• Remember when discussions were worth reading?

    From Tom Mix@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, July 25, 2026 17:19:12
    So do we.

    https://rootbadger.com

    --
    Tom Mix

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Anton Antimo@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, July 25, 2026 15:06:56
    Tom Mix <tommix@mixmin.net> writes:

    So do we.

    https://rootbadger.com

    Looks really well laid out. Can you share more about it? Is it
    centralized as in it's only available on this website or is there a
    network of websites that share the databases? Is it available over
    other protocols? Are you the sole author?

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Nuno Silva@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, July 25, 2026 23:26:45
    On 2026-07-25, Tom Mix wrote:

    So do we.

    https://rootbadger.com

    Given the amount of times this is being advertised here, that's about to
    cross a threshold of me never looking into it because it's being
    advertised as if this were a TV commercial spot :-P

    --
    Nuno Silva

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daniel Cerqueira@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 26, 2026 01:29:12
    Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> writes:
    On 2026-07-25, Tom Mix wrote:

    So do we.

    https://rootbadger.com

    Given the amount of times this is being advertised here, that's about to cross a threshold of me never looking into it because it's being
    advertised as if this were a TV commercial spot :-P
    Same, Nuno.
    --
    The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that
    refuse military service. ~ Albert Einstein


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Ted W.@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 26, 2026 01:02:25
    On 2026-07-25, Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
    On 2026-07-25, Tom Mix wrote:

    So do we.

    https://rootbadger.com

    Given the amount of times this is being advertised here, that's about to cross a threshold of me never looking into it because it's being
    advertised as if this were a TV commercial spot :-P


    Just another centralized message board among hundreds (thousands?) that
    already exist. The novelty is the usenet-like group hierarchy otherwise
    it looks just like Digg (RIP), Reddit, Lemmy and others.

    If I've learned anything over the last 20+ years of modern social media
    it's that they either collapse or live long enough to sell your data.
    Usenet, the original social media platform, has been around since long
    before most Silicon Valley social media founders were born and it will
    remain long after they're gone.

    I'll stick to the original, warts and all.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Anton Antimo@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, July 25, 2026 22:43:50
    Daniel Cerqueira <dan.list@lispclub.com> writes:

    Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> writes:

    On 2026-07-25, Tom Mix wrote:

    So do we.

    https://rootbadger.com

    Given the amount of times this is being advertised here, that's about to
    cross a threshold of me never looking into it because it's being
    advertised as if this were a TV commercial spot :-P

    Same, Nuno.

    I saw Lisp Club on a post header of your article. Are you discussing
    Lisp anywhere on the USENET or anywhere else on the Internet? Please
    share?

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daniel Cerqueira@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 26, 2026 11:30:17
    Anton Antimo <anton@safunu.org> writes:

    [...]
    I saw Lisp Club on a post header of your article. Are you discussing
    Lisp anywhere on the USENET or anywhere else on the Internet? Please
    share?
    Thank you for informing me that you have noticed.
    I won't reply to it, because it is a personal question. And clearly
    off-topic here.
    --
    A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes
    all the difference. ~ Alan Alexander Milne


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Caffeine Canidae@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 26, 2026 16:43:42
    Ted W. wrote:
    Just another centralized message board among hundreds (thousands?) that already exist. The novelty is the usenet-like group hierarchy otherwise
    it looks just like Digg (RIP), Reddit, Lemmy and others.

    If I've learned anything over the last 20+ years of modern social media
    it's that they either collapse or live long enough to sell your data.
    Usenet, the original social media platform, has been around since long
    before most Silicon Valley social media founders were born and it will
    remain long after they're gone.

    I'll stick to the original, warts and all.


    Yeah, I think it's an interesting project but hardly anything that is particularly new by any stretch - and you can already seen in quite alot
    of social media (especially the Reddit and Lemmy-like) the roots of the original social media platform.

    Nothing has ever truly replaced it in its entirety - because it'd only
    be a copy...

    (Collapsing or living long enough to sell data - quite the nihilistic
    way to look at it but hardly unfounded in the modern era)

    --
    - Mokka

    So long, and thanks for all the fish!

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jeffrey Bagely@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 26, 2026 17:28:54
    On Sun, 26 Jul 2026 01:02:25 -0000 (UTC), Ted W. wrote:

    On 2026-07-25, Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
    On 2026-07-25, Tom Mix wrote:

    [...]

    Just another centralized message board among hundreds (thousands?) that already exist. The novelty is the usenet-like group hierarchy otherwise
    it looks just like Digg (RIP), Reddit, Lemmy and others.

