Usenet Big-8 Management Board - User contributions [en]

https://www.big-8.org/w/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Jason+Evans Usenet Big-8 Management Board - User contributions [en] 2026-05-08T04:56:11Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.43.1 https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page&diff=3493 Main Page 2023-02-03T08:46:23Z

<p>Jason Evans: </p> <hr /> <div>__NOTOC__<br /> <br /> <div class="box-padding-md"><br /> <div class="jumbotron jumbotron-fluid bg-white"><br /> <div class="row align-items-center"><br /> <div class="col-1"></div><br /> <div class="col-3"><img src="https://www.big-8.org/Big-8_logo.svg" alt="The Usenet Big-8 logo: A blue figure 8 superimposed on a yellow figure 8 turned on its side so as to resemble an infinity sign" class="img-fluid w-100 bg-white" /></div><br /> <div class="col-7 h-100"><br /> <p class="h1">The '''Usenet Big-8 Management Board'''</p><br /> <ul class="lead"><br /> <li>'''[[creation|creates]]''' well-named, well-used newsgroups in the '''[[Big-8 Usenet hierarchies]]''',</li><br /> <li>makes '''[[Changing moderation status|necessary adjustments]]''' to existing groups,</li><br /> <li>'''[[rmgroup|removes groups]]''' that are not well-used, and</li><br /> <li>assists and encourages the support of a canonical '''[[Big-8 newsgroup list]]''' by Usenet sites.</li><br /> </ul><br /> </div><br /> <div class="col-1"></div><br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> <br /> <div class="card mb-3"><br /> <h5 class="card-header text-white bg-primary">Latest news</h5><br /> <div class="card-body"><br /> {{:Announcements}}<br /> </div><p class="text-muted text-right pr-3">[[Archived announcements]]</p><br /> </div><br /> <br /> <div class="row"><br /> <div class="col-sm-6"><br /> <div class="card h-100"><br /> <h5 class="card-header text-white bg-secondary">About the Big-8 Management Board</h5><br /> <div class="card-body"><br /> * [[Board members]]<br /> * [[Technical Team]]<br /> * [[How to volunteer or donate]]<br /> * [[Finances]]<br /> * [[Contacting the Board]]<br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="col-sm-6"><br /> <div class="card h-100"><br /> <h5 class="card-header text-white bg-secondary">About Usenet</h5><br /> <div class="card-body"><br /> * [[What is Usenet?]]<br /> * [[News service providers]]<br /> * [[Newsreaders]]<br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="row mt-3"><br /> <div class="col-sm-6"><br /> <div class="card h-100"><br /> <h5 class="card-header text-white bg-secondary">Policies and guides</h5><br /> <div class="card-body"><br /> * [[Newsgroup creation]]<br /> * [[Newsgroup removal]]<br /> * [[Moderation]]<br /> * [[Board policies]]<br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="col-sm-6"><br /> <div class="card h-100"><br /> <h5 class="card-header text-white bg-secondary">Reference library</h5><br /> <div class="card-body"><br /> * [[Archived announcements]]<br /> * [[Meeting minutes]]<br /> * [[Frequently asked questions (FAQs)]]<br /> * [[RFCs]]<br /> * [[Glossary]]<br /> * [[Links]]<br /> * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_8_(Usenet) Big-8 Usenet on Wikipedia]<br /> * [https://www.reddit.com/r/ClassicUsenet/ r/ClassicUsenet on Reddit].<br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> </div><br /> </div></div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Other_Usenet_Hierarchies&diff=3402 Other Usenet Hierarchies 2022-06-02T13:51:31Z

<p>Jason Evans: /* alt newsgroups */</p> <hr /> <div>* A hierarchy is an ordered list of newsgroups.<br /> * Each of the subsets of the Big-8 is a hierarchy (comp.*, humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*). <br /> * If a newsgroup name, new or proposed, begins with an initial component other than comp, humanities, misc, news, rec, sci, soc, or talk, then it is in a different hierarchy outside the scope of the Big-8 Management Board.<br /> * "A Usenet hierarchy is, reduced to its essence, a set of Usenet newsgroups that share a common naming prefix, such as all groups starting with 'comp.' or all groups starting with 'de.' The names of Usenet newsgroups define a hierarchy of names, with '.' used as the separator between the levels of the hierarchy ... The most significant part of the name is given first. The first component of the name is special and more significant than the rest of the name, since it defines the top-level Usenet hierarchy to which that group belongs" ([http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html|Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ] [Allbery]).<br /> * See [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ trigofacile.com's list of approximately 240 managed hierarchies].<br /> <br /> == alt newsgroups ==<br /> <br /> * The alt.* hierarchy was begun, in part, as a reaction against the management principles of what came to be known as the Big-8. It is an "alternative" approach to creating newsgroups.<br /> * Discussions for new alt.* newsgroups are held in [https://web.archive.org/web/20020926155707/http://www.alt-config.org/ alt.config].<br /> * ISC's policy about alt.* control messages:<br /> <pre><br /> The way the ISC active file works for alt.* groups is that it<br /> accepts any properly formatted alt.* control message. It has nothing<br /> to do with the content of the group, but is all about the way the<br /> technical message announcing the group is formed.<br /> <br /> See:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> <br /> This fully explains the policy.<br /> <br /> As a practical suggestion, if you go to the alt.config newsgroup<br /> and state your case, likely someone with the technical savvy to<br /> create this control message will do it for you. This will solve<br /> your problem.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * news.groups and news.announce.newgroups are part of the Big-8. They are intended for discussions of proposals affecting the management of the eight hierarchies that constitute the Big-8. Because so many FAQs point to these two newsgroups without being clear about their limited scope, we receive many requests to create alt.* groups. The following is the boilerplate currently being used to point proponents in the right direction to get an alt.* group created.<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> Dear ,<br /> <br /> This is a semi-automated reply to your request to<br /> create an alt newsgroup.<br /> <br /> news.announce.newgroups (n.a.n.) deals only with<br /> big-8 newsgroups.<br /> <br /> The big-8 consists of eight hierarchies, none of which<br /> is alt:<br /> <br /> comp.* Computer topics, both hardware and software.<br /> humanities.* The humanities.<br /> misc.* A mixture of newsgroups that don’t fit the other 7 hierarchies. Many are about the practical aspects of everyday life.<br /> news.* Administration of the Big 8, as well as about Usenet and Netnews in general, and related topics.<br /> sci.* Science and technology.<br /> rec.* Recreational topics, including music, sports, games, outdoor recreation, hobbies, crafts, ...<br /> soc.* Socializing, society, and social issues.<br /> talk.* Endless discussion, largely about politics.<br /> <br /> Some people recommend discussing the creation of an alt group in <br /> <br /> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en<br /> <br /> or subscribing to <br /> news:alt.config alt.config <br /> <br /> This is not, strictly speaking, necessary, since anyone can send a <br /> control message to create a new alt group; see the two links below <br /> that explain how to write an alt control message.<br /> <br /> Please note that you will not be able to send an alt.* newgroups<br /> message via Google Groups. You can learn how alt.config<br /> works by reading the Google archives, especially HINT: "How Alt<br /> Groups Work," which is posted regularly to alt.config:<br /> <br /> http://www.google.com/groups?q=insubject:HINT+How+Alt+Groups+Work+author:BarB<br /> <br /> To learn how to issue control messages to create<br /> an alt group, see:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html<br /> http://www.supernews.com/support/controlmessage.html<br /> <br /> For more information on how to create a big-8<br /> newsgroup, see:<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=policies:creation<br /> <br /> If you would like help developing a big-8 newsgroup devoted<br /> to this topic, you may write to the Group Mentors:<br /> <br /> mailto:group-mentors@lists.big-8.org<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> == de. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://votetakers.de<br /> <br /> FAQ: https://votetakers.de/faq.php<br /> <br /> Email: gvv@dana.de<br /> <br /> == fr. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://www.usenet-fr.net/<br /> <br /> FAQ: https://www.usenet-fr.net/fur/index.html<br /> <br /> Email: <br /> <br /> == it. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.news.nic.it/<br /> <br /> FAQ: http://www.news.nic.it/it-faq.txt<br /> <br /> Email: gcn-list@news.nic.it<br /> <br /> == uk. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.usenet.org.uk/<br /> <br /> FAQ: http://www.usenet.org.uk/newsadmins.html<br /> <br /> Email: chl@clerew.man.ac.uk<br /> <br /> <br /> == Links ==<br /> <br /> If you look at [http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html this alphabetical list of newsgroup hierarchies] or [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ these analytic lists], you will see that there are hundreds of lists of newsgroups other than those that constitute the Big-8. Each of these other hierarchies has its own history, tradition, FAQS, and, in some cases, manager or management team. <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !Hierarchy Management <br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.hierarchies?hl=en news.admin.hierarchies] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ (Allbery)] <br /> |-<br /> !USENET Archives <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ ISC archive of USENET RFDs, including those that were approved by voting, those that failed in voting, and those that became defunct without voting, organized by hierarchy] <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/usenet/control/ ISC newsgroup creation archives (those USENET RFDs for which control messages were issued)]<br /> |-<br /> !Other News Hierarchies <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README ISC policy on alt control messages] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en google link to alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [news:alt.config news:alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/free.html free.* FAQ] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html List of Newsgroup Hierarchies--www.magma.ca (alphabetical)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ Lists of Newsgroup Hierarchies--usenet.trigofacile.com (from ISC records)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/data/ Data files from ISC used to generate trigofacile lists] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.usenet.org.uk/ UK Usenet Homepages] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenetnews.us/ Usenet US hierarchy - //dead link - June 18, 2008] <br /> |}<br /> ''This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please [mailto:webmaster@big-8.org let us know] if you would like to add a link. Thanks!''<br /> <br /> [[Category:FAQs]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Other_Usenet_Hierarchies&diff=3399 Other Usenet Hierarchies 2022-05-26T18:04:03Z

