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AOL Kills Usenet Access
from the the-september-that-never-ended-has-ended? dept
According to Brian McWilliams, AOL has decided to stop offering Usenet access from within the AOL software. Obviously, users can still get access via Google Groups over the web, but for many it's not quite the same. Of course, what some may find amusing about all of this is that many Usenet veterans recall the September that never ended, when AOL first offered Usenet access and (according to many) killed off the usefulness of Usenet permanently. So, does this mean that the September that never ended has ended?
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personally I still cringe
at some of the posts I made under my real name during the mid-nineties, when I foolishly thought so many posts were being made to Usenet that only a select few of them would be permanently archived.
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September and ever
I always placed the beginning of the September That Never Ended at Prodigy's introduction of their inet gateway. AOL came later, as I recall.
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Google groups? pshaw
Does anyone use Google groups for anything but searching usenet?
I only use it to find things ... then I get on xnews if I really want to get serious.
I haven't used an ISP provided usenet service in years. Third party providers are much better at keeping things up, speedy, and accessible.
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The death of Usenet
Personally, I mourn the decline of Usenet, which was an invaluable tool for me back in my early online days. I quit using Usenet ages ago simply because my favorite groups were overrun with spam.
I would suspect that more ISPs will drop Usenet, particularly in light of legal challenges claiming that, by hosting newsgroups that include pedophile groups, they are in effect distributing child pornography. It's easier and cheaper to pull the plug on a service that few of their customers even know exist than to fight court battles.
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Other choices
Being limited to public access to the web I prefer using the forum style interface to the usenet on http://www.talkaboutnetwork.com
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