    If I've learned anything over the last 20+ years of modern social media
    it's that they either collapse or live long enough to sell your data.
    Usenet, the original social media platform, has been around since long
    before most Silicon Valley social media founders were born and it will
    remain long after they're gone.

    I'll stick to the original, warts and all.

    There is also something to say about just the simplicity. I have run a
    lemmy instance and still find it frustrating that you have to use web
    browsers to utilize the platform. KISS really applies here in that we
    already have protocol standards for discussions and minimal clients with minimal network connectivity required.

    Multimedia is rather over-emphasized on popular disccussion platforms and
    is better served on their own dedicated platforms for their binary types.

    As a side note, I would prefer its own protocol for the different types of media to be consumed (as with NNTP for mainly textual discussion) however, it's a far fetched and not well thought out idea of mine that I wouldn't expect to see ever happening in the wild at any great scale.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Scott Alfter@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 18:01:18
    In article <1143mb1$1uena$1@xy0.dont-email.me>,
    Ted W. <ted@xy0.dont-email.me> wrote:
    Just another centralized message board among hundreds (thousands?) that >already exist. The novelty is the usenet-like group hierarchy otherwise
    it looks just like Digg (RIP), Reddit, Lemmy and others.

    ...and even that isn't exactly new. One iteration of the BBS I ran in the early-to-mid-'90s was on a Linux box with a menu interface implemented as a shell for users. It participated in the local FidoNet, which also had a
    Usenet gateway. I carried some newsgroups (comp.sys.apple2,
    rec.arts.startrek, and probably some others I don't recall), gatewayed
    through FidoNet back into a local NNTP server, and the menu interface was
    set to run trn to read them (the same trn I'm using right now :-) ).

    The FidoNet echoes I also carried were shoehorned into a Usenet-ish
    hierarchy, which sounds like what this Root Badger (?) site is doing.

    --
    _/_
    / v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
    (IIGS( https://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
    \_^_/ >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Anton Antimo@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 14:33:46
    "Ted W." <usenet@xy0.org> writes:

    On 2026-07-25, Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
    On 2026-07-25, Tom Mix wrote:

    So do we.

    https://rootbadger.com

    Given the amount of times this is being advertised here, that's about to
    cross a threshold of me never looking into it because it's being
    advertised as if this were a TV commercial spot :-P


    Just another centralized message board among hundreds (thousands?) that already exist. The novelty is the usenet-like group hierarchy otherwise
    it looks just like Digg (RIP), Reddit, Lemmy and others.

    If I've learned anything over the last 20+ years of modern social media
    it's that they either collapse or live long enough to sell your data.
    Usenet, the original social media platform, has been around since long
    before most Silicon Valley social media founders were born and it will
    remain long after they're gone.

    I'll stick to the original, warts and all.

    I think you're correct or mostly correct. Long live the USENET.

    It was the usenet-like group hierarchy that gave the impression the
    system could be decentralized, which I think would be a good idea.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Anton Antimo@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 14:38:11
    Jeffrey Bagely <6cf6e82302@darkc0de.one> writes:

    On Sun, 26 Jul 2026 01:02:25 -0000 (UTC), Ted W. wrote:

    On 2026-07-25, Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
    On 2026-07-25, Tom Mix wrote:

    [...]

    Just another centralized message board among hundreds (thousands?) that
    already exist. The novelty is the usenet-like group hierarchy otherwise
    it looks just like Digg (RIP), Reddit, Lemmy and others.

    If I've learned anything over the last 20+ years of modern social media
    it's that they either collapse or live long enough to sell your data.
    Usenet, the original social media platform, has been around since long
    before most Silicon Valley social media founders were born and it will
    remain long after they're gone.

    I'll stick to the original, warts and all.

    There is also something to say about just the simplicity. I have run a
    lemmy instance and still find it frustrating that you have to use web browsers to utilize the platform. KISS really applies here in that we already have protocol standards for discussions and minimal clients with minimal network connectivity required.

    Multimedia is rather over-emphasized on popular disccussion platforms and
    is better served on their own dedicated platforms for their binary types.

    As a side note, I would prefer its own protocol for the different types of media to be consumed (as with NNTP for mainly textual discussion) however, it's a far fetched and not well thought out idea of mine that I wouldn't expect to see ever happening in the wild at any great scale.

    Can you elaborate on your idea? It seems you're saying that instead of
    using the web, a social network should implement its own multimedia
    protocol? If so, I'd side with you---I agree with the web isn't a very
    good user interface and I also don't know how we could turn a multimedia protocol into a good user interface. When I think of good user
    interface, I always think of text user interfaces, like the one we
    already have.

