Re: net.martyr

Frank Slootweg <[email protected]> wrote:
>Adam H. Kerman <[email protected]> wrote:
>>Grant Taylor <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>On 2/28/24 19:08, Sn!pe wrote:

>>>>What distinguishes one from the other?

>>>I'm assuming that "NetNews" is a reference to FidoNet (or other FTN) echos.

>>>Usenet is one set of groups and FidoNet echos are a different set of groups.

>>I don't agree. NetNews and Usenet are synonymous terms. RFCs 850 and
>>1036 refer to Usenet; RFC 5536 to Netnews. Some documents refer to
>>USENET. There isn't a lot of consistency.

>>The only distinction I make between Usenet and newsgroups is that Usenet
>>is limited to newsgroups whose articles are distributed; local
>>newsgroups aren't Usenet. But plenty of people don't even make that
>>distinction.

>  Agreed, with the distinction that some 'local' newsgroups *are*
>distributed or/and are *not*local, in the sense of limited to one
>geographical area.

I use "local" with respect to the network, not geography. If articles in
these groups don't leave the network, they're local.

>  For example HP had (has?) hp.* newsgroups, which were distributed
>worldwide - i.e. not local -, but were only company-internal, so not
>part of Usenet.

>  So I think we need some other term for 'local', but I can't think of a
>good one.

I've always used "institutional", for groups related to a company or
university.

In newsgroups in which discussion is supposed to be related to
geography, I use the term "regional". If there's discussion without
relating it to geography, then "international".

My terminology hasn't caught on.

>  I divide NetNews into a Usenet (for example these groups) part and a
>non-Usenet (for example hp.*) part, but that's not very clear to a lot
>of folks either.

>>>With the gatewaying that happens between, there is some amount of 
>>>overlap between them.

>>>But each will have newsgroups / echos that the other does not have.