Module 2: Newsgroups

This was a blast from the past for me. I used Newsgroups extensively in the early 1990's - back before Windows 3.1 and a WYSIWYG computing environment.

Overall Newsgroups haven't changed that much but the technology around them has.

I used the Newsgroup Reader through Microsoft Outlook 2007. Obviously Newsgroups are no longer popular with the masses as access to newsgroups was not immediately obvious and only available after reading help on how to add a short cut to your toolbar (however no help file was available to access the Newsgroups without adding the short cut).

Application issues aside, it was easy to search through the mass of newsgroups and subscribe to those of my choice. As this was a trip down memory lane, I subscribed to alt.music.kiss - a newsgroup I'd subscribed to in the past.

This isn't a heavily active newsgroups - 1 or 2 posts per week - I also subscribed to alt.games.the-sims-2 to experience more user interaction.

I found that newsgroups have become a home to spam and not heavily populated. With the infinite number of discussion boards available, this interactive format is definitely giving off the air of being out dated.

Below is a copy of the message I posted to the KISS newsgroup about a recent interview with the lead singer, Paul Stanley.



First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak. Epictetus