Did you ever wonder, "So, what were we all talking about in this
newsgroup years ago?" No? Well, I did. So I compiled a little list of
what threads got responses on 12 July over the past 1, 2, 5, 10 and 15
years (as far back as the archive goes. With thanks to https://csiph.com/group/comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action for the data)
While activity has dropped over the years, not really as much as you
might think (although what was up in 2021?) and the topics... well,
the more things change, the more things they stay the same. ;-)
* 1 YEAR AGO (8 posts, 3 users, 4 threads: 3 new)
===============================================
- Free Paradox Soul on Steam until Jun 17
- Lost Forever Games
- FREE GAME: Two Point Hospital
- Re: Free "WHAT THE PAK?!" game until Jun 24
* 2 YEARS AGO (6 posts, 3 users, 4 threads: 3 new
===============================================
- A Cool Half-Life Thing
- Developer Rules
- Are We There Yet? (2011 v 2024 edition)
- Re: Fare Thee Well, Piranha Bytes
* 5 YEARS AGO (22 posts, 9 users, 7 threads: 2 new)
=================================================
- Re: Free Sunblaze and Cyberpunk 2077 & Phantom Liberty Goodies
- Re: XBox show from today!
- Re: Another month, another PC...
- Re: DIABLO III - Buyers Loathe It
- Re: Damn It, PCEm
- Cyberpunk'd
- Starfield-Todd Howard video
* 10 YEARS AGO (11 posts, 7 users, 3 threads: 0 new)
==================================================
- Re: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time free on UPlay
- Re: Describe Your Computer Set Up
- Re: Doom - Vulkan API now supported
* 15 YEARS AGO (7 posts, 4 users, three threads: 0 new)
=====================================================
- Re: Assassin's Creed 2: $4 !! Today only
- Re: What have you been playing... IN JUNE 2011?
- Re: New PS4 & Xbox Next Year ?
#
It all started when I got to wondering how much activity in this group
'back in the day' was due to game-specific questions like "I can't get
past the Cyberdemon in Doom!" or "Ultima VII won't boot, help!" and
that sort of thing. A lot of the conversation these days is a lot more 'meta', where we discuss gaming trends more than specific games (or,
you know, what games are available to snag for free or on the cheap
;-).
Unfortunately, the csiph.com archive doesn't really go far enough back
for me to see what CSIPGA was really like back in its heyday, so my
initial question remains unanswered. Still, the snapshot I got was
enjoyable enough anyway (but also, I have no idea how indicative '12
July' w as to the 'regular' traffic in the group, so don't actually
take the numbers above to mean anything).
Nonetheless, whatever the era, I'm pretty sure the data proves one
thing: Usenet is, and always was, cool ;-)
Well here's the results from 07/12/06 from google groups[...]
(just put in before:2006-07-13 after:2006-07-11)
I can't easily get users, posts, or new vs. replies, and as always
groups is suspect, but at least it gives results.
15 threads
Nexus: Jupiter Incident Help!
Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> writes:
Well here's the results from 07/12/06 from google groups
(just put in before:2006-07-13 after:2006-07-11)
I can't easily get users, posts, or new vs. replies, and as always
groups is suspect, but at least it gives results.
[...]
15 threads
Nexus: Jupiter Incident Help!
Wait, wasn't this discussed here just a few days ago? Yes, it was a
givewaway from GoG. Freaky.
On Mon, 13 Jul 2026 22:39:31 +0300, Anssi Saari
<anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> said this thing:
Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> writes:
Well here's the results from 07/12/06 from google groups
(just put in before:2006-07-13 after:2006-07-11)
I can't easily get users, posts, or new vs. replies, and as always
groups is suspect, but at least it gives results.
You know, I totally forgot that googlegroups is a thing. ;-)
15 threads[...]
Nexus: Jupiter Incident Help!
Wait, wasn't this discussed here just a few days ago? Yes, it was a >>givewaway from GoG. Freaky.
I was going to suggest that maybe the game just passed its 20-year anniversary and that's why it was offered as a freebie, but it turns
out "Nexus: The Jupiter Incident" released back in 2004, so that blew
that theory to hell.
Like I said, the more things change, the more they stay the same. :)
I wonder what the people of CSIPGA in 2006 would have said had you
told them that we would STILL be talking about the same games twenty
years later. I think /maybe/ they might have believed it... but not
easily. The industry was already trending towards longer lifespans for
games and a certain nostalgia for older titles, so it wasn't
impossible to forsee that classic games would remain popular. Still,
gaming still felt so new and full of possibility that I think many
would have laughed at the idea that we'd still be playing twenty year
old games.
Certainly nobody in 1996 would have swallowed it. In an era when Quake
was the hot new thing, nobody was longing for a return to the age of
Pong.
Maybe new games are kinda just not as good
I could do with fewer remakes, though. I mean, c'mon; how about some
NEW ideas?
On 7/23/2026 7:50 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
Because there AREN'T any new ideas. I remember from a long discussion
I could do with fewer remakes, though. I mean, c'mon; how about some
NEW ideas?
about books and movies years ago the adage of "There are only 5 or 6 >stories. Everything is just a variation of those stories."
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