From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet

If an average normie hears "Usenet" and types it into google/ddg/bing,
they mostly get AI-generated sludge or "how to download movie from
binary groups" takes.
great PR for a network that's way more than that...

What we don't have is a decent, up-to-date place for the basics:
- how to configure a news/mail client in 2026 (not a guide from 2009),
- how remailers actually work in practice,
- how to post anonymously without relying on vague "trust me bro"
lore,
- servers: what the most popular ones are, which are read-only,
which require an account, and which let you post without one

and: which groups still have signal and culture, and which ones are
pure spam pits.

We need an "awesome usenet" list: curated links + short notes, not a
link dump. Like: setup guides, privacy/anon posting
(remailers/PGP/header hygiene), tools/projects, and a human-written
group directory (what's good, what to avoid, why).

Also there are cool usenet-related projects out there, but they barely
escape the Usenet bubble. Nobody boosts them on the Fediverse etc, so
they stay invisible. A solid list would help discovery a lot.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet

TheFri, 02 Jan 2026 10:29:03 +0300, caretaker wrote:

If an average normie hears "Usenet" and types it into google/ddg/bing,
they mostly get AI-generated sludge or "how to download movie from
binary groups" takes.
great PR for a network that's way more than that...

What we don't have is a decent, up-to-date place for the basics:
- how to configure a news/mail client in 2026 (not a guide from 2009),
- how remailers actually work in practice,
- how to post anonymously without relying on vague "trust me bro"
lore,
- servers: what the most popular ones are, which are read-only,
which require an account, and which let you post without one

and: which groups still have signal and culture, and which ones are
pure spam pits.

We need an "awesome usenet" list: curated links + short notes, not a
link dump. Like: setup guides, privacy/anon posting
(remailers/PGP/header hygiene), tools/projects, and a human-written
group directory (what's good, what to avoid, why).

Also there are cool usenet-related projects out there, but they barely
escape the Usenet bubble. Nobody boosts them on the Fediverse etc, so
they stay invisible. A solid list would help discovery a lot.

I wrote most of the original FAQ posted on 4chan, and posted the html file
to post nicely formatted text here on usenet.

I was about to post such a guide, but I've seen interest and interactions
slow down and we failed to attract a number of faithful users... The biggest failure was not getting lainchanners onboard.

In second thought we didn't advertize that much and last ads on 4chan is like months ago? If we could find some extra fresh users things may reach a critical mass and thinkgs work out better.

anyways most of the things you listed are already in our FAQ, scroll down a bit and check it.
--
---/g/ on Usenet? Madness!---
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet

On 02.01.2026 10:29 Uhr caretaker wrote:

If an average normie hears "Usenet" and types it into google/ddg/bing,
they mostly get AI-generated sludge or "how to download movie from
binary groups" takes.
great PR for a network that's way more than that...

What we don't have is a decent, up-to-date place for the basics:
- how to configure a news/mail client in 2026 (not a guide from 2009),

https://www.big-8.org/wiki/Getting_Started_with_Usenet

- how to post anonymously without relying on vague "trust me bro"
lore,

https://www.big-8.org/wiki/News_service_providers
Let me know which services to add.

- servers: what the most popular ones are, which are read-only,
which require an account, and which let you post without one

https://th-h.de/net/usenet/faqs/newsserverliste/

and: which groups still have signal and culture, and which ones are
pure spam pits.

https://th-h.de/net/usenet/faqs/newsserverliste/
Let us know which groups to add
--
kind regards
Marco

Send spam to 1767346143muell@stinkedores.dorfdsl.de

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet

On 1/2/2026 12:41 PM, Marco Moock wrote:

On 02.01.2026 10:29 Uhr caretaker wrote:

If an average normie hears "Usenet" and types it into google/ddg/bing,
they mostly get AI-generated sludge or "how to download movie from
binary groups" takes.
great PR for a network that's way more than that...

What we don't have is a decent, up-to-date place for the basics:
- how to configure a news/mail client in 2026 (not a guide from 2009),

https://www.big-8.org/wiki/Getting_Started_with_Usenet

- how to post anonymously without relying on vague "trust me bro"
lore,

https://www.big-8.org/wiki/News_service_providers
Let me know which services to add.

- servers: what the most popular ones are, which are read-only,
which require an account, and which let you post without one

https://th-h.de/net/usenet/faqs/newsserverliste/

and: which groups still have signal and culture, and which ones are
pure spam pits.

https://th-h.de/net/usenet/faqs/newsserverliste/
Let us know which groups to add

you mean like those awesome lists on github? yeah, we could use
something like that. It is a fight trying to learn stuff about how to
run a INN2 server when all the information requires you to know three
other pieces of information you only understand when you grok the first
one.

there's also a few nice new projects that might be interesting to point
out, like pugleaf or rek2's project (I forget the name but he's been
posting about it)
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet

caretaker <care@taker.com> wrote in news:7d6ac2a33ebce469f0f435@radio- eriwan.ru:

If an average normie hears "Usenet" and types it into google/ddg/bing,
they mostly get AI-generated sludge or "how to download movie from
binary groups" takes.
great PR for a network that's way more than that...

What we don't have is a decent, up-to-date place for the basics:
- how to configure a news/mail client in 2026 (not a guide from 2009),
- how remailers actually work in practice,
- how to post anonymously without relying on vague "trust me bro"
lore,
- servers: what the most popular ones are, which are read-only,
which require an account, and which let you post without one

and: which groups still have signal and culture, and which ones are
pure spam pits.

We need an "awesome usenet" list: curated links + short notes, not a
link dump. Like: setup guides, privacy/anon posting
(remailers/PGP/header hygiene), tools/projects, and a human-written
group directory (what's good, what to avoid, why).

