Re: Netnews: The Origin Story

Rich <rich@example.invalid> writes:

D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

This is the truth!  As a thought experiment I sometimes think about
how I would be able to handle usenet if it had 10x the nr of posts,
and I don't think I would.

>
Been there, seen that....  Circa 1995 (I forget which groups now) the
text posting volume was so great in the few groups I was following that
it was not possible to keep up.  I was always behind, and falling
further behind each day.  Eventually the fall behind problem reached a
point where I decided to just drop out.  So I disappeared for a good
ten years or so.  Of course, when I did return again, Usenet was a
shadow of its former self as far as text posting rates go.
>

It would have to be either a laser focus on a very small nr of
groups, or aggressive filtering of the subject lines.

>
One did have to do both, and even so, the volume was impossible to keep
up with if the group was at all active.

That's right.  This gives me the idea that a community should not really
be that large.  On the other hand, I do think the size we are right now
could be enlarged a bit.