Introduction

Human beings love to communicate. We love to talk, argue, share information, complain, gossip, solve problems, tell jokes, spread rumors, ask questions, and help one another. We also love to share anything we can: music, pictures, videos, and so on.

It is part of human nature that, whenever new technology arises, people will find a way to use it to talk to one another and to share data. Nowhere is this better illustrated than with Usenet: the large, worldwide system of discussion and file sharing groups.

Usenet was started in 1979, which makes it a lot older than the Web. In fact, when the first primitive ancestor of the Web came along in 1991, Usenet was already a robust, worldwide communication system.

Even today, Usenet is, in some ways, far more important than the Web as a vehicle for communicating with other people. Usenet is where people from many different countries and cultures come together to talk, argue, pose questions, help one another, and share information, including all kinds of files.

In this part of the Harley Hahn Usenet Center, you will learn all about Usenet: what it is, how it is organized, and how to participate. As you learn, you will see one of the most important parts of the Internet — indeed of all human culture — open before you.

Jump to top of page