Also there are cool usenet-related projects out there, but they barely
escape the Usenet bubble. Nobody boosts them on the Fediverse etc, so
they stay invisible. A solid list would help discovery a lot.

All that stuff from the past still works and is accurate.

People now days aren't looking for rules to live by or experienced users to guide them. Many of us are still here, including those that created
tcp/ip, email, usenet, and so much more.

The most popular rule, back in the day, was join a group and then listen before you talk. Read as much as you can, perhaps your question has
already been answered. History can teach us. AI is usually just an
alleged expert that doesn't know you and thus the first interaction might
not be what you were looking for. I personally ignore AIs and find talking with people enjoyable. Often I just read and don't respond.

This thread seems to be people seeking knowledge that aleady is out there. Most of us read and as time permits respond to those who ask questions. I find that the best way to help them.

Enjoy your journey!
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet

caretaker wrote:

If an average normie hears "Usenet" and types it into google/ddg/bing,
they mostly get AI-generated sludge or "how to download movie from
binary groups" takes.
great PR for a network that's way more than that...

What we don't have is a decent, up-to-date place for the basics:
- how to configure a news/mail client in 2026 (not a guide from 2009),
- how remailers actually work in practice,
- how to post anonymously without relying on vague "trust me bro"
lore,
- servers: what the most popular ones are, which are read-only,
which require an account, and which let you post without one

and: which groups still have signal and culture, and which ones are
pure spam pits.

We need an "awesome usenet" list: curated links + short notes, not a
link dump. Like: setup guides, privacy/anon posting
(remailers/PGP/header hygiene), tools/projects, and a human-written
group directory (what's good, what to avoid, why).

Also there are cool usenet-related projects out there, but they barely
escape the Usenet bubble. Nobody boosts them on the Fediverse etc, so
they stay invisible. A solid list would help discovery a lot.

I actually discovered UseNet was still a thing I could get on without paying thanks to stumbling upon a personal site and with a guide on getting
started. I had no idea it was still around or even accessible beyond the
paid services until then.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet


You may use this information to augment your awesome list.

# Free Usenet Hosting Providers
https://soc.octade.net/octade/p/1763508612.734203

# Usenet Fediverse Group
https://soc.octade.net/usenet

# List of Active Usenet News Groups

alt.2600
alt.2600.hackers
alt.2600.hope
alt.2600.madrid
alt.anagrams
alt.anonymous
alt.anonymous.messages
alt.comp.lang.rust
alt.cybergoth
alt.cyberpunk
alt.cyberpunk.movement
alt.cypherpunks
alt.folklore.computers
alt.html
alt.os.linux
alt.privacy
alt.privacy.anon-server
alt.rhubarb
comp.infosystems.gemini
comp.infosystems.gopher
comp.lang.c
comp.lang.go
comp.lang.lisp
comp.lang.misc
comp.lang.pascal.misc
comp.lang.python
comp.lang.tcl
comp.lang.xharbour
comp.os.linux.advocacy
comp.os.plan9
comp.risks
comp.unix.bsd.*
eternal-september.talk
hispagatos.talk
misc.misc
misc.transport.trucking
news.software.nntp
news.software.readers
rec.puzzles
sci.crypt
sci.logic
sci.math
sci.misc
uk.railway
uk.religion.christian

= OCTADE = alt.rhubarb = misc.misc = https://soc.octade.net/octade =

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet

On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 03:29:54 -0000, Byrl Raze Buckbriar wrote:

# List of Active Usenet News Groups

*Active Someone posted something last year. possibly by mistake
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.culture.usenet

David LaRue <huey.dll@tampabay.rr.com> writes:

caretaker <care@taker.com> wrote in news:7d6ac2a33ebce469f0f435@radio- eriwan.ru:

If an average normie hears "Usenet" and types it into google/ddg/bing,
they mostly get AI-generated sludge or "how to download movie from
binary groups" takes.
great PR for a network that's way more than that...

What we don't have is a decent, up-to-date place for the basics:
- how to configure a news/mail client in 2026 (not a guide from 2009),
- how remailers actually work in practice,
- how to post anonymously without relying on vague "trust me bro"
lore,
- servers: what the most popular ones are, which are read-only,
which require an account, and which let you post without one

and: which groups still have signal and culture, and which ones are
pure spam pits.

We need an "awesome usenet" list: curated links + short notes, not a
link dump. Like: setup guides, privacy/anon posting
(remailers/PGP/header hygiene), tools/projects, and a human-written
group directory (what's good, what to avoid, why).

Also there are cool usenet-related projects out there, but they barely
escape the Usenet bubble. Nobody boosts them on the Fediverse etc, so
they stay invisible. A solid list would help discovery a lot.

All that stuff from the past still works and is accurate.

People now days aren't looking for rules to live by or experienced users to guide them. Many of us are still here, including those that created
tcp/ip, email, usenet, and so much more.

The most popular rule, back in the day, was join a group and then listen before you talk. Read as much as you can, perhaps your question has
already been answered. History can teach us. AI is usually just an
alleged expert that doesn't know you and thus the first interaction might not be what you were looking for. I personally ignore AIs and find talking with people enjoyable. Often I just read and don't respond.

This thread seems to be people seeking knowledge that aleady is out there. Most of us read and as time permits respond to those who ask questions. I find that the best way to help them.

Enjoy your journey!

Thank you for that, and specifically thank you for pointing toward the
only polite way that's ever existed for joining or interacting with
abstract and distributed social groups: paying attention to see if you
even *want* to be involved, /before/ getting involved.

Folks should read without responding most of the time. LLMs are neat for
pretty specific reasons, not but so useful for other specific reasons,
plenty of room for debate over what it means to recycle humanity, code
or poetry.
--

gnus-inger-Z looms overhead

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2