    Why is that so? I believe computers are not too different from what
    they were in the 70s. We're still using the same software pretty much.
    (Not saying everything is perfect.)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Charlie Gibbs@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 18:59:12
    On 2026-07-29, Anton Antimo <anton@safunu.org> wrote:

    Can you elaborate on your idea? It seems you're saying that instead of
    using the web, a social network should implement its own multimedia
    protocol? If so, I'd side with you---I agree with the web isn't a very
    good user interface and I also don't know how we could turn a multimedia protocol into a good user interface. When I think of good user
    interface, I always think of text user interfaces, like the one we
    already have.

    Me too - but we're a small minority.

    Why is that so? I believe computers are not too different from what
    they were in the 70s. We're still using the same software pretty much.
    (Not saying everything is perfect.)

    I agree that the lower layers might not have changed much.
    But they're buried under layer after layer of gooey bloatware.

    --
    /~\ Charlie Gibbs | In this world there are
    \ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | two kinds of people:
    X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | 1. Those who can extrapolate
    / \ if you read it the right way. | from incomplete data.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Anton Antimo@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 16:13:24
    Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> writes:

    On 2026-07-29, Anton Antimo <anton@safunu.org> wrote:

    Can you elaborate on your idea? It seems you're saying that instead of
    using the web, a social network should implement its own multimedia
    protocol? If so, I'd side with you---I agree with the web isn't a very
    good user interface and I also don't know how we could turn a multimedia
    protocol into a good user interface. When I think of good user
    interface, I always think of text user interfaces, like the one we
    already have.

    Me too - but we're a small minority.

    Why is that so? I believe computers are not too different from what
    they were in the 70s. We're still using the same software pretty much.
    (Not saying everything is perfect.)

    I agree that the lower layers might not have changed much.
    But they're buried under layer after layer of gooey bloatware.

    Yes. Not being the smart way to use computers, it can't be the future.
    For years I've expected the web to somehow die precisely because of the
    way browsers have been evolving. Complex software is bound to die
    because of the lack of diversity. Look how very few browsers we have.
    Why is that? Because only very rich corporations can build it. And
    maybe now we have a glimpse of the downfall of the web. The so-called
    smart systems producing slop and bots perhaps being responsible for most
    of the web traffic. Maybe that's indeed the end of the web. Rebirth.
    I still think the web as its idealized conception is something we want.
    Just like the USENET is something we want.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 30, 2026 10:17:24
    Verily, in article <875x1xa9t7.fsf@safunu.org>, did anton@safunu.org
    deliver unto us this message:

    Yes. Not being the smart way to use computers, it can't be the future.
    For years I've expected the web to somehow die precisely because of the
    way browsers have been evolving. Complex software is bound to die
    because of the lack of diversity. Look how very few browsers we have.
    Why is that? Because only very rich corporations can build it. And
    maybe now we have a glimpse of the downfall of the web. The so-called
    smart systems producing slop and bots perhaps being responsible for most
    of the web traffic. Maybe that's indeed the end of the web. Rebirth.
    I still think the web as its idealized conception is something we want.
    Just like the USENET is something we want.

    This is an interesting discussion.

    Perhaps hypertext and document organization should never have been
    combined. I recently rediscovered gopherspace, and to my surprise it's
    not completely dead.

    The current web dissatisfies thinking people. Something else is bound to arise. Maybe it'll be a gopherspace revival or maybe a new thing, but
    the web just isn't cutting it these days.

    We never should have let the corporatins sieze control of everything,
    but we didn't know what to do.

    --
    The meek shall inherit, we're told,
    But I'm not so easily sold.
    For supposing they should,
    It would do them no good --
    They'd lose it at once to the bold.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Anton Antimo@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 30, 2026 12:41:33
    The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> writes:

    Verily, in article <875x1xa9t7.fsf@safunu.org>, did anton@safunu.org
    deliver unto us this message:

    Yes. Not being the smart way to use computers, it can't be the future.
    For years I've expected the web to somehow die precisely because of the
    way browsers have been evolving. Complex software is bound to die
    because of the lack of diversity. Look how very few browsers we have.
    Why is that? Because only very rich corporations can build it. And
    maybe now we have a glimpse of the downfall of the web. The so-called
    smart systems producing slop and bots perhaps being responsible for most
    of the web traffic. Maybe that's indeed the end of the web. Rebirth.
    I still think the web as its idealized conception is something we want.
    Just like the USENET is something we want.

