# Is this the biggest general-interest board on the 'net? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 11, 2001, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748 "2001-10-11T05:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748/21 "2001-10-15T22:01:28Z")
> [@](#): > > That link was worth it just for this thread alone. Heh. Try this [one](http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?q=Y&a=tpc&s=50009562&f=34709834&m=009093171&p=1). One of our old “friends.” [Edited by UncleBeer on 10-15-2001 at 05:03 PM] ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748/22 "2001-10-16T20:21:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > **We did have a problem in the past, when a few Straight Dope posters started trolling on _another_ site.** It seemed like a good idea at the time… :o ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748/23 "2001-10-23T04:59:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by micco \* > \*\*Just to nitpick terminology, you really want to compare SDMB to other general-interest boards on the **web**. If you compare the the net, you’re going head-to-head with Usenet, which isn’t even a fair fight. \*\* Which is completely true, except for the fact that message boards like what we have here cannot exist on Usenet, a text-only medium. Nitpick, I know, but you won’t find many people who have seen both confusing a WWW message board with a Usenet domain. ---
**Author:** ![DaveW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DaveW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveW)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748/24 "2001-10-23T05:55:14Z")
**Derleth** wrote: > [@](#): > > Which is completely true, except for the fact that message boards like what we have here cannot exist on Usenet, a text-only medium. Nitpick, I know, but you won’t find many people who have seen both confusing a WWW message board with a Usenet domain. Two nitpicks back atcha: 1. There is, apparently, plenty of newsreader software out there quite comfortable with reading and/or posting html, and then some. I’ve seen plenty of messages with background JPGs, music, etc… Usenet hasn’t been “text only” for quite a while, although it should be. 2. The easiest way to confuse a newsgroup with a Web site is to access the newsgroups _through_ a Web site (such as Google, Supernews, MailAndNews, etc.). No shortage of people on Usenet posting, “I’m so happy I found this Web site - the people on the Yahoo Groups suck,” or some such sentiment. Explaining the difference is generally a waste of bandwidth. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748/25 "2001-10-23T11:30:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > Heh. Try this [one](http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?q=Y&a=tpc&s=50009562&f=34709834&m=009093171&p=1). One of our old “friends.” Ha Ha. Thx for that Unc What a :wally ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748/26 "2001-10-23T15:38:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by micco \* > > \*\*Just to nitpick terminology, you really want to compare SDMB to other general-interest boards on the **web**. If you compare the the net, you’re going head-to-head with Usenet, which isn’t even a fair fight. \*\* > > Which is completely true, except for the fact that message boards like what we have here cannot exist on Usenet, a text-only medium. Nitpick, I know, but you won’t find many people who have seen both confusing a WWW message board with a Usenet domain. \*\* My point was that you should not confuse “web” and “internet” regardless of whether you’d confuse their content in a side-by-side comparison. There are plenty of people who don’t understand the distinction. Many people, newbies mostly, use web-based email and never see anything outside a web page in a browser. They think “web” and “net” are synonymous and are baffled by the concept that the internet could exist quite well for years before the web came along. Sure it’s a nitpick, but that’s what fighting ignorance is all about. The OP asked if SDMB is the biggest board on the net which makes it clear that he was either unaware of the existence of Usenet or mistakenly used “net” when he meant “web”. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748/27 "2001-10-23T15:39:13Z")
He can run, but he cannot hide. ---
**Author:** ![dubbele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc8723/32.png) [@dubbele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dubbele)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-biggest-general-interest-board-on-the-net/86748/28 "2001-10-23T18:09:55Z")
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