What could be better?
For a long time, nothing could. Newsgroups were created on most topics imaginable,
organized hierarchically under a few basic categories: Computers (comp), Recreation (rec),
Natural Science (sci), Society and Culture (soc), Debate and Controversy (talk),
Miscellaneous (misc), and Usenet itself (news).
Anyone could propose to create a new group in these hierarchies, and there are democratic
procedures in which users vote to approve new groups. This procedure grew oppressive for
some people, leading to the rise of the Alternative (alt) hierarchy, where anyone could start
a group, and many did (witness the existence of the alt.swedishchef.bork.bork.bork group).
Other hierarchies developed as hardware and software companies delivered Usenet
support channels; colleges and universities set up internal newsgroups for students and
faculty, and enterprising community-oriented geeks set up newsgroups for their local
communities. Some are still functioning today.
Usenet News Today 339
16
Spam first raised its ugly head on Usenet when a pair of immigration attorneys posted an
ad for their services in every newsgroup then active.
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