Listserves (IE email discussion groups) are a way to privately communicate with a group via secure email. Usenet is an old-fashioned form of social media. If you didn’t live in the age of the Usenet, you might be confused on what the difference is between discussion groups and Usenet. We’re going to address that. But first, we need to look at what a Usenet is.
What is Usenet?
Usenet really is old. Older even than the World Wide Web itself. In fact, Usenet is where the WWW was first announced. Usenet was established in 1979 and was the brainchild of Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis as a way of sharing information.
A Usenet is a web of copied information. Someone posts information at one point on the web. A new copy of that information is then sent to another point of the web (another server) and so on and so on. People then use special newsgroup readers to post to and read discussion threads on their local Usenet server or the one they subscribe to.
Originally, Usenets were hosted by ISP providers. Most ISPs have shut down their Usenets for various reasons: high storage & low use, growth of other social media, and concerns over child pornography. Nowadays, Usenet is still around but mostly hosted by private servers.
Even on those private servers, Usenet has become less a way to communicate and more a way to pass around dubious and illegally copied files….kind of like BitTorrent, but with less publicity.
What Separates Discussion Groups and Usenet?
Unlike Usenet, email discussion groups are run entirely through email. Discussions are replied to through email and forwarded through email. You don’t need a special client to access them. Usenets are more publicly accessible (if you pay to use a Usenet server or use a not-well-run free one), while listserves are more like a club or an interest group.
Importantly, listserves don’t have a tarnished reputation. Because they are email-based, they can’t be used to move around a lot of large files. You can start your own discussion group for free on platforms like Google or you can choose a more controllable private host like us, here at Mail-List.com.
If you’re looking for reliable, solid, proven technology to host your community, or if you’re looking for a plain, old-fashioned discussion, use a discussion group.
Did you use Usenet in the good old days? Which do you like better…..discussion groups or Usenet? Tell us in the comments below.
P.S. Wondering about the difference between listservs and Twitter? Or listservs and message boards? We can help with that, too.