<p>Jason Evans: </p> <hr /> <div>* A hierarchy is an ordered list of newsgroups.<br /> * Each of the subsets of the Big-8 is a hierarchy (comp.*, humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*). <br /> * If a newsgroup name, new or proposed, begins with an initial component other than comp, humanities, misc, news, rec, sci, soc, or talk, then it is in a different hierarchy outside the scope of the Big-8 Management Board.<br /> * "A Usenet hierarchy is, reduced to its essence, a set of Usenet newsgroups that share a common naming prefix, such as all groups starting with 'comp.' or all groups starting with 'de.' The names of Usenet newsgroups define a hierarchy of names, with '.' used as the separator between the levels of the hierarchy ... The most significant part of the name is given first. The first component of the name is special and more significant than the rest of the name, since it defines the top-level Usenet hierarchy to which that group belongs" ([http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html|Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ] [Allbery]).<br /> * See [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ trigofacile.com's list of approximately 240 managed hierarchies].<br /> <br /> == alt newsgroups ==<br /> <br /> * The alt.* hierarchy was begun, in part, as a reaction against the management principles of what came to be known as the Big-8. It is an "alternative" approach to creating newsgroups.<br /> * ISC's policy about alt.* control messages:<br /> <pre><br /> The way the ISC active file works for alt.* groups is that it<br /> accepts any properly formatted alt.* control message. It has nothing<br /> to do with the content of the group, but is all about the way the<br /> technical message announcing the group is formed.<br /> <br /> See:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> <br /> This fully explains the policy.<br /> <br /> As a practical suggestion, if you go to the alt.config newsgroup<br /> and state your case, likely someone with the technical savvy to<br /> create this control message will do it for you. This will solve<br /> your problem.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * news.groups and news.announce.newgroups are part of the Big-8. They are intended for discussions of proposals affecting the management of the eight hierarchies that constitute the Big-8. Because so many FAQs point to these two newsgroups without being clear about their limited scope, we receive many requests to create alt.* groups. The following is the boilerplate currently being used to point proponents in the right direction to get an alt.* group created.<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> Dear ,<br /> <br /> This is a semi-automated reply to your request to<br /> create an alt newsgroup.<br /> <br /> news.announce.newgroups (n.a.n.) deals only with<br /> big-8 newsgroups.<br /> <br /> The big-8 consists of eight hierarchies, none of which<br /> is alt:<br /> <br /> comp.* Computer topics, both hardware and software.<br /> humanities.* The humanities.<br /> misc.* A mixture of newsgroups that don’t fit the other 7 hierarchies. Many are about the practical aspects of everyday life.<br /> news.* Administration of the Big 8, as well as about Usenet and Netnews in general, and related topics.<br /> sci.* Science and technology.<br /> rec.* Recreational topics, including music, sports, games, outdoor recreation, hobbies, crafts, ...<br /> soc.* Socializing, society, and social issues.<br /> talk.* Endless discussion, largely about politics.<br /> <br /> Some people recommend discussing the creation of an alt group in <br /> <br /> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en<br /> <br /> or subscribing to <br /> news:alt.config alt.config <br /> <br /> This is not, strictly speaking, necessary, since anyone can send a <br /> control message to create a new alt group; see the two links below <br /> that explain how to write an alt control message.<br /> <br /> Please note that you will not be able to send an alt.* newgroups<br /> message via Google Groups. You can learn how alt.config<br /> works by reading the Google archives, especially HINT: "How Alt<br /> Groups Work," which is posted regularly to alt.config:<br /> <br /> http://www.google.com/groups?q=insubject:HINT+How+Alt+Groups+Work+author:BarB<br /> <br /> To learn how to issue control messages to create<br /> an alt group, see:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html<br /> http://www.supernews.com/support/controlmessage.html<br /> <br /> For more information on how to create a big-8<br /> newsgroup, see:<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=policies:creation<br /> <br /> If you would like help developing a big-8 newsgroup devoted<br /> to this topic, you may write to the Group Mentors:<br /> <br /> mailto:group-mentors@lists.big-8.org<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> == de. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://votetakers.de<br /> <br /> FAQ: https://votetakers.de/faq.php<br /> <br /> Email: gvv@dana.de<br /> <br /> == fr. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://www.usenet-fr.net/<br /> <br /> FAQ: https://www.usenet-fr.net/fur/index.html<br /> <br /> Email: <br /> <br /> == it. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.news.nic.it/<br /> <br /> FAQ: http://www.news.nic.it/it-faq.txt<br /> <br /> Email: gcn-list@news.nic.it<br /> <br /> == uk. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.usenet.org.uk/<br /> <br /> FAQ: http://www.usenet.org.uk/newsadmins.html<br /> <br /> Email: chl@clerew.man.ac.uk<br /> <br /> <br /> == Links ==<br /> <br /> If you look at [http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html this alphabetical list of newsgroup hierarchies] or [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ these analytic lists], you will see that there are hundreds of lists of newsgroups other than those that constitute the Big-8. Each of these other hierarchies has its own history, tradition, FAQS, and, in some cases, manager or management team. <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !Hierarchy Management <br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.hierarchies?hl=en news.admin.hierarchies] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ (Allbery)] <br /> |-<br /> !USENET Archives <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ ISC archive of USENET RFDs, including those that were approved by voting, those that failed in voting, and those that became defunct without voting, organized by hierarchy] <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/usenet/control/ ISC newsgroup creation archives (those USENET RFDs for which control messages were issued)]<br /> |-<br /> !Other News Hierarchies <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README ISC policy on alt control messages] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en google link to alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [news:alt.config news:alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/free.html free.* FAQ] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html List of Newsgroup Hierarchies--www.magma.ca (alphabetical)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ Lists of Newsgroup Hierarchies--usenet.trigofacile.com (from ISC records)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/data/ Data files from ISC used to generate trigofacile lists] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.usenet.org.uk/ UK Usenet Homepages] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenetnews.us/ Usenet US hierarchy - //dead link - June 18, 2008] <br /> |}<br /> ''This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please [mailto:webmaster@big-8.org let us know] if you would like to add a link. Thanks!''<br /> <br /> [[Category:FAQs]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Other_Usenet_Hierarchies&diff=3390 Other Usenet Hierarchies 2022-05-25T06:17:45Z

<p>Jason Evans: </p> <hr /> <div>* A hierarchy is an ordered list of newsgroups.<br /> * Each of the subsets of the Big-8 is a hierarchy (comp.*, humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*). <br /> * If a newsgroup name, new or proposed, begins with an initial component other than comp, humanities, misc, news, rec, sci, soc, or talk, then it is in a different hierarchy outside the scope of the Big-8 Management Board.<br /> * "A Usenet hierarchy is, reduced to its essence, a set of Usenet newsgroups that share a common naming prefix, such as all groups starting with 'comp.' or all groups starting with 'de.' The names of Usenet newsgroups define a hierarchy of names, with '.' used as the separator between the levels of the hierarchy ... The most significant part of the name is given first. The first component of the name is special and more significant than the rest of the name, since it defines the top-level Usenet hierarchy to which that group belongs" ([http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html|Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ] [Allbery]).<br /> * See [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ trigofacile.com's list of approximately 240 managed hierarchies].<br /> <br /> == alt newsgroups ==<br /> <br /> * The alt.* hierarchy was begun, in part, as a reaction against the management principles of what came to be known as the Big-8. It is an "alternative" approach to creating newsgroups.<br /> * ISC's policy about alt.* control messages:<br /> <pre><br /> The way the ISC active file works for alt.* groups is that it<br /> accepts any properly formatted alt.* control message. It has nothing<br /> to do with the content of the group, but is all about the way the<br /> technical message announcing the group is formed.<br /> <br /> See:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> <br /> This fully explains the policy.<br /> <br /> As a practical suggestion, if you go to the alt.config newsgroup<br /> and state your case, likely someone with the technical savvy to<br /> create this control message will do it for you. This will solve<br /> your problem.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * news.groups and news.announce.newgroups are part of the Big-8. They are intended for discussions of proposals affecting the management of the eight hierarchies that constitute the Big-8. Because so many FAQs point to these two newsgroups without being clear about their limited scope, we receive many requests to create alt.* groups. The following is the boilerplate currently being used to point proponents in the right direction to get an alt.* group created.<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> Dear ,<br /> <br /> This is a semi-automated reply to your request to<br /> create an alt newsgroup.<br /> <br /> news.announce.newgroups (n.a.n.) deals only with<br /> big-8 newsgroups.<br /> <br /> The big-8 consists of eight hierarchies, none of which<br /> is alt:<br /> <br /> comp.* Computer topics, both hardware and software.<br /> humanities.* The humanities.<br /> misc.* A mixture of newsgroups that don’t fit the other 7 hierarchies. Many are about the practical aspects of everyday life.<br /> news.* Administration of the Big 8, as well as about Usenet and Netnews in general, and related topics.<br /> sci.* Science and technology.<br /> rec.* Recreational topics, including music, sports, games, outdoor recreation, hobbies, crafts, ...<br /> soc.* Socializing, society, and social issues.<br /> talk.* Endless discussion, largely about politics.<br /> <br /> Some people recommend discussing the creation of an alt group in <br /> <br /> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en<br /> <br /> or subscribing to <br /> news:alt.config alt.config <br /> <br /> This is not, strictly speaking, necessary, since anyone can send a <br /> control message to create a new alt group; see the two links below <br /> that explain how to write an alt control message.<br /> <br /> Please note that you will not be able to send an alt.* newgroups<br /> message via Google Groups. You can learn how alt.config<br /> works by reading the Google archives, especially HINT: "How Alt<br /> Groups Work," which is posted regularly to alt.config:<br /> <br /> http://www.google.com/groups?q=insubject:HINT+How+Alt+Groups+Work+author:BarB<br /> <br /> To learn how to issue control messages to create<br /> an alt group, see:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html<br /> http://www.supernews.com/support/controlmessage.html<br /> <br /> For more information on how to create a big-8<br /> newsgroup, see:<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=policies:creation<br /> <br /> If you would like help developing a big-8 newsgroup devoted<br /> to this topic, you may write to the Group Mentors:<br /> <br /> mailto:group-mentors@lists.big-8.org<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> == de. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://votetakers.de<br /> <br /> FAQ: https://votetakers.de/faq.php<br /> <br /> Email: gvv@dana.de<br /> <br /> == fr. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://www.usenet-fr.net/<br /> <br /> FAQ: https://www.usenet-fr.net/fur/index.html<br /> <br /> Email: <br /> <br /> == uk. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.usenet.org.uk/<br /> <br /> FAQ: http://www.usenet.org.uk/newsadmins.html<br /> <br /> Email: chl@clerew.man.ac.uk<br /> <br /> <br /> == Links ==<br /> <br /> If you look at [http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html this alphabetical list of newsgroup hierarchies] or [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ these analytic lists], you will see that there are hundreds of lists of newsgroups other than those that constitute the Big-8. Each of these other hierarchies has its own history, tradition, FAQS, and, in some cases, manager or management team. <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !Hierarchy Management <br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.hierarchies?hl=en news.admin.hierarchies] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ (Allbery)] <br /> |-<br /> !USENET Archives <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ ISC archive of USENET RFDs, including those that were approved by voting, those that failed in voting, and those that became defunct without voting, organized by hierarchy] <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/usenet/control/ ISC newsgroup creation archives (those USENET RFDs for which control messages were issued)]<br /> |-<br /> !Other News Hierarchies <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README ISC policy on alt control messages] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en google link to alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [news:alt.config news:alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/free.html free.* FAQ] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html List of Newsgroup Hierarchies--www.magma.ca (alphabetical)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ Lists of Newsgroup Hierarchies--usenet.trigofacile.com (from ISC records)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/data/ Data files from ISC used to generate trigofacile lists] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.usenet.org.uk/ UK Usenet Homepages] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenetnews.us/ Usenet US hierarchy - //dead link - June 18, 2008] <br /> |}<br /> ''This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please [mailto:webmaster@big-8.org let us know] if you would like to add a link. Thanks!''<br /> <br /> [[Category:FAQs]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Other_Usenet_Hierarchies&diff=3386 Other Usenet Hierarchies 2022-05-17T13:55:04Z

