I have participated on Usenet newsgroups since 1990. My first exposure
to Usenet was the Stupid People's Court (aka, rec.humor.spc), created by
Jeff Meyer. I currently host
the most complete direct archive.
The Stupid People's Court, or SPC, was a satire of the TV show People's
Court (an early reality show that emulated a small claims court) that
attempted to make net-etiquette offenders on the early Usenet "stand
trial" for their offenses, and receive humorously ironic punishments.
It was a brilliant send-up of unproductive on-line behavior, and was an
early influence on my participation on-line.
Other more serious groups that I have regularly followed since then are
rec.ham-radio (later rec.radio.amateur.*) and comp.dcom.telecom.
I served on the editorial board for a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
list for rec.radio.amateur.* from
approximately 1991 to 1995 (FAQ is now defunct after last chief editor
gave it up, and is arguably superseded by the outstanding resources
available for amateur radio at the
web site of the American Radio Relay League
).
I created, maintained, and posted to the Usenet newsgroups from 1991 to
2000, another information resource called the "Amateur Radio Elmers
Resource Directory," which was a list of mentors, experts, and gurus for
amateur radio on the net. The term "Elmer" in amateur radio refers to
an expert, usually older and wiser.
I was a co-moderator for the *.answers newsgroups, working with chief
moderator Jonathan Kamens and the rest of his team.
I also previously served as a Usenet Volunteer Votetaker, conducting
votes for comp.sys.psion and sci.techniques.microscopy.
In 1993, I helped Mark Salyzyn create and maintain rec.radio.info,
initially serving as guest moderator, and currently as chief moderator.
In 2007, I was the proponent for rec.radio.amateur.moderated, organizing
its moderation team, setting up an instance of
Secure, Team-Based Usenet Moderation Program
or STUMP, and currently serving as chief moderator.
I have also assisted several other moderation teams set up their own
instances of STUMP to moderate their own newsgroups.
I wish to share my experience and knowledge of Usenet with others and
ensure Usenet's long-term survival as a personally and professionally
useful information resource.
