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A discussion group on the usenet. Unlike
chat rooms, newsgroups are not live; instead, questions and comments are
posted to one of many Usenet servers and later redistributed around the rest
of the network. Most isps provide a newsgroup feed, which
pipes the contents of most of the 40,000 or so newsgroups to anyone who
wants to take part in the discussions on offer. Each of these groups is
devoted to a specific and often highly unconventional set of interests, and
anyone who has wondered about the ins and particle physics will find groups
that answer their questions. This openness, and the fact that most
newsgroups are unmoderated and unregulated, almost demand a robust attitude
on behalf of the inhabitants, and the unwary can get some nasty surprises if
they fail to observe netiquette. Newsgroups have also attracted
attention as a primary source of pornography, and there is much
debate about whether or not isps should carry such groups. |
