Newsgroups postings a bastion of anarchy

The recent internet defamation case has put the spotlight on the Usenet global electronic bulletin board, writes MICHAEL FOREMAN.

New Zealand's first internet defamation case has drawn attention to Usenet newsgroups - a forum for electronic discussions which has gained a reputation as a bit of a free-for-all.

As no single body owns or controls Usenet, it remains a bastion of anarchy on the internet. But as one wag on a local newsgroup observed, some people regard this as a problem and others see it as a feature.

What are newsgroups?

Newsgroups are the channels within Usenet, a global discussion system which receives and broadcasts email-like messages. Each newsgroup is named according to its subject within a hierarchical system. For example, within the "alternative" family of newsgroups beginning with "alt" you will find a group called alt.autos, which is devoted to discussions about cars. But there are also more specialised groups such as alt.autos.ford and alt.autos.honda looking at individual makes.

How do you find them?

Your email or newsreader software will provide you with a list of available newsgroups when you first start accessing Usenet. You can also find newsgroups through specialised search engines such as Google (http://groups.google.com).

What are they used for?

Most newsgroups are used as a channel of communication between people who share a common interest. This could be anything from local affairs, the technical details of computer operating systems, to aliens.

How many newsgroups are there?

There are more than 80,000 Usenet newsgroups but unless you use a paid "newsfeed" service, the number you can access will depend on your internet service provider. There are about 56,000 newsgroups available on Xtra's news server.

How do they work?

Once a message is posted to a newsgroup it is copied to every other news server that accepts that newsgroup. As this may take a couple of days, replies to messages may take several days to come back.

At the beginning of this month, traffic over the Usenet network averaged 1.25 million messages a day with over 180 gigabytes of data.

What are the rules about posting?

Rules vary according to the newsgroups. Guidelines are usually contained within charters or FAQs (frequently asked questions), which are posted on each newsgroup.

Advertising, known as "spamming", is frowned upon, as is "cross-posting" or sending the same message to different newsgroups. Irrelevant "off-topic" messages or chain letters are also unwelcome in most newsgroups.

Can you post anonymously?

Yes, to a certain extent. Many people post under an alias, and it is easy to alter the email address that is included with a message. These precautions should be enough to protect you when your opinions differ from your employer's, but they probably would not shield you from the police or lawyers bearing warrants or court orders.

Several overseas firms advertise anonymous newsgroup posting services but it is debatable whether the anonymity provided is absolute. Usenet.com says users of its anonymous service should "feel free to post whatever they like without fear of retaliation by others", but it also warns that no spamming, illegal, or copyrighted material is allowed.

Are newsgroups just text discussion?

No, in many newsgroups, especially those that include the word "binaries" in their names, messages may carry attachments just as emails can. These binary files may include photos, videos, MP3 music, or any other kind of computer readable file including working software.

What sort of things do people say?

This depends on the newsgroup, but on one of the New Zealand-related newsgroups - nz.general - much of the discussion concerns stories of the day.

Amid a discussion on the plight of Air New Zealand, an expatriate New Zealander called Megan had this to say about a possible part purchase by Virgin Atlantic: "It opens up a whole other half of the world to Virgin, which I suspect is what [Richard] Branson is after. Whether the Air New Zealand brand would survive I am not so sure."

Noddy replied: "Bloody good on him. If he can provide us with good cheap and quick travel then let him in."

Also on nz.general you will find posts on anything from last night's episode of Shortland Street to local weather or earthquake reports, like this one from Newsman: "Felt in Hutt Valley at 1856. Long rolling motion lasting about 15 seconds. Guess R5 [five on the Richter scale] approx."

What happens to all these postings?

Messages "expire" from new servers after a fixed period, which can be anything from a few days to several weeks. Most newsgroup postings, including those made on some local groups, are stored on overseas-based archives.

Probably the largest archive belongs to search engine company Google, which bought Deja.com's database of 500 million Usenet messages dating back to 1995. Google is also buying up CD-Roms containing earlier postings and will eventually make all of this material available on its website.

What about pornography?

Yes, there is plenty of porn on Usenet, and it exists in every conceivable form, including pictures, text, videos and even computer programs. In legal terms such material is classified as publications under the Broadcasting Act, so downloading or trading in "objectionable" material is punishable by fines or even prison.

For definitions as to what is regarded as objectionable see the Internal Affairs website - under "Censorship and the internet".

Illegal software and Mp3s?

Since the demise of the Napster file-sharing service, Usenet has become one of the fastest growing sources of MP3 music. It has long been associated with pirated software known as "warez", and methods of defeating copyright protection known as "cracks".

Does anyone censor this stuff?

Apart from some moderated newsgroups, where postings are sent to a moderator who decides whether messages should be broadcast or not, Usenet is largely uncensored.

But local internet service providers have removed some newsgroups, which were understood to contain child pornography, from their news servers.

Links

Harley Hahn's Master List of Usenet Newsgroups

Google Newsgroup Search

Daily Usenet Statistics

Basics of Usenet

A guide to the New Zealand related newsgroups

All the things your mother should have told you about playing on the internet by Judi Lapsley Miller

Pornography: Internal Affairs - see "Censorship and the internet"

Internet Watch Foundation discussion paper on newsgroups