. This is in addition to the group's topic. That allows conversations to split, shift, merge and reform naturally, and also allows people to block subjects that don't interest them. |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| reply to BF69
said by BF69 :said by bgraham :Newsgroups are part of the Internet and I have used them since the internet started. I would be mad if my ISP dropped them because I would have to subscribe to a service. I guess that 99% of mom and pop internet users do not even know they exist so they will get very few complaints. I wouldn't call myself "mom and pop" I've been on the internet for nearly 9 years now and I consider myself pretty knowledgable. I've never used a newsgroup or even been to one. Not sure what one even looks like. I really don't see what the big deal is. Enlighten me. newsgroups=old school usually unmoderated forums |
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ackpth
@mindspring.com | reply to Qumahlin
Google has ruined Usenet by allowing free range spammers. |
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