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Another Nail In Usenet's Coffin?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the don't-usenet dept.

Karamchand writes "Today news.individual.net in an email to its more than 250.000 registered users announced that they won't be able to continue offering free Usenet access. While it provided text-only groups many people relied on individual.net's service to take part in one of the Internet's older services. In a time were a working news server is not a selling point for ISPs and most internet users never heard about this service, will this be another nail in the coffin of Usenet?"

28 of 482 comments (clear)

  1. What? by jim_v2000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    What's this Usenet thing again?

    --
    Don't take life so seriously. No one makes it out alive.
    1. Re:What? by nizo · · Score: 5, Funny

      It is like email only spammier. Viva el spam!

      --
      I Am My Own Worst Enemy
    2. Re:What? by rainman_bc · · Score: 2, Funny

      What's this Usenet thing again?

      It's dead, Netcraft confirms it, don't worry about it ;)

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      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    3. Re:What? by rlp · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's some sort of primitive RSS interface for a group blog. :-)

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      [Insert pithy quote here]
    4. Re:What? by IronChef · · Score: 4, Funny

      we're all discussing this on alt.usenet.crying.bye.bye.bye.

    5. Re:What? by lewp · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hell, in the United States only old people use Usenet :).

      --
      Game... blouses.
  2. Let's hope it goes away... by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...and takes with it those stupid posts to alt.drugs I wrote in college...

    1. Re:Let's hope it goes away... by sterno · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nope. Google has them all. Your career in politics is toast.

      --
      This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
    2. Re:Let's hope it goes away... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Mom?

  3. Who cares? by geoffspear · · Score: 1, Funny

    In other news, [insert random company here] will no longer be accepting email by uucp connection, and is dropping support for BITNET addressing.

    --
    Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
  4. It's a Joke! by XanC · · Score: 2, Funny

    Note that the date of the change is April Fools' Day. Plus, nobody being serious could write "April 1th" as they did.

  5. Re:Death of Usenet predicted! Film at 11. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're old.

  6. Nails in the coffin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ..there are all these nails being hammered in Usenet's coffin. Too bad Usenet is at the bar having a beer.

  7. Re:"nobody uses usenet anymore" by winkydink · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm sure he wasn't thinking about alt.sex.stories.* when he said that. :)

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

  8. What IS Usenet? by solafide · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've seen the term in Thunderbird but what is it? If I haven't seen it, it is very oldfashioned, so good riddance!? Seriously, if there is a better alternative, bye-bye Usenet! It just struck me - is Usenet sort of a mailing list(round robin), a forum, what? Billy

  9. Re:Why be so dramatic? by js7a · · Score: 4, Funny

    Heh. More articles claiming a service linked to from the front page of Google.com is suffering, please! [tt]

  10. that's not all... by mz001b · · Score: 4, Funny
    they also stated that they will discontinue gopher access, since this new world wide web thing looks like it may take off.

    seriously, usenet still is one of the best ways to exchange information with people on a specific subject. Some of the comp.lang ones are quite good.

  11. Effective April 1st? by jk666 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps they're just proactive regarding April Fools day.

  12. Re:Why be so dramatic? by cnettel · · Score: 5, Funny
    There are plenty of good groups on usenet with loyal posters - it's like trying to kill fortran - it'll only happen over dead bodies..
    Yeah, but in case you haven't noticed, the Fortran coders aren't getting any younger... So, dead bodies, true - not happen, false. :-)
  13. April what? by OECD · · Score: 4, Funny

    Effective from April 1th, 2005, all non-converted accounts will stop working.

    And they want us to take this seriously?

    Man, a day of awful joke stories on /. AND free usenet stops working? Worst April 1st ever...

    --
    One man's -1 Flamebait is another man's +5 Funny.
  14. Re:Signal to Noise ratio review by StateOfTheUnion · · Score: 3, Funny
    I remember Usenet fondly. It was a great source of information and discussion, but the signal to noise ratio got way to high.

    If the signal to noise ratio gets high, you get lots of (presumably good) signal and relatively little noise. I think that what was meant was that the signal to noise ratio got too low . . . unless spam postings and AOL newbie pollution from Usenet in the 90's is considered signal and original and thoughtful postings from individuals is considered noise.

  15. Time for a p2p usenet? by Mr+Impresario · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why not create a nice p2p client for the usenet? Everyone hosts a bit of it, maybe even their favorite parts. It could run in the background a la freenet, except without the crypto-slowness.

  16. Re:its been dead by fsh · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's only been around since '97.

    Oh, wait, I thought you were talking about slashdot.

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    fsh
  17. Re:Google Groups by commodoresloat · · Score: 4, Funny
    You really think Usenet is dying? Anyone got the link to netcraft?

    There's only one way to tell for sure if usenet is truly dying.

    Count the number of posts to usenet that mention usenet.

  18. Re:Why be so dramatic? by Minstrel+Boy · · Score: 3, Funny
    I've got three in my trunk (they don't take much space if you're willing to stack them creatively.

    Just PUSH them in until they POP, eh? ;)

    KeS

  19. Fidonet, here I come! by nozzle! · · Score: 3, Funny

    You can't stop me. I'll move to an even slower, more decrepit form of communication.

  20. The Ghost of Usenet Postings Past by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Suddenly, just as Paul was about to clinch the job interview...

  21. Re:It's true! The Death of Usenet. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'm sure that Richard Gere is heartbroken over this.