    This is an interesting discussion.

    Perhaps hypertext and document organization should never have been
    combined. I recently rediscovered gopherspace, and to my surprise it's
    not completely dead.

    The current web dissatisfies thinking people. Something else is bound to arise. Maybe it'll be a gopherspace revival or maybe a new thing, but
    the web just isn't cutting it these days.

    We never should have let the corporatins sieze control of everything,
    but we didn't know what to do.

    Exactly. I don't think we could've done anything. They're free to
    destroy. They found a way to make money and so they did. I hesitate to
    say it was completely disastrous because perhaps some good came: a lot
    of us found a way to make a living? In the beginning, we were the only
    ones who knew how to use it and how it worked. I suppose this is the
    same we must do again.

    I'm not so closely in touch with NNTP admins here, but judging from the
    groups hosted by Eternal September, after Google Groups left the USENET,
    things look pretty bright here. Why? Because once again we're left to
    our own devices here. The only sorry thing is that all the experts we
    used to have are really hanging out somewhere else. I wonder if they
    know that the USENET is peaceful once again.

    What I believe is that they just don't want to come back because perhaps
    the USENET is just not disruption-free guaranteed. Perhaps we think now
    we need to really have semi-open groups such as a mailing list or a
    private NNTP server. For example, the Linux kernel people seem to
    prefer a mailing list (for posting) because this way they easily ban any misbehaving member and keep the newbies at bay.

    So that's another question I ask. Is the USENET model the adequate one
    for an Internet-populous world? Maybe we should begin a new network of interlinked private NNTP servers. It doesn't seem that a high-volume
    NNTP group is interesting anyway; that usually means a too high
    noise/content ratio.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 30, 2026 16:38:26
    Verily, in article <87o6fo7adu.fsf@safunu.org>, did anton@safunu.org
    deliver unto us this message:
    I wonder if they
    know that the USENET is peaceful once again.

    I've been telling a few here and there.

    We also need younger people, if it's to last. The newcomers who interest
    me most are the Zoomers setting up BBSes. GenZ is sick of corporate caca
    and hungry for authenticity, and old tech is helping some of them find
    it.

    What I believe is that they just don't want to come back because perhaps
    the USENET is just not disruption-free guaranteed. Perhaps we think now
    we need to really have semi-open groups such as a mailing list or a
    private NNTP server. For example, the Linux kernel people seem to
    prefer a mailing list (for posting) because this way they easily ban any misbehaving member and keep the newbies at bay.

    It's certainly easier to curate and moderate a mailing list than a
    newsgroup.

    I believe one of the values of Usenet is that the feed includes some
    fools and mischief-makers. Some people are amused by that and read it
    all, some people killfile the anti-social types, and some read only a
    selected few. We have direct and immediate control over our own Usenet
    feeds, unlike forums where we have to ask a mod.


    So that's another question I ask. Is the USENET model the adequate one
    for an Internet-populous world? Maybe we should begin a new network of interlinked private NNTP servers. It doesn't seem that a high-volume
    NNTP group is interesting anyway; that usually means a too high
    noise/content ratio.

    Usenet will never be for everyone. The barrier to entry is too high for
    many.



    --
    The meek shall inherit, we're told,
    But I'm not so easily sold.
    For supposing they should,
    It would do them no good --
    They'd lose it at once to the bold.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 30, 2026 20:53:52
    On Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:17:24 -0400, The True Melissa wrote:

    We never should have let the corporatins sieze control of everything,
    but we didn't know what to do.

    A lot of users of Free Software act very much like sheep.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 31, 2026 12:45:16
    Anton Antimo <anton@safunu.org> wrote:
    Can you elaborate on your idea? It seems you're saying that instead of
    using the web, a social network should implement its own multimedia
    protocol? If so, I'd side with you---I agree with the web isn't a very
    good user interface and I also don't know how we could turn a multimedia protocol into a good user interface. When I think of good user
    interface, I always think of text user interfaces, like the one we
    already have.

    Why is that so? I believe computers are not too different from what
    they were in the 70s. We're still using the same software pretty much.
    (Not saying everything is perfect.)

    I would argue that what you're referring to can be achieved by separating
    the API from the presentation. eg the API client calls 'get-article' and returns an article. It's up to your client to decide how to present that article. If your client happens to be a website then you get a web UI, if
    your client happens to be on a VT100 then you get a TUI, if the client
    happens to run on iOS then it's an app, etc.

