Usenet Archives (usenetarchives.com)

by myth_drannon 72 comments 133 points
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72 comments

[−] nobleach 39d ago
It's always fun to realize that USENET is still out there humming along. I still remember the thrill of working on my ancient Delphi/Object Pascal projects, and posting questions... waiting a few hours and checking back for responses. There was no "instant gratification" in those days. (I wasn't really using IRC).

Opening this, and just searching "Delphi" I see that USENET never did get that "censorship" that I always assumed would eventually happen. The group names alone are truly unhinged. The Wild West is still.... wild!

[−] FuriouslyAdrift 39d ago
the alt.devilbunnies vs alt.pave.the.earth "wars" kept me sane as a teenager. I miss the old internet.
[−] shawn_w 39d ago
Devilbunnies? Man, I haven't heard that name in a long long time. I used to be obsessed with reading all the stories in that universe. Never contributed anything though.
[−] devilbunny 37d ago
Imagine how odd it was to discover Usenet and find that someone else was already using your (offline) nickname for an entire universe of stuff. Early 90s.

It's mine here! I'll cede it to someone with the better online claim but only if you can prove you're not a Fudd in disguise.

[−] ern_ave 39d ago
I remember the epic flame wars with a certain game developer (who I wont name so as not to create drama here) whose starship simulator had a few bugs.
[−] b8 39d ago
It's used for piracy a lot still.
[−] nobleach 39d ago
Yup, in the 2005ish era, I found that I was downloading albums just because I could. Some I never even listened to! I got rid of my EasyNews subscription because it all seemed so silly to me.
[−] cowmix 39d ago
Usenet is the main reason I started my own ISP in ’93: to have a reliable USENET feed. I loved it then, and I love it now.

Even back then, though, it was always under attack by spammers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Canter_and_Martha_Sie...