<p>Jason Evans: /* uk. hierarchy */</p> <hr /> <div>* A hierarchy is an ordered list of newsgroups.<br /> * Each of the subsets of the Big-8 is a hierarchy (comp.*, humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*). <br /> * If a newsgroup name, new or proposed, begins with an initial component other than comp, humanities, misc, news, rec, sci, soc, or talk, then it is in a different hierarchy outside the scope of the Big-8 Management Board.<br /> * "A Usenet hierarchy is, reduced to its essence, a set of Usenet newsgroups that share a common naming prefix, such as all groups starting with 'comp.' or all groups starting with 'de.' The names of Usenet newsgroups define a hierarchy of names, with '.' used as the separator between the levels of the hierarchy ... The most significant part of the name is given first. The first component of the name is special and more significant than the rest of the name, since it defines the top-level Usenet hierarchy to which that group belongs" ([http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html|Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ] [Allbery]).<br /> * See [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ trigofacile.com's list of approximately 240 managed hierarchies].<br /> <br /> == alt newsgroups ==<br /> <br /> * The alt.* hierarchy was begun, in part, as a reaction against the management principles of what came to be known as the Big-8. It is an "alternative" approach to creating newsgroups.<br /> * ISC's policy about alt.* control messages:<br /> <pre><br /> The way the ISC active file works for alt.* groups is that it<br /> accepts any properly formatted alt.* control message. It has nothing<br /> to do with the content of the group, but is all about the way the<br /> technical message announcing the group is formed.<br /> <br /> See:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> <br /> This fully explains the policy.<br /> <br /> As a practical suggestion, if you go to the alt.config newsgroup<br /> and state your case, likely someone with the technical savvy to<br /> create this control message will do it for you. This will solve<br /> your problem.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * news.groups and news.announce.newgroups are part of the Big-8. They are intended for discussions of proposals affecting the management of the eight hierarchies that constitute the Big-8. Because so many FAQs point to these two newsgroups without being clear about their limited scope, we receive many requests to create alt.* groups. The following is the boilerplate currently being used to point proponents in the right direction to get an alt.* group created.<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> Dear ,<br /> <br /> This is a semi-automated reply to your request to<br /> create an alt newsgroup.<br /> <br /> news.announce.newgroups (n.a.n.) deals only with<br /> big-8 newsgroups.<br /> <br /> The big-8 consists of eight hierarchies, none of which<br /> is alt:<br /> <br /> comp.* Computer topics, both hardware and software.<br /> humanities.* The humanities.<br /> misc.* A mixture of newsgroups that don’t fit the other 7 hierarchies. Many are about the practical aspects of everyday life.<br /> news.* Administration of the Big 8, as well as about Usenet and Netnews in general, and related topics.<br /> sci.* Science and technology.<br /> rec.* Recreational topics, including music, sports, games, outdoor recreation, hobbies, crafts, ...<br /> soc.* Socializing, society, and social issues.<br /> talk.* Endless discussion, largely about politics.<br /> <br /> Some people recommend discussing the creation of an alt group in <br /> <br /> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en<br /> <br /> or subscribing to <br /> news:alt.config alt.config <br /> <br /> This is not, strictly speaking, necessary, since anyone can send a <br /> control message to create a new alt group; see the two links below <br /> that explain how to write an alt control message.<br /> <br /> Please note that you will not be able to send an alt.* newgroups<br /> message via Google Groups. You can learn how alt.config<br /> works by reading the Google archives, especially HINT: "How Alt<br /> Groups Work," which is posted regularly to alt.config:<br /> <br /> http://www.google.com/groups?q=insubject:HINT+How+Alt+Groups+Work+author:BarB<br /> <br /> To learn how to issue control messages to create<br /> an alt group, see:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html<br /> http://www.supernews.com/support/controlmessage.html<br /> <br /> For more information on how to create a big-8<br /> newsgroup, see:<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=policies:creation<br /> <br /> If you would like help developing a big-8 newsgroup devoted<br /> to this topic, you may write to the Group Mentors:<br /> <br /> mailto:group-mentors@lists.big-8.org<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> == de. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://votetakers.de<br /> <br /> FAQ: https://votetakers.de/faq.php<br /> <br /> Email: gvv@dana.de<br /> <br /> == uk. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.usenet.org.uk/<br /> <br /> FAQ: http://www.usenet.org.uk/newsadmins.html<br /> <br /> Email: chl@clerew.man.ac.uk<br /> <br /> <br /> == Links ==<br /> <br /> If you look at [http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html this alphabetical list of newsgroup hierarchies] or [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ these analytic lists], you will see that there are hundreds of lists of newsgroups other than those that constitute the Big-8. Each of these other hierarchies has its own history, tradition, FAQS, and, in some cases, manager or management team. <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !Hierarchy Management <br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.hierarchies?hl=en news.admin.hierarchies] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ (Allbery)] <br /> |-<br /> !USENET Archives <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ ISC archive of USENET RFDs, including those that were approved by voting, those that failed in voting, and those that became defunct without voting, organized by hierarchy] <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/usenet/control/ ISC newsgroup creation archives (those USENET RFDs for which control messages were issued)]<br /> |-<br /> !Other News Hierarchies <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README ISC policy on alt control messages] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en google link to alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [news:alt.config news:alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/free.html free.* FAQ] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html List of Newsgroup Hierarchies--www.magma.ca (alphabetical)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ Lists of Newsgroup Hierarchies--usenet.trigofacile.com (from ISC records)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/data/ Data files from ISC used to generate trigofacile lists] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.usenet.org.uk/ UK Usenet Homepages] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenetnews.us/ Usenet US hierarchy - //dead link - June 18, 2008] <br /> |}<br /> ''This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please [mailto:webmaster@big-8.org let us know] if you would like to add a link. Thanks!''<br /> <br /> [[Category:FAQs]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Other_Usenet_Hierarchies&diff=3385 Other Usenet Hierarchies 2022-05-17T13:53:47Z

<p>Jason Evans: /* de. hierarchy */</p> <hr /> <div>* A hierarchy is an ordered list of newsgroups.<br /> * Each of the subsets of the Big-8 is a hierarchy (comp.*, humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*). <br /> * If a newsgroup name, new or proposed, begins with an initial component other than comp, humanities, misc, news, rec, sci, soc, or talk, then it is in a different hierarchy outside the scope of the Big-8 Management Board.<br /> * "A Usenet hierarchy is, reduced to its essence, a set of Usenet newsgroups that share a common naming prefix, such as all groups starting with 'comp.' or all groups starting with 'de.' The names of Usenet newsgroups define a hierarchy of names, with '.' used as the separator between the levels of the hierarchy ... The most significant part of the name is given first. The first component of the name is special and more significant than the rest of the name, since it defines the top-level Usenet hierarchy to which that group belongs" ([http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html|Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ] [Allbery]).<br /> * See [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ trigofacile.com's list of approximately 240 managed hierarchies].<br /> <br /> == alt newsgroups ==<br /> <br /> * The alt.* hierarchy was begun, in part, as a reaction against the management principles of what came to be known as the Big-8. It is an "alternative" approach to creating newsgroups.<br /> * ISC's policy about alt.* control messages:<br /> <pre><br /> The way the ISC active file works for alt.* groups is that it<br /> accepts any properly formatted alt.* control message. It has nothing<br /> to do with the content of the group, but is all about the way the<br /> technical message announcing the group is formed.<br /> <br /> See:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> <br /> This fully explains the policy.<br /> <br /> As a practical suggestion, if you go to the alt.config newsgroup<br /> and state your case, likely someone with the technical savvy to<br /> create this control message will do it for you. This will solve<br /> your problem.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * news.groups and news.announce.newgroups are part of the Big-8. They are intended for discussions of proposals affecting the management of the eight hierarchies that constitute the Big-8. Because so many FAQs point to these two newsgroups without being clear about their limited scope, we receive many requests to create alt.* groups. The following is the boilerplate currently being used to point proponents in the right direction to get an alt.* group created.<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> Dear ,<br /> <br /> This is a semi-automated reply to your request to<br /> create an alt newsgroup.<br /> <br /> news.announce.newgroups (n.a.n.) deals only with<br /> big-8 newsgroups.<br /> <br /> The big-8 consists of eight hierarchies, none of which<br /> is alt:<br /> <br /> comp.* Computer topics, both hardware and software.<br /> humanities.* The humanities.<br /> misc.* A mixture of newsgroups that don’t fit the other 7 hierarchies. Many are about the practical aspects of everyday life.<br /> news.* Administration of the Big 8, as well as about Usenet and Netnews in general, and related topics.<br /> sci.* Science and technology.<br /> rec.* Recreational topics, including music, sports, games, outdoor recreation, hobbies, crafts, ...<br /> soc.* Socializing, society, and social issues.<br /> talk.* Endless discussion, largely about politics.<br /> <br /> Some people recommend discussing the creation of an alt group in <br /> <br /> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en<br /> <br /> or subscribing to <br /> news:alt.config alt.config <br /> <br /> This is not, strictly speaking, necessary, since anyone can send a <br /> control message to create a new alt group; see the two links below <br /> that explain how to write an alt control message.<br /> <br /> Please note that you will not be able to send an alt.* newgroups<br /> message via Google Groups. You can learn how alt.config<br /> works by reading the Google archives, especially HINT: "How Alt<br /> Groups Work," which is posted regularly to alt.config:<br /> <br /> http://www.google.com/groups?q=insubject:HINT+How+Alt+Groups+Work+author:BarB<br /> <br /> To learn how to issue control messages to create<br /> an alt group, see:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html<br /> http://www.supernews.com/support/controlmessage.html<br /> <br /> For more information on how to create a big-8<br /> newsgroup, see:<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=policies:creation<br /> <br /> If you would like help developing a big-8 newsgroup devoted<br /> to this topic, you may write to the Group Mentors:<br /> <br /> mailto:group-mentors@lists.big-8.org<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> == de. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://votetakers.de<br /> <br /> FAQ: https://votetakers.de/faq.php<br /> <br /> Email: gvv@dana.de<br /> <br /> == uk. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.usenet.org.uk/<br /> FAQ: http://www.usenet.org.uk/newsadmins.html<br /> Email: chl@clerew.man.ac.uk<br /> <br /> <br /> === Links ===<br /> <br /> If you look at [http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html this alphabetical list of newsgroup hierarchies] or [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ these analytic lists], you will see that there are hundreds of lists of newsgroups other than those that constitute the Big-8. Each of these other hierarchies has its own history, tradition, FAQS, and, in some cases, manager or management team. <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !Hierarchy Management <br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.hierarchies?hl=en news.admin.hierarchies] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ (Allbery)] <br /> |-<br /> !USENET Archives <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ ISC archive of USENET RFDs, including those that were approved by voting, those that failed in voting, and those that became defunct without voting, organized by hierarchy] <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/usenet/control/ ISC newsgroup creation archives (those USENET RFDs for which control messages were issued)]<br /> |-<br /> !Other News Hierarchies <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README ISC policy on alt control messages] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en google link to alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [news:alt.config news:alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/free.html free.* FAQ] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html List of Newsgroup Hierarchies--www.magma.ca (alphabetical)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ Lists of Newsgroup Hierarchies--usenet.trigofacile.com (from ISC records)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/data/ Data files from ISC used to generate trigofacile lists] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.usenet.org.uk/ UK Usenet Homepages] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenetnews.us/ Usenet US hierarchy - //dead link - June 18, 2008] <br /> |}<br /> ''This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please [mailto:webmaster@big-8.org let us know] if you would like to add a link. Thanks!''<br /> <br /> [[Category:FAQs]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Other_Usenet_Hierarchies&diff=3384 Other Usenet Hierarchies 2022-05-17T13:31:25Z

