Re: But is UseNet "Social Media"??

Daniel70 <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 2/02/2026 12:33 am, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> > Mr. Man-wai Chang <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> On 2/1/2026 4:21 PM, Daniel70 wrote:
> >>> 
> >>> Whilst I doubt there were many under-16's using UseNet, I have
> >>> heard some suggest that it is a "Social Media".
> >>> 
> >>> Facebook ... Sure!
> >>> X ... Sure!
> >>> Instagram .... Sure!
> >>> Youtube .... Some would suggest it is "Social Media", too.
> >>> 
> >>> ... and there are probably others I can't think of or have Never
> >>> heard of.
> >>> 
> >>> But is UseNet "Social Media"??
> >> 
> >> Usenet is "fully duplex", so it's social media because you can 
> >> communicate with each others. :)
> >> 
> >> The same goes to Fidonet BBS.
> > 
> > The History section of Wikipedia's 'Social media' page starts with 
> > the PLATO system and later says
> > 
> > "Usenet, conceived by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis in 1979 at the 
> > University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, was 
> > the first open social media app, established in 1980."
> > 
> > So I guess that settles it once and for all! :-)
> > 
> > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media#History>
> > 
> I thought UseNet was just an outsourcing/spreading of the D.A.R.P.A.
> projects into the Common peoples environments!!
> 
> D.A.R.P.A. apparently started back in Feb 1958.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA

  No, as far I know there is no link between Usenet and DARPA. Yes,
DARPA had ties with some universtities for some projects, but not with
these universities for Usenet.

  Anyway, as I mentioned, Usenet *predates* Internet and probably
predates any substantial work DARPA did in pre-Internet phases.

  The ARPANET article indicates that ARPANET did not really open up to
universities, etc. via CSNET (Computer Science Network) till 1981, i.e.
after Usenet was created.

  Also note that TCP/IP was not really adopted until 1985. Without
TCP/IP, no Internet and no NNTP.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET>

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_protocol_suite#Adoption>