Explain Like I'm 5 (ELI5)

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ELI5: What exactly is Usenet and why do I need a provider? (self.eli5)

submitted 6 days ago by Allero to c/eli5@lemmy.world

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Some people describe it as a network, some people describe it as a forum, yet somehow we have providers, and at the same time Usenet is seen as anonymous despite having a proxy in the form of a provider...for someone grown way after the Usenet prime, this all doesn't make sense.

What is Usenet, actually? Is it a separate network? Is it layered on top of the Internet? If it's the latter, why do I need some Usenet provider and why does it need to retain information (and why doing it for as long as possible is desirable?). Please help me connect the dots here.

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[–] KillerTofu@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Usenet is a global, decentralized discussion platform and the world's oldest digital social network, established in 1980. It's similar to an online forum where users can post and read messages, called "articles", in newsgroups focused on specific topics. Think of newsgroups as forums or subreddits. Usenet predates the World Wide Web and has been continuously operating since 1979.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Those were the times. I wrote a Usenet client named Gobelin back then, for VMS on a VAX 11/780.

[–] Allero 1 points 6 days ago

Thanks!