Microsoft to do for Usenet what it did for Email & The Web?

tjones2 writes "Seems like Microsoft isn't content with sad state of email these days. They now want to "make engaging with communities easier and friendlier". This means extending their reach into Usenet." Fortunately most of Usenet is such a cespool that really they can only make it better. And after cornering the market on email worms, imagine the benefits they can bring to NNTP!

Comments

Re:Slightly Off-Topic: I'd be happy if...

[Antithetical]

Here's a good way to get those usenet responses back and keep your real email hidden, disposable addresses:

Spam Gourmet

Re:usenet is ok the way it is

[antiMStroll]

Usenet is still one of the best computer support resources available and Google Groups has unearthed the solution to innumerable problems for me. Like Slashdot, be prepared to sift through a lot of misinformation to find your answer, but Usenet has the advantage of not having moderators push the wrong one up. Usenet's division into areas of interest also helps me discover new music constantly, and there are some real vibrant communities online. One good example is alt.binaries.pictures.aviation. The irony is that Microsoft deliberately chose not to support Usenet a decade ago. Decoding binaries in Windows has long been a trivial exercise with third party software such as Xnews, Agent99 or FreeAgent. Setting it up is usually no harder than typing 'news.mysip.com' in a config field. My guess is their desperation for any new growth area is leading them to revisit Usenet as a 'feature'.

For those who haven't tried Usenet, don't believe the 'cesspool' hype. My ISP provides over 30,000 Usenet groups, most of which never see posts. Some groups are cesspools of viagra, porn and evidence eliminator spam, but 30,000 unmoderated Slashdots would be no different. Check out Fuckedcompany.com's online forums if you think cesspools are a Usenet-only phenomenum.

Marc Smith's work is actually pretty cool

[tadghin]

I've been following it ever since he first did Netscan back at UCLA. In fact, I used Netscan to do the statistics for the Esther Dyson Release 1.0 issue on open source in 1998, projecting the relative size of open source communities by comparing their usenet footprint (as well as other stats, like size of conferences and mailing lists.)

We had Marc do a presentation on what he's doing at the last O'Reilly Emerging Technologies Conference, and it was very well received. Marc's at Microsoft Research, and he's a guy slashdotters would all relate to if you actually knew him.

Re:Leave us alone please.

[Angry Pixie]

USENET isn't worthwhile only to porn addicts, pirates, and geaks. Those of us in the social sciences use it quite often. There are some very good communities on USENET for discussions of international politics, economics issues, etc. USENET is also great for some entertainment. There are a lot of active groups with a great sense of community that meet to discuss hobbies like art collection, carpentry, or even train wrecks like the Anna Nicole show.

In addition to BWJones' comments, USENET is often much more efficient than equivalent web-based forums. I don't have to deal with cookies, improperly formatted HTML, binary advertisements, etc. If the answer is there on USENET, I'll surely find it faster than if I were to navigate a website.