    NNTP is the API for Usenet, ActivityPub is the API for Mastodon and Lemmy, Reddit has its own API (which previously operated like this until they hiked the price for third party clients and killed most of them). How the servers operate behind the API sets how the system behaves as a network (division
    into groups, NNTP flood-fill, ActivityPub federation, moderation etc).

    I'd suggest that any next-generation Usenet:

    1. Considers the separation of backend and frontend via a published API

    2. Considers whether the APIs already out there already fulfill the needs
    over a new protocol.

    eg if you wanted to reimplement Usenet from scratch today perhaps you'd use ActivityPub instead of NNTP, but you could modify it to make a more
    Usenet-like experience.

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From jayjwa@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 31, 2026 12:16:09
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:

    NNTP is the API for Usenet
    This is incorrect. NNTP is Network News Transfer Protocol, is not an
    API, and isn't technically needed to use usenet. Before NNTP, UUCP
    shuffled articles along. Two systems peered via UUCP over a serial/modem
    link can pass along articles. A PC user can dial-in to such a system and
    pull articles for reading in off-line mode. This was important in the
    time of expensive connections that ran up phone bills and tied up phone
    lines.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_News_Transfer_Protocol

    --
    PGP Key ID: 781C A3E2 C6ED 70A6 B356 7AF5 B510 542E D460 5CAE
    "The Internet should always be the Wild West!"

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From jayjwa@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 31, 2026 12:27:38
    The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> writes:

    We never should have let the corporatins sieze control of everything,
    but we didn't know what to do.
    They didn't. People handed them control. People want a curated, safe,
    walled garden consisting of only the pleasant things they want to
    see, not a wild forest full of animals, danger, and trees that they have
    to cut down to build a cabin out of. People, most of them, willingly
    gave up their freedom and agency of will for convenience.

    If you bought Apple or Windows, if you run Ubuntu or whatever Redhat is
    calling itself these days, if you use Google, if you put up with
    Cloudflare's bullshit, if a smartphone is in your hand most of the day,
    if you use social media, if you email people behind Spamhaus, *you*
    helped create this.

    --
    PGP Key ID: 781C A3E2 C6ED 70A6 B356 7AF5 B510 542E D460 5CAE
    "The Internet should always be the Wild West!"

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Scott Lurndal@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 31, 2026 17:25:22
    jayjwa <jayjwa@atr2.ath.cx.invalid> writes:
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:

    NNTP is the API for Usenet
    This is incorrect. NNTP is Network News Transfer Protocol,

    I beg to differ. NNTP is effectively the API that is used
    by remote clients to access and post usenet articles.

    TCP is the transport for NNTP, while UUCP was the historical
    transport between newservers (the clients were typically local
    and used standard unix system calls as the API to the filesystem).

    is not an
    API, and isn't technically needed to use usenet. Before NNTP, UUCP
    shuffled articles along. Two systems peered via UUCP over a serial/modem
    link can pass along articles.

    Historically speaking, perhaps. Nobody uses UUCP over
    serial for news article transport (even if they could
    get a POTS line, which are less and less avialable).

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, August 01, 2026 08:45:43
    Verily, in article <87fr0zp1j9.fsf@atr2.ath.cx>, did jayjwa@atr2.ath.cx.invalid deliver unto us this message:

    The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> writes:

    We never should have let the corporatins sieze control of everything,
    but we didn't know what to do.
    They didn't. People handed them control. People want a curated, safe,
    walled garden consisting of only the pleasant things they want to
    see, not a wild forest full of animals, danger, and trees that they have
    to cut down to build a cabin out of. People, most of them, willingly
    gave up their freedom and agency of will for convenience.

    It may seem okay until the owner of the garden does things we don't
    like.

    A whole, whole lot of people are dissatisfied with the current Internet
    of robots and slop. They just don't know what to do about it.


    --
    The meek shall inherit, we're told,
    But I'm not so easily sold.
    For supposing they should,
    It would do them no good --
    They'd lose it at once to the bold.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Kurt Weiske@3:633/10 to jayjwa on Saturday, August 01, 2026 07:30:10
    To: jayjwa
    jayjwa wrote to alt.folklore.computers <=-

    They didn't. People handed them control. People want a curated, safe, walled garden consisting of only the pleasant things they want to
    see, not a wild forest full of animals, danger, and trees that they
    have to cut down to build a cabin out of. People, most of them,
    willingly gave up their freedom and agency of will for convenience.

    I miss those days of hand-hacking web sites, stashing a box in your
    company's server room to serve web pages, and hosting your own mail.

    What's next? :)



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    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)