# Alt.Question.WTF **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2000, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377 "2000-08-15T00:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/1 "2000-08-15T00:22:10Z")
What is alt.something.this Where can I type in an “alt” and actually get someting? I have no idea what or where these things are but everyone is always talking about them. Please someone give me the straight dope on ALTs… …And finally my lack of computer knowledge shows through ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/2 "2000-08-15T00:43:59Z")
Those are newsgroups. What browser do you use? ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/3 "2000-08-15T00:46:04Z")
Bear, I’m so glad you started this thread. I’ve always wanted to know but have been too afraid to ask. I use IE. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/4 "2000-08-15T01:01:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bear\_Nenno \* > What is alt.something.this > Where can I type in an “alt” and actually get someting? I have no idea what or where these things are but everyone is always talking about them. Please someone give me the straight dope on ALTs… You want the whole thing? Gross oversimplification: Altnet is the redheaded stepbrother of Usenet, a hierarchical distributed message-board system. While Usenet has a formal method of creating new message boards, altnet is administrated by its users. Anyone who has taken the time to research how things work is presumed to have the maturity to use said techniques. In other words, it’s a hair away from anarchy. Though in a good way, usually. If your browser is set to the proper news server, going to the URL news:alt.fan.cecil-adams should point you at, well, the newsgroup for fans of The Man himself. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/5 "2000-08-15T02:16:29Z")
Well that’s a description that’s a mite too techy for the newbies, don’t you think? Newsgroups are like message boards, only different. There. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/6 "2000-08-15T02:45:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > Well that’s a description that’s a mite too techy for the newbies, don’t you think? And I didn’t even get into B & C News, INN, When the Net Was Flat, AARM, Kibo, The Day Tim Lost It, or tale. How about this: > [@](#): > > _Spaf’s “Departure”_ > Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea: massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it. In other words, it’s just like here. ---
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/7 "2000-08-15T14:33:36Z")
Your ISP normally provides access to the newsgroups [some do not]. You can also sign up with a newsgroup provider. IE comes with a newsgroup reader; you just need to point it to the news source. You can contact your service provider for help. Forte makes a good free newsgroup reader called Free Agent. They also sell Agent. Again, you will need to point it to the news source. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/8 "2000-08-16T04:38:47Z")
To be technical again IE does not have a news reader built-in; Outlook and Outlook Express are the MS newsreaders. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/9 "2000-08-16T09:00:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Punoqllads \* > > Gross oversimplification: Altnet is the redheaded stepbrother of Usenet, a hierarchical distributed message-board system. \*\* Alt.\* is part of Usenet; they are not seperate entities. Alt.\* just has different rules. (The charter reads, in effect, “Use common sense.”) ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/10 "2000-08-16T09:08:28Z")
[What is Usenet? Part I](http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part1/) **The main newsgroup hierarchies** > [@](#): > > **alt.** : This alternative hierarchy deals with almost any issue under the sun and is considered the “rebel” hierarchy. > > **comp.** : This hierarchy is composed of newsgroups having to do with computers. > > **misc.** : This is the catch-all miscellaneous newsgroup hierarchy. > > **news.** : The smallest hierarchy, news. contains only a handful of newsgroups dealing with issues surrounding Usenet and newsgroups themselves. > > **rec.** : These newsgroups cover recreation. > > **sci.** : This hierarchy contains newsgroups about various topics in science. > > **soc.** : The soc. hierarchy contains newsgroups that deal with social issues. > > **talk.** : In the newsgroups in this discussion hierarchy, you can talk about almost anything. My guess is that **alt.** is short for **alternative**. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/11 "2000-08-16T18:43:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Punoqllads \* > > > > Gross oversimplification: Altnet is the redheaded stepbrother of Usenet, a hierarchical distributed message-board system. > > Alt.\* is part of Usenet; they are not seperate entities. Alt.\* just has different rules. (The charter reads, in effect, “Use common sense.”) We’re arguing semantics. Do you consider de.\* to be part of Usenet? How about triangle._? Us._? Demon._? Alt._ was created separately from the big seven, explicitly to be an alternative to them, and is administrated differently than them. For a bit of the history, check out [http://www.vrx.net/usenet/history/rename.html](http://www.vrx.net/usenet/history/rename.html). ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/12 "2000-08-17T00:05:10Z")
To provide a bit of a background… Newsgroups are indeed much like message boards. The primary reason for their existance is that Usenet predates the Web. While newsgroups are certainly still used today, they were one way for people to communicate in a message board type setting on the Internet before web-based message boards existed. (Just as gopher was a way for people to view documents over the Internet before the Web existed, though Usenet hasn’t died out like gopher has. Hmm, I probably lost anyone who hasn’t heard of gopher there.) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alt-question-wtf/29377/13 "2000-08-17T01:53:41Z")
[/quote] We’re arguing semantics. Do you consider de.\* to be part of Usenet? How about triangle._? Us._? Demon._? Alt._ was created separately from the big seven, explicitly to be an alternative to them, and is administrated differently than them. For a bit of the history, check out [http://www.vrx.net/usenet/history/rename.html](http://www.vrx.net/usenet/history/rename.html). [/QUOTE] OK, well, I consider all the machines that regularly sync with each other via NNTP to be part of Usenet, so that includes the other TLGs as well I’ve never met a news server that carried just alt.\*. Very few servers carry _every_ publically accessable hierarchy. Just my preference, though.