<p>Jason Evans: /* UK. hierarchy */</p> <hr /> <div>* A hierarchy is an ordered list of newsgroups.<br /> * Each of the subsets of the Big-8 is a hierarchy (comp.*, humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*). <br /> * If a newsgroup name, new or proposed, begins with an initial component other than comp, humanities, misc, news, rec, sci, soc, or talk, then it is in a different hierarchy outside the scope of the Big-8 Management Board.<br /> * "A Usenet hierarchy is, reduced to its essence, a set of Usenet newsgroups that share a common naming prefix, such as all groups starting with 'comp.' or all groups starting with 'de.' The names of Usenet newsgroups define a hierarchy of names, with '.' used as the separator between the levels of the hierarchy ... The most significant part of the name is given first. The first component of the name is special and more significant than the rest of the name, since it defines the top-level Usenet hierarchy to which that group belongs" ([http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html|Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ] [Allbery]).<br /> * See [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ trigofacile.com's list of approximately 240 managed hierarchies].<br /> <br /> == alt newsgroups ==<br /> <br /> * The alt.* hierarchy was begun, in part, as a reaction against the management principles of what came to be known as the Big-8. It is an "alternative" approach to creating newsgroups.<br /> * ISC's policy about alt.* control messages:<br /> <pre><br /> The way the ISC active file works for alt.* groups is that it<br /> accepts any properly formatted alt.* control message. It has nothing<br /> to do with the content of the group, but is all about the way the<br /> technical message announcing the group is formed.<br /> <br /> See:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> <br /> This fully explains the policy.<br /> <br /> As a practical suggestion, if you go to the alt.config newsgroup<br /> and state your case, likely someone with the technical savvy to<br /> create this control message will do it for you. This will solve<br /> your problem.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * news.groups and news.announce.newgroups are part of the Big-8. They are intended for discussions of proposals affecting the management of the eight hierarchies that constitute the Big-8. Because so many FAQs point to these two newsgroups without being clear about their limited scope, we receive many requests to create alt.* groups. The following is the boilerplate currently being used to point proponents in the right direction to get an alt.* group created.<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> Dear ,<br /> <br /> This is a semi-automated reply to your request to<br /> create an alt newsgroup.<br /> <br /> news.announce.newgroups (n.a.n.) deals only with<br /> big-8 newsgroups.<br /> <br /> The big-8 consists of eight hierarchies, none of which<br /> is alt:<br /> <br /> comp.* Computer topics, both hardware and software.<br /> humanities.* The humanities.<br /> misc.* A mixture of newsgroups that don’t fit the other 7 hierarchies. Many are about the practical aspects of everyday life.<br /> news.* Administration of the Big 8, as well as about Usenet and Netnews in general, and related topics.<br /> sci.* Science and technology.<br /> rec.* Recreational topics, including music, sports, games, outdoor recreation, hobbies, crafts, ...<br /> soc.* Socializing, society, and social issues.<br /> talk.* Endless discussion, largely about politics.<br /> <br /> Some people recommend discussing the creation of an alt group in <br /> <br /> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en<br /> <br /> or subscribing to <br /> news:alt.config alt.config <br /> <br /> This is not, strictly speaking, necessary, since anyone can send a <br /> control message to create a new alt group; see the two links below <br /> that explain how to write an alt control message.<br /> <br /> Please note that you will not be able to send an alt.* newgroups<br /> message via Google Groups. You can learn how alt.config<br /> works by reading the Google archives, especially HINT: "How Alt<br /> Groups Work," which is posted regularly to alt.config:<br /> <br /> http://www.google.com/groups?q=insubject:HINT+How+Alt+Groups+Work+author:BarB<br /> <br /> To learn how to issue control messages to create<br /> an alt group, see:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html<br /> http://www.supernews.com/support/controlmessage.html<br /> <br /> For more information on how to create a big-8<br /> newsgroup, see:<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=policies:creation<br /> <br /> If you would like help developing a big-8 newsgroup devoted<br /> to this topic, you may write to the Group Mentors:<br /> <br /> mailto:group-mentors@lists.big-8.org<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> == de. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://votetakers.de<br /> FAQ: https://votetakers.de/faq.php<br /> Email: gvv@dana.de<br /> <br /> == uk. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.usenet.org.uk/<br /> FAQ: http://www.usenet.org.uk/newsadmins.html<br /> Email: chl@clerew.man.ac.uk<br /> <br /> <br /> === Links ===<br /> <br /> If you look at [http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html this alphabetical list of newsgroup hierarchies] or [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ these analytic lists], you will see that there are hundreds of lists of newsgroups other than those that constitute the Big-8. Each of these other hierarchies has its own history, tradition, FAQS, and, in some cases, manager or management team. <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !Hierarchy Management <br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.hierarchies?hl=en news.admin.hierarchies] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ (Allbery)] <br /> |-<br /> !USENET Archives <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ ISC archive of USENET RFDs, including those that were approved by voting, those that failed in voting, and those that became defunct without voting, organized by hierarchy] <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/usenet/control/ ISC newsgroup creation archives (those USENET RFDs for which control messages were issued)]<br /> |-<br /> !Other News Hierarchies <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README ISC policy on alt control messages] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en google link to alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [news:alt.config news:alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/free.html free.* FAQ] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html List of Newsgroup Hierarchies--www.magma.ca (alphabetical)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ Lists of Newsgroup Hierarchies--usenet.trigofacile.com (from ISC records)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/data/ Data files from ISC used to generate trigofacile lists] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.usenet.org.uk/ UK Usenet Homepages] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenetnews.us/ Usenet US hierarchy - //dead link - June 18, 2008] <br /> |}<br /> ''This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please [mailto:webmaster@big-8.org let us know] if you would like to add a link. Thanks!''<br /> <br /> [[Category:FAQs]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Other_Usenet_Hierarchies&diff=3383 Other Usenet Hierarchies 2022-05-17T13:31:11Z

<p>Jason Evans: </p> <hr /> <div>* A hierarchy is an ordered list of newsgroups.<br /> * Each of the subsets of the Big-8 is a hierarchy (comp.*, humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*). <br /> * If a newsgroup name, new or proposed, begins with an initial component other than comp, humanities, misc, news, rec, sci, soc, or talk, then it is in a different hierarchy outside the scope of the Big-8 Management Board.<br /> * "A Usenet hierarchy is, reduced to its essence, a set of Usenet newsgroups that share a common naming prefix, such as all groups starting with 'comp.' or all groups starting with 'de.' The names of Usenet newsgroups define a hierarchy of names, with '.' used as the separator between the levels of the hierarchy ... The most significant part of the name is given first. The first component of the name is special and more significant than the rest of the name, since it defines the top-level Usenet hierarchy to which that group belongs" ([http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html|Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ] [Allbery]).<br /> * See [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ trigofacile.com's list of approximately 240 managed hierarchies].<br /> <br /> == alt newsgroups ==<br /> <br /> * The alt.* hierarchy was begun, in part, as a reaction against the management principles of what came to be known as the Big-8. It is an "alternative" approach to creating newsgroups.<br /> * ISC's policy about alt.* control messages:<br /> <pre><br /> The way the ISC active file works for alt.* groups is that it<br /> accepts any properly formatted alt.* control message. It has nothing<br /> to do with the content of the group, but is all about the way the<br /> technical message announcing the group is formed.<br /> <br /> See:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> <br /> This fully explains the policy.<br /> <br /> As a practical suggestion, if you go to the alt.config newsgroup<br /> and state your case, likely someone with the technical savvy to<br /> create this control message will do it for you. This will solve<br /> your problem.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * news.groups and news.announce.newgroups are part of the Big-8. They are intended for discussions of proposals affecting the management of the eight hierarchies that constitute the Big-8. Because so many FAQs point to these two newsgroups without being clear about their limited scope, we receive many requests to create alt.* groups. The following is the boilerplate currently being used to point proponents in the right direction to get an alt.* group created.<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> Dear ,<br /> <br /> This is a semi-automated reply to your request to<br /> create an alt newsgroup.<br /> <br /> news.announce.newgroups (n.a.n.) deals only with<br /> big-8 newsgroups.<br /> <br /> The big-8 consists of eight hierarchies, none of which<br /> is alt:<br /> <br /> comp.* Computer topics, both hardware and software.<br /> humanities.* The humanities.<br /> misc.* A mixture of newsgroups that don’t fit the other 7 hierarchies. Many are about the practical aspects of everyday life.<br /> news.* Administration of the Big 8, as well as about Usenet and Netnews in general, and related topics.<br /> sci.* Science and technology.<br /> rec.* Recreational topics, including music, sports, games, outdoor recreation, hobbies, crafts, ...<br /> soc.* Socializing, society, and social issues.<br /> talk.* Endless discussion, largely about politics.<br /> <br /> Some people recommend discussing the creation of an alt group in <br /> <br /> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en<br /> <br /> or subscribing to <br /> news:alt.config alt.config <br /> <br /> This is not, strictly speaking, necessary, since anyone can send a <br /> control message to create a new alt group; see the two links below <br /> that explain how to write an alt control message.<br /> <br /> Please note that you will not be able to send an alt.* newgroups<br /> message via Google Groups. You can learn how alt.config<br /> works by reading the Google archives, especially HINT: "How Alt<br /> Groups Work," which is posted regularly to alt.config:<br /> <br /> http://www.google.com/groups?q=insubject:HINT+How+Alt+Groups+Work+author:BarB<br /> <br /> To learn how to issue control messages to create<br /> an alt group, see:<br /> <br /> http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README<br /> http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html<br /> http://www.supernews.com/support/controlmessage.html<br /> <br /> For more information on how to create a big-8<br /> newsgroup, see:<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php<br /> http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=policies:creation<br /> <br /> If you would like help developing a big-8 newsgroup devoted<br /> to this topic, you may write to the Group Mentors:<br /> <br /> mailto:group-mentors@lists.big-8.org<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> == de. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: https://votetakers.de<br /> FAQ: https://votetakers.de/faq.php<br /> Email: gvv@dana.de<br /> <br /> == UK. hierarchy ==<br /> Homepage: http://www.usenet.org.uk/<br /> FAQ: http://www.usenet.org.uk/newsadmins.html<br /> Email: chl@clerew.man.ac.uk<br /> <br /> <br /> === Links ===<br /> <br /> If you look at [http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html this alphabetical list of newsgroup hierarchies] or [http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ these analytic lists], you will see that there are hundreds of lists of newsgroups other than those that constitute the Big-8. Each of these other hierarchies has its own history, tradition, FAQS, and, in some cases, manager or management team. <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !Hierarchy Management <br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.hierarchies?hl=en news.admin.hierarchies] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html Usenet Hierarchy Administration FAQ (Allbery)] <br /> |-<br /> !USENET Archives <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ ISC archive of USENET RFDs, including those that were approved by voting, those that failed in voting, and those that became defunct without voting, organized by hierarchy] <br /> |-<br /> |[ftp://ftp.isc.org/usenet/control/ ISC newsgroup creation archives (those USENET RFDs for which control messages were issued)]<br /> |-<br /> !Other News Hierarchies <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README ISC policy on alt control messages] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.config?hl=en google link to alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |alt.*: [news:alt.config news:alt.config] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/free.html free.* FAQ] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.magma.ca/~leisen/mlnh/mlnhtables.html List of Newsgroup Hierarchies--www.magma.ca (alphabetical)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/ Lists of Newsgroup Hierarchies--usenet.trigofacile.com (from ISC records)] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenet.trigofacile.com/hierarchies/data/ Data files from ISC used to generate trigofacile lists] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.usenet.org.uk/ UK Usenet Homepages] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://usenetnews.us/ Usenet US hierarchy - //dead link - June 18, 2008] <br /> |}<br /> ''This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please [mailto:webmaster@big-8.org let us know] if you would like to add a link. Thanks!''<br /> <br /> [[Category:FAQs]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Moderated_Newsgroups&diff=3374 Moderated Newsgroups 2022-05-05T18:00:13Z

