Chapter Eight: Usenet Newsgroups

Table
of
Contents:

Course Syllabus
Course Assignments and Due Dates
Tips and Tricks
Part One: Understanding The Internet

Chapter One: Definitions
Chapter Two: How the Internet is Changing the World

Part Two: Getting On The Internet

Chapter Three: Getting Connected
Chapter Four: Surfing the Net

Part Three: Communicating Over The Internet

Chapter Five: Internet Etiquette (Netiquette)
Chapter Six: Electronic Mail
Chapter Seven: Listserv
Chapter Eight: Usenet Newsgroups
Chapter Nine: Communicating in Real Time
Chapter Ten: Telnet

Part Four: Finding Things On The Internet

Chapter Eleven: Searching for Information
Chapter Twelve: Commonly Found Internet File Types
Chapter Thirteen: Downloading From the Internet
Chapter Fourteen: Bibliographic Style for Citing Internet Resources

Part Five: Creating Web Pages

Chapter Fifteen: Web Page Creation Strategies
Chapter Sixteen: Web Page Design
Chapter Seventeen: How HTML Works
Chapter Eighteen: Creating Your Web Page Resume
Chapter Nineteen: Putting Images on Web Pages
Chapter Twenty: Using Tables for Advanced Web Page Layout
Chapter Twenty-one: Making a Local Web and a Home Page
Chapter Twenty-two: Publishing Files on the World Wide Web

Part Six: Using Multimedia On The Internet

Chapter Twenty-three: How Web Browsers Do Multimedia
Chapter Twenty-four: Waveform Audio Recording

Part Seven: Planning For The Future Of The Internet

Chapter Twenty-five: Societal Issues
Chapter Twenty-six: Emerging Technology
Chapter Twenty-seven: How to Keep Up

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Internet Resources Home Page
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

Describe how listserv works through e-mail protocols.

Understand Usenet newsgroups originated as a grassroots effort by students who wanted a better way to organize conversations over the Internet.

Visualize how the hierarchical structure of a newsgroup mirrors the manner in which physical conferences are organized.

Use your Web browser to list the newsgroups available through your Internet service provider.

Subscribe to the newsgroup(s) of your choice.

Read and respond to topics in a newsgroup, and post new topics that you want to initiate.

Understand the difference between moderated and unmoderated newsgroups.

Know when it is too late to cancel a message that you have written in a newsgroup.

Find out about newsgroups in your field of study or line of work.

Definitions:
Usenet - "User's Network". The cooperative body that distributes newsgroups over the Internet.

Newsgroups are special interest groups which have a virtual message board where participants can read and post messages. They differ from mailing lists in that you need newreader software to read the postings, and your Internet service provider must also provide access. Currently, there are more than 20,000 newsgroups covering a broad range of topics.

Every newgroup message has a subject (headline). Participants can read a post and reply, or add a new message. Replies are loosely attached to the original messsage and the stream is called a "thread".

Usenet uses eight generic categories:

alt. alternative subjects, often politics or entertainment

biz. business-related

comp. computer-related

misc. miscellaneous

news. not media-type news, but about newsgroups and Usenet

rec. recreational activities, hobbies, art

sci. science-related

soc. social issues and socializing

ba. is a typical regional designation meaning San Francisco Bay Area.

Online Resources:

DejaNews lets you search all available archives of newsgroups
EFF's (Extended) Guide to the Internet - Usenet History
Usenet Software: History and Sources
Reading the News -- Index
Master List of Newsgroup Hierarchies Home Page
news.newusers.questions Official Home Page
Creating New Newsgroups
Newsgroups Questions and Answers

Assignment to turn in for credit:
What is a newsgroup reader? What is the difference between a moderated newsgroup and an unmoderated newsgroup?
Use the search form for finding newsgroups at Liszt: http://www.liszt.com/news. From the mentioned service, look up newsgroups for three of the following topics: alternative music, cult movies, poetry, aliens, JFK or civil rights. Remember to find two groups for each of the mentioned topics, and then tell what you can about that group.
Submit your answers

Go to:
Chapter Seven
Chapter Nine