A diagram of some Usenet servers and clients. The blue, green, and red dots on the servers represent which groups they carry. Arrows between servers indicate that the servers are sharing the articles from the groups. Arrows between computers and servers indicate that the user is subscribed to a certain group, and uploads and downloads articles to and from that server. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Users should thank Jim Ellis and Tom Truscott for coming up with Usenet. Barely out of college in 1979, these North Carolina natives first set up a small network of computers intended for information sharing among users. They wrote shell scripts that can handle only a limited number of groups and articles. Soon, the volume of incoming information and subscribers grew and the script had to be rewritten to make room for additional data. The demand kept growing and the system was rewritten again many times before it became the Usenet that the world has come to know.
What good is it anyway aside from being an innovation to the file sharing trend? People who are plugged almost 24/7 already know by now what this is all about and what it does. However, many people are still in the familiarization stage.
Usenet In A Nutshell
Usenet comprises a wide range of hosts or servers that people all over the world use to share information in the form of news or articles universally tagged as ‘newsgroups.’ If you are confused about how it works, think about torrents. The difference is that the files are transferred through server instead of the user or file hosts’ PC. Usenet is rather a more complex version of this especially for first timers but eventually becomes more user-friendly in the long run. Next to understanding Usenet is understanding how it works. It all begins with choosing the news provider that suits your taste.
Why Premium Is Better Than Free
There are hundreds of Usenet providers on the Internet. Choosing which one works best depends on what you are looking for. Sometimes, a free news server is enough for those depending on texts groups mostly. A premium account on the other hand is ideal for users who are looking to transfer from binary groups. In this case, signing up for a free trial is the best way to test how efficient a premium provider can be.
Naturally, a news group provider with high retention rate garners more approval than those with low retention rate. Who would waste time looking for articles or files that are posted a while ago and gone after 24 hours? High retention rate gives users confidence that the information is made available for transfer for longer period. However, completion is still a valuable feature to look for. A missing or corrupted file is just as bad as not finding what you need.
Connection and file transfer speed also matter big time. Especially for those who are always after binary files, speed is always as vital as the encryption. Every user wants secure file transfer and private browsing experience. If the newsgroup provider also promises this, the price is just a footnote, but still a valuable detail to think about. As long as the news provider is able to meet the users’ expectations, a higher subscription rate is tolerable.
Is Usenet Worth It?
The facts are laid out. If you think that it is just another file sharing software wannabe, try to reconsider. Countless people find Usenet an impressive file sharing system because it is secured with a vast variety of information. Understanding it is a challenge but you can imagine the possibilities that come with it.
Matters Of The Art 