<p>Jason Evans: /* Moderation Software */</p> <hr /> <div>== How does moderation work? ==<br /> <br /> 1. A poster sends message (via NNTP post) to a [[NSP|news service provider (NSP).]]<br /> <br /> 2. The NSP's news server sees the group is moderated, and sends the post via e-mail using SMTP. The address used by the NSP is the name-of-the-group, substituting hyphens for periods, plus <@moderators.isc.org>. For news.announce.newgroups, the ISC address comes out as:<br /> <br /> <pre>news-announce-newgroups@moderators.isc.org</pre><br /> <br /> 3. The e-mail is directed to a [[relays|moderation relay]].<br /> <br /> 4. The relay looks up moderator contact addresses and sends the message (via SMTP) to email address of the moderator(s).<br /> <br /> 5. The moderator then process the post using various techniques. Many pass the post to [[#Moderation Sofwater|moderation software]] that does an initial evaluation of the post.<br /> <br /> 6. If the post is approved, a special [[Usenet headers|header]] is added to it.<br /> <br /> 7. The post is sent to an NNTP server and is then circulated through [[Usenet]].<br /> <br /> == Can a group have more than one moderator? ==<br /> <br /> Yes.<br /> <br /> The group will have only one submission address in the relay system described above.<br /> <br /> What happens to the post after it reaches the contact address is up to the moderator(s) of the group.<br /> <br /> [[#Moderation Software|Moderation software (described below)]] offers various methods for a group of moderators to work together.<br /> <br /> Although the moderator(s) is/are normally listed as part of the [[RFD]], once the newsgroup is created there is no specific procedure for adding/removing/changing moderators. It's nice to have that procedure spelled out in the [[RFD]], but not mandatory. In essence, once the group is created, whoever has control of the submission email address has control of the group.<br /> <br /> == How does a group change moderators? ==<br /> <br /> Ideally, the old moderator or team hands off control of the group to the new moderator(s) by sending an e-mail to [mailto:moderators-request@isc.org moderators-request@isc.org]. Up-to-date contact addresses for the moderator(s) should be supplied in that e-mail at the same time that the request is made.<br /> <br /> As a courtesy but as not a requirement, the outgoing moderator might inform the [mailto:board@big-8.org Big-8 Management Board] about the change in moderators. It is the ISC, not the Board, that maintains the official list of submission addresses used by the moderation system.<br /> <br /> If the original moderation scheme seems to be broken, interested parties may initiate a [[MVI|Moderator Vacancy Investigation]].<br /> <br /> == How does a moderator change the submission address? ==<br /> <br /> Same as above: send the request and current contact address(es) for the moderator(s) to: [mailto:moderators-request@isc.org moderators-request@isc.org].<br /> <br /> == How does one change an Unmoderated group to a Moderated group? ==<br /> <br /> ;Technical answer<br /> :A newgroup message is issued to create a new Usenet newsgroup. The body of the Control field contains one mandatory argument, the name of the new group. The second argument is optional. If present it consists of the keyword moderated. The body of the message typically contains tagline, charter and rationale.<br /> :If the group already exists, only the status of the group is changed, i.e. from moderated to unmoderated or vice-versa.<br /> <br /> ;Problems with making such a change<br /> :Some servers will honor one of the cmsg's and not the other. Some will honor both. Some will honor neither. The result will be that for some people the group disappears entirely. For others there appears to be no change. For yet others, the group changes to moderated, but their server may or may not handle moderated groups correctly.<br /> :Bad things happen as a result of some servers showing the group as moderated and others showing it as unmoderated. Messages posted to servers that have the group unmoderated are posted immediately on that server and delivered to the server's peers, where they will show up on some of the other servers that still have the group as unmoderated. Most peers that show the group to be moderated will drop the messages, so they won't get good propagation. A few servers will forward the message for moderation, but often with a time delay or a new message ID, so the moderators may receive multiple copies of the same message. <br /> :A message to a server that shows the group as moderated will be forwarded to the moderators for approval and then if it is on charter it will be approved and appear on almost all servers that still have the group in some form. Posts following up to that message from servers that have the group marked as unmoderated will face poor propagation and will not appear on servers that show it as moderated, so the OP will never see those followups.<br /> <br /> ;Policy in the Big-8<br /> :The board is [[Changing the Moderation Status of Existing Groups|on record as opposed to changed unmoderated groups to moderated in the Big-8.]] In view of the problems of making such changes (which are technically feasible), the benefits of changing a group's moderation status do not seem to be worth the costs involved.<br /> :'''Please note well''': The [[Big-8]], despite its name, is only a small subset of [[Usenet]]. The [[b8mb|Board]] only makes policy for the [[Big-8]]. [[Other hierarchies]] have their own policies.<br /> <br /> == Can trusted posters have their posts appear without moderation? ==<br /> <br /> Yes. How that works is determined by the moderation software that receives posts sent from the ISC relay.<br /> <br /> == What if my news server doesn't carry the group? ==<br /> <br /> "One thing that I've found incredibly useful for moderated groups is to set<br /> up a parallel mailing list that receives the posts to the newsgroup, and<br /> then point the address for the mailing list at the submission address for<br /> the group. I don't know if Igor's system can do this for you, but if it<br /> can, it may be worth considering. Even a lot of Usenet readers prefer<br /> mailing lists for particular groups or under particular circumstances<br /> (while changing providers, when on vacation, etc.) and then readers who<br /> can't manage to get their local provider to add the group can at least use<br /> the mailing list version" (Russ Allbery).<br /> <br /> == Why don't my posts show up in the group? ==<br /> <br /> 1. Your newsreader software may not be properly configured to communicate with your NSP.<br /> <br /> 2. Your NSP may not have the newsgroup properly identified as moderated. If the NSP's configuration is inaccurate, the post will circulate only on that news system and will not be relayed to the ISC and then to the moderator.<br /> <br /> 3. Your NSP may not be using a valid domain or the proper format for the envelope address. The e-mail containing the post will be thrown away before it reaches the [[Relays|moderation relay]] so it never arrives at the moderator's server.<br /> <br /> 4. ISC.ORG's list of moderator contact addresses may be flawed.<br /> <br /> 5. The moderator or the moderation software may be making errors.<br /> <br /> 6. The moderator may have rejected the post. If you did not include a decipherable e-mail address in the post, then there is no way for the moderator to send a rejection slip.<br /> <br /> 7. E-mail (SMTP) is used to relay your post from NSP to the ISC to the moderator of the group. E-mail does occasionally get lost for one reason or another due to hardware or software problems in the transit systems.<br /> <br /> == How can I bypass my News Service Provider? ==<br /> * '''e-mail your post to the ISC address of the group'''<br /> ** The fact that moderation relies on e-mail means that posts may be submitted to a moderator via e-mail. <br /> ** Take the name of the newsgroup you wish to reach, substitute hyphens for periods, append <pre>@moderators.isc.org</pre>, and send your post with your e-mail software to that address. <br /> ** If the ISC has the correct submission address in its database, your e-mail will be forwarded to the moderator(s) of the group.<br /> * '''e-mail your post to submission address of the group'''<br /> ** If you know the group's submission address, you can e-mail your post to that address directly.<br /> ** The advantage of this method is that you bypass the entire relay system. <br /> ** The disadvantage of this method is that there is no way to derive the submission address from the name of the group as there is when using the ISC relay.<br /> * If you use e-mail to bypass your News Service Provider, the "envelope" wrapped around your post will (as a general rule) match your From: address. You must therefore use a From: address with a domain in the Domain Name Service (DNS) registry and in the proper format--otherwise the ISC moderation relays or the e-mail server for the moderation submission address will discard the e-mail without looking at it. (''This is a fundamental spam-avoidance technique. People started rejecting mail with non-resolving envelope From: addresses because it blocked spam and almost no legitimate mail. For example, sendmail 8.9, released in 2000, blocks mail with unresolvable envelope-from addresses *by default*. On some systems, it may be possible to use a valid envelope sending address and an invalid From: address in the message [[Usenet headers|headers]].'')<br /> <br /> == Do moderators edit posts? ==<br /> <br /> * Depending on the group, the moderator ''may'' edit your post first. <br /> * The kind of edits that happen in practice, as a general rule, would be to convert a html email to a text one, to remove binaries, to trim or abridge material, or to add comments. <br /> * In general, the moderator should not change the actual content or meaning of your post without your approval, but might change some superficial things about it to make it conform to the group's guidelines.<br /> <br /> == What happens when a post is rejected? ==<br /> <br /> * If your post does not appear to be obvious spam, and the moderators can determine your email address from the address in your post (note that this is generally NOT the envelope-from but the From: or Reply-To: [[Usenet headers|header]]) they will generally email you and let you know that it was rejected and why.<br /> * If you post with an forged email address that can't be `decoded', you will not receive any explanation why your post was rejected.<br /> <br /> == Who can force the moderators to change their policies? ==<br /> * Nobody.<br /> <br /> == Who can force the moderators to obey the group charter? ==<br /> * Nobody.<br /> <br /> == Who appoints new moderator(s)? ==<br /> * The old moderator(s).<br /> <br /> == How can we get rid of our moderators? ==<br /> * Ask them to resign and give control of the group to someone else.<br /> <br /> == Why won't you give us more help with our group? ==<br /> * The group belongs to the moderators and the users.<br /> * Usenet is not structured in such a way that outsiders can intervene.<br /> <br /> == Why does stuff get into the group that is not approved by the moderators? ==<br /> * There are holes in the system that can be exploited by antagonists.<br /> <br /> == Why doesn't anybody fix the holes in the system? ==<br /> * That's above my pay grade. Wild guess: the expense (time and effort) of doing so is greater than the benefit?<br /> * If you have the technical expertise to close the loopholes and want to work to do so, you might want to [[How to volunteer or donate|volunteer]] to help the Board.<br /> * Some moderators use '''pgpmoose''' to discourage abuse. pgpmoose works at the modbot level; when a post is approved, it is digitally signed (in the [[Usenet headers|headers]]) to confirm that the post really did come through the modbot. A second 'bot then monitors the group, and verifies the signature of every post that makes it through. If any posts are found that are *not* approved by the 'bot, then a cancel message is issued. [http://lists.big-8.org/mailman/listinfo/pgpmoose/|Visit this page] to subscribe to a pgpmoose mailing list.<br /> <br /> == What is 'demoderation'? ==<br /> Turning a moderated group into an unmoderated group.<br /> <br /> See also [[Changing the Moderation Status of Existing Groups]]<br /> <br /> == How does a group get demoderated? ==<br /> <br /> * Moderators may abandon the group explicitly or implicitly.<br /> * An RFD is circulated.<br /> * If the decision is made the change the moderation status, the moderation flag will be removed from [[big-8_list|Checklists]] and a notice of the change will be circulated via news.announce.newgroups.<br /> <br /> == What happens if a news service provider (NSP) doesn't change the moderation flag? ==<br /> * The post will be relayed from the NSP to the ISC.<br /> * The ISC has an autoresponder that will return the post to the sender with a note explaining that the group is no longer moderated.<br /> <br /> == How can I run unix moderation software in Windows? ==<br /> * Try [http://www.cygwin.com/ Cygwin].<br /> <br /> == What is PGP Moose? ==<br /> * It uses Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) to help weed out unauthorized posts in moderated groups. See [http://people.qualcomm.com/ggr/pgpmoose.html this web site.] See also the comp.security.pgp.discuss and alt.security.pgp newsgroups.<br /> <br /> ==See also==<br /> ===Documents===<br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> !Document<br /> !Author<br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/mod-pitfalls.html Pitfalls of Newsgroup Moderation]<br /> |Russ Allbery <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html#S4 Usenet Hierarchy Administration]<br /> |Russ Allbery <br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/group/news.groups/msg/2ef82b50e3e349c3?hl=en Moderation Techniques and Software]<br /> |Sven Golly <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.landfield.com/usenet/moderators/handbook/handbook.html Netnews Moderators Handbook (1995)]<br /> |Kent Landfield <br /> |-<br /> |[http://moleski.net/newsgroups/landfield/ Netnews Moderators Handbook (1995; copied 2009)]<br /> |Kent Landfield <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.landfield.com/moderators/ Usenet Moderators Archive]<br /> |Kent Landfield <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.landfield.com/usenet/usenet.html Usenet Related FAQs]<br /> |Kent Landfield <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.swcp.com/~dmckeon/mod-faq.html Moderated Newsgroups FAQ]<br /> |Denis McKeon <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.rossde.com/PGP/index.html Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)]<br /> |David Ross <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.mccune.cc/PGP.htm Tom McCune's page for Pretty Good Privacy]<br /> |Tom McCune<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ===Moderation Software===<br /> {|{{Prettytable}}<br /> !Moderation Software <br /> |-<br /> |[http://netwinsite.com/dfree/dmod.htm DMod] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://web.archive.org/web/20100803145545/http://albasani.net/huhu/overview.html Huhu] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.cis.hut.fi/kaip/marvin/ Marvin] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.moderation.org.uk/ modbot by }] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/software/gateway/ News::Gateway] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.lugoj.com/products.html PyModerator] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.robomod.net/ Robomod] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://www.algebra.com/~ichudov/stump/ Stump] <br /> |}<br /> <br /> ===Miscellaneous===<br /> *[[Problems with moderated and unmoderated groups on nonstandard setups]]<br /> *[[Changing the Moderation Status of Existing Groups]]<br /> *[[Moderation relays]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:FAQs]]<br /> [[Category:Moderation]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Minutes/2022-03-04&diff=3261 Minutes/2022-03-04 2022-03-04T15:20:30Z

