The Usenet - The Origins
Usenet ("originally Unix User Network") refers to a worldwide network of news servers that enables the exchange of messages, with file attachments if desired. Usenet provides discussion forums whose content now dates back to the 1980s. One part of these newsgroups is the so-called Binary Usenet, in which binary files, for example images, videos or Word documents, can be attached for clarification and accessed.
Beginnings of the Usenet: Two computers networked together
Even before the development of the modern Internet, Usenet emerged from a project by three students. Steve Bellovin, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis connected three computers at the University of North Carolina and Duke University over the telephone line using a modem in 1979. Using the Unix To Unix Copy Protocol UUCP (UUCP), it was possible to exchange data directly between the two computers. Thus an electronic network was created, which still exists today as an independent service of the Internet and is not necessarily linked to the Internet, but can also be used offline. UUCP makes it possible to participate in Usenet without an Internet connection.
The Usenet grows: From UUCP to NNTP
In the following years, the Internet continued to develop and was released for general use. As a result, Usenet was also converted to TCP/IP, on which the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) is based. This thus replaced the UUCP. The text-based transfer protocol NNTP transfers all messages individually and made it possible for computers with any operating system to participate in Usenet for the first time. UUCP remained in parallel and is still used today by many Usenet users without an Internet connection. Clarification of terms: What is the difference between "World Wide Web" and "Internet" Many people equate the meanings of the terms "Internet" and "World Wide Web". Strictly speaking, however, this is not correct. The term "Internet" refers to a worldwide network of computers. Thus, the Internet consists of hardware: plugs, cables, computers, etc. The term "World Wide Web", on the other hand, refers to a specific type of software for the Internet. All pages beginning with "http://" belong to the WWW, which can therefore be described as one of numerous applications of the "Internet" facility. Strictly speaking, you cannot surf the Internet, but you can surf the World Wide Web.
What does the Usenet contain?
In the Usenet, derived from the abbreviation for "Unix User Network", literally translated as "Linux-based user network", discussion forums are made available, divided into subsections in so-called "newsgroups". These forums are in plain text form. Every user who is logged into the Usenet can participate in discussions in these groups. The newsgroups are figuratively comparable to a collection of bulletin boards. If you now have a classic discussion forum from the World Wide Web in mind, you're not entirely wrong - there are similarities. But newsgroups can do more.
How is the Usenet structured?
The classic discussion forum in the World Wide Web is stored on a central computer - the newsgroups, on the other hand, are stored worldwide on many individual Usenet servers. Such a server is in constant contact with several other servers. These are called its "peers" and are in turn networked with other "peers". This creates a global network that passes on information to the last computer. Usenet does not have a control center that monitors compliance with Usenet rules. It is therefore a decentralized network that is legally classified as a "means of communication". There is no central server, but each Usenet provider is responsible for itself.
Structure of newsgroups on the Usenet
There are tens of thousands of newsgroups on the Usenet, and keeping track of them can quickly become complicated. Usenet newsgroups are sorted by topic so that users can find them quickly. For every conceivable topic, you can find a newsgroup on the Usenet in which you can find answers to open questions or exchange information about interesting topics. To do this, one opens a so-called thread by writing a question - the so-called original posting (OP). This thread represents, metaphorically speaking, a note on the virtual bulletin board. Users can respond to this question by writing a new "note" that is attached to the first note - called a "follow up". If another user wants to add comments specifically to this second note, he writes another post that refers to it. So on the bulletin board, this third note hangs on the second one. This is how the classic structure of questions and corresponding answers, the thread or "discussion thread", is created. Naming and classification of newsgroups The language in the newsgroups is mostly English, since the Usenet is an international network. However, as Usenet became more widespread, the need for newsgroups in other languages grew. Since 1992, there have been newsgroups in German whose names begin with "de." de. The country name forms the first part of each (text) newsgroup name. After the dot follows the more precise classification of the group. For example, "de.comp." stands for a German-language group in which topics related to computers are discussed. This is followed by more and more finely defined terms that reduce the range of topics by means of several subhierarchies, such as "de.comp.hardware.laufwerke". A newsgroup with the name "de.nrw.rec." deals with topics related to leisure activities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Initially, there were a total of seven hierarchies, i.e. topic groups with their respective abbreviations (called big seven or big eight)
Big Seven
- 1. comp (computer): All topics relating to computers
- 2. soc (social): All social topics
- 3. news: Everything about the Usenet itself
- 4. sci (science): Scientific and technical topics
- 5. misc (miscellaneous): All topics that do not fit into the other categories
- 6. talk: General talk
- 7. rec (recreational): Everything about leisure and recreation, also cultural First introduced in 1995:
- 8. humanities: humanities topics.
With the introduction of NNTP, Usenet was decentralized in such a way that each user could add additional hierarchies via his own news server.
Opening threads in newsgroups
Anyone with an open question can send it to a Usenet newsgroup that addresses the topic of that question. In principle, any user can ask questions, write answers and participate in discussions anywhere on the Usenet. In this way, Usenet brings together people who have similar interests and want to exchange ideas. A posting is distributed from computer to computer all over the world, so that within seconds every Usenet user can be reached worldwide.
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