<p>Jason Evans: </p> <hr /> <div>Present: RL, JE<br /> <br /> * Stump<br /> ** JE has some questions about moderation workflow. He will propose a feature request for a future release<br /> <br /> * Misc<br /> ** TM is out due to a work emergency.<br /> ** JE and RL voted to remove the Google account since we have never used it or had a need for it.<br /> ** All other discussions will be tabled until all board members can be available.</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Minutes/2022-03-04&diff=3260 Minutes/2022-03-04 2022-03-04T15:20:12Z

<p>Jason Evans: Created page with "Present: RL, JE * Stump ** JE has some questions about moderation workflow. He will propose a feature request for a future release * Misc ** TM is out due to a work emerge..."</p> <hr /> <div>Present: RL, JE<br /> <br /> * Stump<br /> <br /> ** JE has some questions about moderation workflow. He will propose a feature request for a future release<br /> <br /> * Misc<br /> <br /> ** TM is out due to a work emergency.<br /> ** JE and RL voted to remove the Google account since we have never used it or had a need for it.<br /> ** All other discussions will be tabled until all board members can be available.</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Big-8_Usenet_hierarchies&diff=3247 Big-8 Usenet hierarchies 2022-02-24T09:16:15Z

<p>Jason Evans: /* History of the Big-8 */</p> <hr /> <div><br /> <br /> The Big 8 is a collection of international discussion newsgroups covering a wide range of topics organized in eight hierarchies. Discussion is primarily in English, though there are exceptions, most notably in the soc.culture.* sub-hierarchy.<br /> <br /> While international in scope, many newsgroups in the Big 8 have a United States flavor. This dual nature reflects the historical origins of the Big-8, and the relatively large share of native English speakers who live in the United States.<br /> <br /> "A Usenet hierarchy is, reduced to its essence, a set of Usenet newsgroups that share a common naming prefix, such as all groups starting with 'comp.' or all groups starting with 'de.' The names of Usenet newsgroups define a hierarchy of names, with '.' used as the separator between the levels of the hierarchy ... The most significant part of the name is given first. The first component of the name is special and more significant than the rest of the name, since it defines the top-level Usenet hierarchy to which that group belongs" ([http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html Allbery]).<br /> <br /> The newsgroups that form the Big-8 hierarchies use the following naming prefixes:<br /> <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !align="right"|comp.*<br /> |Computer topics, both hardware and software. <br /> |-<br /> !align="right"|news.*<br /> |Administration of the Big 8, as well as about Usenet and Netnews in general, and related topics. <br /> |-<br /> !align="right"|sci.*<br /> |Science and technology. <br /> |-<br /> !align="right"|humanities.*<br /> |The humanities. <br /> |-<br /> !align="right"|rec.*<br /> |Recreational topics, including music, sports, games, outdoor recreation, hobbies, crafts, ... <br /> |-<br /> !align="right"|soc.*<br /> |Socializing, society, and social issues. <br /> |-<br /> !align="right"|talk.*<br /> |Endless discussion, largely about politics. <br /> |-<br /> !align="right"|misc.*<br /> |A mixture of newsgroups that don't fit the other 7 hierarchies. Many are about the practical aspects of everyday life. <br /> |}<br /> The complete list of Big-8 newsgroups is in a special text file called [[Checkgroups|"Checkgroups"]].<br /> <br /> A note on the soc.* hierarchy:<br /> <br /> On Tue, 11 Jul 2006 21:14:08 GMT, Jim Riley (jimrtex@pipeline.com) wrote in AwUsg.6099$PE1.2213@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net:<br /> <pre><br /> The soc.* hierarchy has always been mostly about socializing, rather<br /> than society or social issues. If you look at the groups placed in the<br /> hierarchy as the result of the Great Renaming, soc.singles might well be<br /> considered the archetype for the hierarchy.<br /> <br /> Groups such as misc.legal and misc.kids (about parenting) were not<br /> placed in the soc.* hierarchy because they were not seen as fitting the<br /> hierarchy, even though they are important topics relating to how society<br /> is organized.<br /> <br /> See the charters for soc.atheism and talk.atheism for an example.<br /> soc.atheism was designed as a place where non-theists could hang out<br /> with out harassment from theists. If they wanted to debate politics or<br /> religion (or the lack thereof) they could use talk.atheism.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> Nevertheless, the soc.* hierarchy does indeed include some groups that are about society and not about socializing. For example, soc.org.nonprofit is about the creation and operation of non-profit organizations.<br /> <br /> __TOC__<br /> <br /> === History of the Big-8 ===<br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> "It is assumed in some quarters that if you missed the early days of<br /> Usenet and didn't use Lynx from a Unix command line, you missed the<br /> Magic of Internet Culture" (The Cluetrain Manifesto). <br /> |-<br /> |[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet Usenet Wikipedia article on Usenet]<br /> |-<br /> |[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_8_%28Usenet%29 Big_8_(Usenet) Wikipedia article on the Big-8]<br /> |-<br /> |[http://groups.google.com/groups?q=bernstein+group:news.groups+insubject:history&amp;hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;scoring=d&amp;selm=bo49f1%24chs%241%40reader2.panix.com&amp;rnum=4 A Google search--news.groups & history] <br /> |-<br /> |[http://web.archive.org/web/20081205073727/http://www.panix.com/~josephb/newsgroups/history/ Joe Bernstein's Web Site]<br /> |-<br /> |[https://shikan.org/bjones/Usenet.Hist/Nethist/index.html Archive for the History of Usenet Mailing List] <br /> |-<br /> |[[How the Management of the Big-8 Developed]] <br /> |}<br /> ==== In the Beginning: "Let's Play 'Name that Froup!'" ====<br /> <br /> (The 'froup' typo is attributed to Laura Zurawski in the alt.stupidity FAQ at MIT's RTFM site.)<br /> <br /> On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 19:40:56 -0800, Richard Henry wrote:<br /> >I don't understand the logical foundation of the voting process, I guess.<br /> <br /> Jim Riley replied:<br /> <br /> Once upon a time groups were created simply by posting a message to the group. The news software would see an unrecognized name and create the group. New froups were created due to a misspelled name.<br /> <br /> So a process was developed where a person who thought a group should be created would post a message to (example, "I'm thinking about creating a screenwriting group. Is there anyone interested?"). People would send the "proponent" e-mail expressing their interest, or perhaps expressing that they didn't think that the group was a good idea.<br /> <br /> If there was sufficient interest in the new group, and not too much opposition, the proponent would post a message to the group, causing it to be created. A group that was created in accord with this process would be included in canonical lists of newsgroups, increasing the likelihood that it would be created on more, if not most, sites.<br /> <br /> Over time, "sufficient interest" became quantified, and eventually became 100 more Yes votes than No votes. I don't know of any particular reason that the Yes and No votes are compared in the way that they are; it may be simply be a way to have No votes be registered with typically little consequence. At one time, most proposed groups received over 200 Yes votes, whether there were 10 or 30 No votes didn't matter.<br /> <br /> At one point, there was talk of adding a 2/3 supermajority rule, but it was unclear whether this was to permit groups with margins such as 120:40 to be created or to stop groups that had a 500:300 margin from being created. The former group had sufficient interest, and not too much opposition. The latter group had a lot of opposition, despite achieving a 100 vote plurality.<br /> <br /> A formula that included a supermajority could not be worked out, and the idea was dropped. About 6 months later, sci.aquaria was proposed. It was widely opposed because of its placement in the sci.* hierarchy rather than the rec.* hierarchy. The group passed by something like a 700:400 margin under questionable circumstances. Someone noticed that if there had been a 2/3 rule in place, the group would have failed, and the current 2/3 rule was added.<br /> <br /> sci.aquaria was created under the old rules. Since that time, few groups have failed because of the 2/3 rule, since it is rare for a proposed group to receive 100 No votes, and even if there is a lot of No votes, there might be even more Yes votes.<br /> <br /> At one time the average vote was 200+:30. Most proposed groups were created, and since they had sufficient interest they had some level of success. Groups with somewhat marginal interest might squeak by on a 135:30 vote.<br /> <br /> A few groups would fail. If it was 20:30, the group probably would have been unsuccessful. If a group failed 120:30 it is not seen as a flaw in the system, but rather simply a disappointed proponent.<br /> <br /> The proposals with massive opposition and massive support were rare, and had gone beyond the point of determining whether there was interest in a _newsgroup_ about Topic X, but were rather popularity contests aobut Topic X itself. <br /> <br /> ==== History of news.groups ====<br /> <br /> * In the beginning, all users were expected to read [http://groups.google.com/group/net.general/about?hl=en net.general]. The purpose of the group was [http://groups.google.com/group/net.general/msg/8cc18e59ffa68b62?dmode=source&hl=en "initial queries and announcements."] Proposals for and announcement of new groups took place in that group.<br /> * '''net.news.group''' was created to remove that traffic from net.general, according to Joe Bernstein's History:<br /> <pre><br /> net.news.group<br /> Proposed as net.names December 26, 1981 by Jerry Schwarz. (He<br /> had proposed a net.groups, similar in purpose to the<br /> net.newsgroups that Curt Stephens later proposed, on June 14,<br /> 1981! Obviously a far-sighted person.)<br /> Proposed as net.news.groups January 13, 1982 by Jerry Schwarz.<br /> Announced January 15, 1982 by Mark Horton.<br /> Archived January 15, 1982 to ...<br /> Listed January 26, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption.<br /> Description line (1/26/1982): for discussions about proposed new<br /> newsgroups,<br /> Description line (11/1/1986): Discussions and lists of newsgroups<br /> (Joe Bernstein's comment: Sound familiar, anyone?)<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * Two early posts described '''the purpose of net.news.group'''. The first post also shows the beginnings of the effort to maintain a list of newsgroups. The second shows that users could still create new newsgroups at will on some systems.<br /> <pre><br /> Message-ID: [bnews.azure.1484]<br /> Newsgroups: net.general<br /> From: curts@sri-unix<br /> Date: Sat Nov 20 10:30:44 1982<br /> Subject: grouplist<br /> <br /> Some time ago, I regularly submitted a list of newsgroups to the net. Each <br /> entry to this list contained a brief summary of the purpose of that group. <br /> I had to stop, when I found myself too busy to keep up. Now, I am going to<br /> try to maintain the list again.<br /> <br /> ...<br /> <br /> A new newsgroup may be created by simply posting material to the <br /> net under a new newsgroup name. However, THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED! <br /> There are limits to the number of newsgroups that can be supported<br /> by the net. If you wish to send material to the net, first try to <br /> find an established newsgroup that deals with a subject related to<br /> that material. If there is no appropriate newsgroup, suggest the <br /> creation of a new group via net.news.group. Usually, there will be <br /> enough feedback to establish whether there is an audience for the <br /> subject that you would like to discuss. <br /> <br /> ...<br /> <br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> net.news.group for discussions about proposed new newsgroups,<br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <br /> ...<br /> <br /> Curt Stephens<br /> <br /> Tektronix <br /> Beaverton, Oregon, USA<br /> <br /> --------------------------------------------------------<br /> <br /> From: cbosgd!mark (cbosgd!mark)<br /> Subject: official policy on creation of new newsgroups <br /> Newsgroups: net.news.group<br /> Date: 1982-05-31 21:52:27 PST <br /> Message-ID: [bnews.cbosgd.2329]<br /> <br /> The current official policy on creation new newsgroups is that someone<br /> is supposed to propose it in net.general,net.news.group (substitute<br /> whatever for net if it's a local group, or set up your own procedure) <br /> and all followups are supposed to go to net.news.group only. (The followup<br /> command in all recent versions of news does this automatically.) Once<br /> a consensus is reached, the person who originally proposed it should<br /> make a yes/no decision on the newsgroup and a name, announce it to<br /> net.general, and create it. (If he is not the netnews contact at his<br /> site, he should ask that person to create it, or ask me.)<br /> <br /> Modern versions of the software do not let people create new groups<br /> unless they are the local netnews contact, or the super user. There<br /> are many old versions still in use out there that don't enforce this,<br /> which shows that no matter what change we make, getting software to<br /> enforce it in the finite future is very hard.<br /> <br /> The net.sctv business has recreated the suggestion of a netnews<br /> committee who makes all the decisions. It has not been resolved yet.<br /> The last time somebody suggested this, there was overwhelming sentiment<br /> to not restrict new newsgroups, but rather to make the software wonderful,<br /> by such things as automatically expiring empty newsgroups, and making it<br /> much faster to do readnews or checknews. (This will probably happen in<br /> version 3.0, which is right now in the wishful thinking stage due to<br /> lack of time on the part of the authors.)<br /> <br /> As to natural language, the flaming has gone on for a while but the person<br /> who proposed it hasn't made a decision. Personally, I don't understand<br /> what you guys are going to talk about, but there is lots of stuff I don't<br /> subscribe to. So I'll make a decision: net.nlang is now created with no<br /> subgroups. Post to it and mention the particular language in your title.<br /> Any language that picks up significant activity that continues after the<br /> novelty wears off (the participants should decide this) should create its<br /> own subgroup. New natural language newsgroups can be started in the parent<br /> newsgroup. (Off the wall thought - once the 14 char limit goes away<br /> in the eventual version 3.0, you might want to call it "net.tongues".)<br /> <br /> Mark <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * By 1982 (less than a year after its creation), '''net.news.group''' was nominated as "the silliest group on the net" and the first cries were heard to "go back to an earlier time" (!):<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> Message-ID: [bnews.unc.3498]<br /> Newsgroups: net.news.group<br /> Path: utzoo!decvax!duke!mcnc!unc!wm<br /> X-Path: utzoo!decvax!duke!mcnc!unc!wm<br /> From: unc!wm<br /> Date: Sat May 29 07:12:46 1982<br /> Subject: DOWN with net.news.group<br /> Posted: Fri May 28 15:51:51 1982<br /> Received: Sat May 29 07:12:46 1982<br /> <br /> Personally I think half the news groups that have been started<br /> are silly. Natural language groups fit into this category, but<br /> WHO CARES? Anyone can start a new group, and there are several<br /> new groups started every week or so by someone who doesn't know<br /> the "rules" yet. The only purpose net.news.group seems to serve<br /> is as a forum for people to flame about how other people's ideas<br /> for new groups are silly, or how something should be a mailing<br /> list, or should be in net.misc, or shouldn't be in net.misc, etc.<br /> I therefore nominate as the silliest group on the net, you guessed<br /> it, net.news.group! Let us go back to an earlier time, when<br /> all you did if you thought there was an interest in a new group<br /> was to post an article to it. If nobody responds, or if the<br /> group sees activity for two weeks and then dies, it should be<br /> deleted by some automatic deletion mechanism. What are the chances<br /> of seeing this installed in the near future? Of course, we will<br /> still see long discussions about what the name of a group should<br /> be (you know, I think I will go back into the archives and see<br /> what percentage of articles in a group are related to what its<br /> name should be. Any bets?).<br /> unc!wm<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * In 1986, '''net.news.group''' became '''news.groups''':<br /> <pre><br /> From: mark@cbosgd.ATT.COM (Mark Horton)<br /> Newsgroups: net.news.group,news.groups<br /> Subject: net.news.group is being renamed news.groups<br /> Message-ID: [3039@cbosgd.ATT.COM]<br /> Date: Fri, 7-Nov-86 15:14:38 EST<br /> Article-I.D.: cbosgd.3039<br /> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus, Oh<br /> <br /> This newsgroup is being renamed from net.news.group to news.groups.<br /> This renaming will gradually take place over the next few weeks.<br /> More and more messages posted to this newsgroup will be aliased<br /> into the new newsgroup as they pass through the net, and people<br /> will begin to post to the new group. After a few weeks, the<br /> old name will be removed.<br /> <br /> This note is to inform you of the renaming so you can begin to<br /> read the new group as well as the old group.<br /> <br /> Mark Horton<br /> Director, the UUCP Project<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> * A comment from Jim Riley on the early history:<br /> <pre><br /> Message-ID: <cd0xg.12471$ug4.4262@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net><br /> Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 06:32:02 GMT<br /> <br /> ...<br /> <br /> The name of news.groups<br /> is more or less an accident. net.news.group was chosen because it fit<br /> in 14 characters, and the last 's' was added during the great<br /> renaming.<br /> <br /> ...<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> ==== Spaf ====<br /> <br /> Spaf is the nickname of Eugene H. Spafford, who is a professor at Purdue University who specializes in issues of information security, digital forensics, privacy technology, and security and science policy. Among many other things, he is the founder and executive director of CERIAS, and chair of ACM's US Public Policy Council, USACM.<br /> <br /> * Published the first set of newusers documents for Usenet ca. 1982 (and continued to maintain and post them for the next 11 years).<br /> * Developed the concept of the Usenet backbone ca. 1983.<br /> * Created the idea of the Usenet newgroup "ballot" ca. 1987.<br /> * Was moderator of one of the first moderated newsgroups not represented by a gated mailing list (news.newusers).<br /> <br /> ==== The Failed Trial Group System (1991) ====<br /> <br /> [http://www.templetons.com/brad/trial.html Brad Templeton explains the system.]<br /> <br /> ==== tale's Reform Proposal (1993) ====<br /> <br /> Available in [ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/comp/comp.dcom.telecom.tech ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/comp/comp.dcom.telecom.tech].<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> From tale@uunet.uu.net Thu Oct 14 20:50:30 1993<br /> Path: uunet!tale<br /> From: tale@uunet.uu.net (David C Lawrence)<br /> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,news.admin.policy,news.admin.misc<br /> Subject: comp.dcom.telecom.tech and Changing the Guidelines<br /> Followup-To: news.groups,news.admin.policy<br /> Date: 14 Oct 1993 19:01:27 -0400<br /> Organization: UUNET Communications<br /> Lines: 78<br /> Sender: tale@rodan.UU.NET<br /> Approved: tale@uunet.uu.net<br /> Message-ID: 29klo7INN5sq@rodan.UU.NET<br /> References: 29esvpINN4ae@rodan.UU.NET<br /> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net<br /> Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:4160 news.groups:84553 news.admin.policy:7211 news.admin.misc:5076<br /> <br /> This message is intended to address my recent suggestion that the<br /> comp.dcom.telecom.tech group be created despite its failing vote result,<br /> and to give an introduction toward ideas I have had for a while<br /> regarding restructuring the Guidelines for USENET Group Creation. I<br /> would like to keep it relatively short, and some people might believe<br /> there are glaring omissions. I hope that all points will be addressed<br /> in the ensuing discussion.<br /> <br /> First, I thank everyone who has written to me over the past two days.<br /> Nearly all of the messages that I received were carefully written and<br /> well presented. I'm sorry that I cannot reply individually to all of<br /> them.<br /> <br /> The diversity of the mail has been surprising at times. I've got<br /> messages from people who voted for the proposal asking me not to create<br /> it, and messages from those who voted against it remarking that I should<br /> create it. I've got praise from people who are happy to see the spirit<br /> of the Guidelines upheld, and derision from those who would hold me to<br /> the letter of them. I've got more than ample indication that if I did<br /> send the newgroup without further debate that it would be widely<br /> honoured and the group well propagated.<br /> <br /> Before I continue, I want to make clear my primary source of bias<br /> regarding USENET group creation. I support the creation of well focused<br /> newsgroups which are not duplicitous. I have yet to oppose a USENET<br /> newsgroup based on its content.<br /> <br /> Voting by the hundreds is not a good way to administer a classification<br /> system. "No" votes are not particularly effective at the job they were<br /> intended to do, which was to stop poorly formed proposals. They have<br /> been used to stop groups which should have been created and have not<br /> stopped those which shouldn't. I don't believe that any manner of<br /> playing with the numbers and ratios will resolve this inequity. They<br /> should be abolished.<br /> <br /> Namespace management is best served by a small working group who can<br /> help ensure consistency and coherency. The net supported this idea two<br /> years ago when a proposal to use a "trial" process to create groups was<br /> approved by a traditional USENET vote. One of its features was that a<br /> small group of people were to chose the name of the group.<br /> <br /> I would like to advance a proposal for new guidelines for group<br /> creation. The essential differences would be to make new group creation<br /> easier and shorter for people interested in the topics to be discussed,<br /> at the cost of not being able to push any name and ill-formed charter<br /> forward.<br /> <br /> I will be working on the draft of these Guidelines and submitting them<br /> for discussion in the near future. Please do not start debating these<br /> ideas until you see how they come out in the proposal.<br /> </pre><br /> <br /> ==== Allbery's Reform Proposal (1996) ====<br /> <br /> <pre><br /> From: Russ Allbery <rra@cs.stanford.edu><br /> Subject: [DRAFT] RFD: news.groups reorganization<br /> Date: 1996/10/24<br /> Message-ID: qumramogu12.thoron@cyclone.stanford.edu<br /> X-Deja-AN: 191793806<br /> sender: eagle@cyclone.stanford.edu<br /> organization: The Eyrie<br /> newsgroups: news.groups<br /> <br /> <br /> [ This is a draft only. Comments are very much welcome. Anyone else<br /> who is considering a reorganization of news.groups, please contact<br /> me; I would greatly prefer to work together rather than end up with<br /> competing proposals. ]<br /> <br /> From: Russ Allbery <rra@cs.stanford.edu><br /> Subject: RFD: news.groups reorganization<br /> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups<br /> <br /> REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)<br /> moderated group news.groups.creation<br /> moderated group news.groups.reorganization<br /> moderated group news.groups.innovations<br /> unmoderated group news.groups.pre-proposals<br /> unmoderated group news.groups.policy (renames news.groups)<br /> <br /> Newsgroup lines:<br /> news.groups.creation Creation of single newsgroups. (Moderated)<br /> news.groups.reorganization Reorganization of newsgroups. (Moderated)<br /> news.groups.innovations Innovative newsgroup concepts. (Moderated)<br /> news.groups.pre-proposals Preliminary newsgroup proposals.<br /> news.groups.policy Policy issues of newsgroup creation.<br /> <br /> This is a preliminary Request For Discussion (RFD) for the<br /> reorganization of news.groups. This is not a formal RFD. Procedural<br /> details are below.<br /> <br /> RATIONALE: all groups<br /> <br /> news.groups is becoming increasingly difficult to follow because of<br /> the noise, poor use of subject lines, and overload due to multiple<br /> group discussions happening simultaneously. This proposal is designed<br /> to break up that discussion and mark the actual group discussion so<br /> that it can be easily filtered and followed by people only interested<br /> in one proposal.<br /> <br /> The core of the proposal is robomoderation of the two main groups to<br /> require that every post be marked with a tag specific to a particular<br /> proposal. <br /> <br /> ...<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> <br /> ==== fa.* ====<br /> <pre><br /> On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 10:20:52 +0200, Kjetil Torgrim Homme <kjetilho@kaksi.ifi.uio.no> wrote in <1rbqo7iejf.fsf@buri.ifi.uio.no>:<br /> <br /> > > I run the gateway at fa.*, including fa.haskell. I'm sorry to<br /> > > say I haven't put much effort into maintaining subscriptions the<br /> > > last few years, and as you allude to, many of the groups in the<br /> > > hierarchy are dead.<br /> > <br /> > Are you saying that the gated mailing lists themselves are dead?<br /> > That's too bad.<br /> <br /> a little of both, I think. (I know fa.haskell is alive, though.)<br /> <br /> > > all the fa.* groups are one-way, btw.<br /> > <br /> > I didn't know that. Was this always the case, or a deliberate<br /> > attempt to keep Usenet spam out of Mail?<br /> <br /> our gateway has always been one-way.<br /> <br /> a little background: as you probably know, the FA name is from before<br /> the Great Renaming (it stands for From ARPAnet). I don't know how it<br /> worked back then. some years later, Anders Ellefsrud, my predecessor<br /> as news admin here at ifi.uio.no, thought that it was wasteful that<br /> our students subscribed to mailing lists individually, and set up a<br /> gateway to save bandwidth and to get automatic expiration. he chose<br /> to reuse the name fa.* which was no longer in use on Usenet. this was<br /> a local hierarchy at first, but some neighbours thought it was useful<br /> and wanted feeds, and in 1998 it started leaking to the Usenet at<br /> large. this was under my watch, but I thought "hey, indexing at<br /> Google is actually pretty neat", so I didn't try to find the leak.<br /> <br /> </pre><br /> [[Category:Big-8 Management]]<br /> [[Category:History]]</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Internet_Systems_Consortium&diff=3246 Internet Systems Consortium 2022-02-23T19:04:18Z

<p>Jason Evans: changed url from to https</p> <hr /> <div>The [http://www.isc.org|Internet Systems Consortium (ISC)] is a non-profit corporation that supports "the infrastructure of the universal connected self-organizing Internet--and the autonomy of its participants--by developing and maintaining core production quality software, protocols, and operations." One of the services that the ISC donates to [[Usenet]] is set of ftp archives in which the [[Checkgroups|official (canonical) list of Big-8 groups]] is maintained along with the control messages that created the groups.<br /> <br /> In the control messages are the original charters (if any) of each newsgroup.<br /> <br /> == The ISC Newsgroup Archives ==<br /> <br /> {| {{Prettytable}}<br /> |-<br /> !Archived control messages from news.announce.newgroups <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ ftp root directory for news.announce.newgroups] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/active ISC CONFIG list of active newsgroups] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/control/ ISC archive of control messages] <br /> |-<br /> |[[Checkgroups]]--the canonical list.<br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/Group_Lists ftp version of Checkgroups] <br /> |-<br /> !Archives of charters and RFDs for each hierarchy <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/ Top level directory.]<br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/comp comp.*] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/humanities humanities.*] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/misc misc.*] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/news news.*] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec rec.*] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/sci sci.*] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/soc soc.*] <br /> |-<br /> |[https://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/talk talk.*] <br /> |}</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Minutes/2021-11-26&diff=3193 Minutes/2021-11-26 2021-11-26T15:21:34Z

<p>Jason Evans: Created page with "== Administration == * To be discussed on 2021-12-10: Removal of {{news|rec.radio.broadcasting}} * To be discussed Kathy Morgan suggested deleting comp.software.shareware.*...."</p> <hr /> <div>== Administration ==<br /> <br /> * To be discussed on 2021-12-10: Removal of {{news|rec.radio.broadcasting}}<br /> * To be discussed Kathy Morgan suggested deleting comp.software.shareware.*.<br /> <br /> == STUMP ==<br /> <br /> * JE - Began working on updating STUMP/WebSTUMP documentation. The documentation needs some discussion.<br /> * JE - Working on re-editing the Moderation Handbook written by Kent Landfield with his permission.<br /> * JE - Contact Todd and Russ about a newsgroup for moderation testing.<br /> * RL - Merging fixes for STUMP. C Binary file no longer needed.</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Comp.infosystems.gemini_RFD&diff=3141 Comp.infosystems.gemini RFD 2021-10-01T14:06:40Z

<p>Jason Evans: </p> <hr /> <div>REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)<br /> This is a formal Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of the<br /> unmoderated newsgroup: comp.infosystems.gemini<br /> <br /> NEWSGROUPS LINE:<br /> <br /> comp.infosystems.gemini, Discussion about new gemini internet protocol<br /> <br /> RATIONALE:<br /> <br /> The Gemini community largely exists in the form of a mailing list. A newsgroup would be a natural compliment to the existing mailing list as well as a mirror for newsgroup messages. <br /> <br /> This topic has already been proposed to the mailing list community with positive results. <br /> See: https://lists.orbitalfox.eu/archives/gemini/2021/007227.html<br /> <br /> CHARTER:<br /> <br /> comp.infosystems.gemini is a forum for announcements and conversation within the Gemini communitity. It is an unmoderated forum. Users are encouraged to self-moderate via filters and kill files in their newsreader software.<br /> <br /> MODERATION POLICY: unmoderated</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Comp.infosystems.gemini_RFD&diff=3139 Comp.infosystems.gemini RFD 2021-10-01T13:34:28Z

<p>Jason Evans: </p> <hr /> <div>REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)<br /> This is a formal Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of the<br /> unmoderated newsgroup: comp.infosystems.gemini<br /> <br /> NEWSGROUPS LINE:<br /> <br /> comp.infosystems.gemini, Discussion about new gemini internet protocol<br /> <br /> RATIONALE:<br /> <br /> The Gemini community largely exists in the form of a mailing list. A newsgroup would be a natural compliment to the existing mailing list as well as a mirror for newsgroup messages. <br /> <br /> This topic has already been proposed to the mailing list community with positive results. <br /> See: https://lists.orbitalfox.eu/archives/gemini/2021/007227.html<br /> <br /> CHARTER:<br /> <br /> comp.infosystems.gemini is a forum for announcements and conversation withint the Gemini communitity. It is an unmoderated forum. Users are encouraged to self-moderate via filters and kill files in their newsreader software.<br /> <br /> MODERATION POLICY: unmoderated</div>

Jason Evans https://www.big-8.org/w/index.php?title=Comp.infosystems.gemini_RFD&diff=3138 Comp.infosystems.gemini RFD 2021-10-01T13:33:39Z

<p>Jason Evans: Created page with "REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) This is a formal Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of the unmoderated newsgroup: comp.infosystems.gemini NEWSGROUPS LINE: comp.infos..."</p> <hr /> <div>REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)<br /> This is a formal Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of the<br /> unmoderated newsgroup: comp.infosystems.gemini<br /> <br /> NEWSGROUPS LINE:<br /> <br /> comp.infosystems.gemini, Discussion about new gemini internet protocol<br /> <br /> RATIONALE:<br /> <br /> The Gemini community largely exists in the form of a mailing list. A newsgroup would be a natural compliment to the existing mailing list as well as a mirror for newsgroup messages. <br /> <br /> This topic has already been proposed to the mailing list community. <br /> See: https://lists.orbitalfox.eu/archives/gemini/2021/007227.html<br /> <br /> CHARTER:<br /> <br /> comp.infosystems.gemini is a forum for announcements and conversation withint the Gemini communitity. It is an unmoderated forum. Users are encouraged to self-moderate via filters and kill files in their newsreader software.<br /> <br /> MODERATION POLICY: unmoderated</div>

Jason Evans