# Is this the largest messageboard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2004, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340 "2004-10-15T08:12:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Waccoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Waccoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waccoe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/1 "2004-10-15T08:12:07Z")
I’m going through a Pilgrim’s Progress thing on messageboards. You know, you hang around one for a year or two, then you start using another that’s more diverse. For a while you use both, but gradually the more diverse one captures more of your time. Then you come across another one… This is the largest and most active I have ever used, taking the measure of posts per day. So I’m just curious, if what you want from a board is diversity, is this the final destination? Or is there another peak over the next crest? Is there a site somewhere with 1000 forums, one for each country of the world, one for each sport, one for each artistic interest, one for each sexual foible? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/2 "2004-10-15T08:52:38Z")
Yeah, it’s called usenet. ---
**Author:** ![Waccoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Waccoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waccoe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/3 "2004-10-15T09:03:00Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > Yeah, it’s called usenet. That place seems more of a service, with as little soul as aol. I guess I meant community message boards. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/4 "2004-10-15T09:11:31Z")
According to [Big-Boards.com](http://Big-Boards.com), this is the 45th largest board on the web. That’s measuring the total number of posts here. I think the SDMB is moving down on that list because it’s mostly subscription now. [Here is their list of message boards with more than 500,000 total posts.](http://www.big-boards.com/index.php?page=all) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/5 "2004-10-15T10:49:03Z")
> [@Waccoe](#): > > That place seems more of a service, with as little soul as aol. I guess I meant community message boards. You’re reading the wrong groups. Try alt.fan.cecil-adams and alt.folklore.urban. (Note: Reading alt.folklore.urban is not recommended for the thin-skinned, moronic, or political. Posting to alt.folklore.urban is not recommended for anyone.) As an aside, Usenet doesn’t really count. Comparing the obsessively decentralized Usenet to the completely centralized SDMB is comparing apples to pigeons. ---
**Author:** ![Waccoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Waccoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waccoe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/6 "2004-10-15T11:26:55Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > According to [Big-Boards.com](http://Big-Boards.com), this is the 45th largest board on the web. That’s measuring the total number of posts here. I think the SDMB is moving down on that list because it’s mostly subscription now. > > [Here is their list of message boards with more than 500,000 total posts.](http://www.big-boards.com/index.php?page=all) Much obliged. SDMB still seems to be the fifth biggest English speaking board that isn’t centred around a specific interest. Those Dutch like to chat, though, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/7 "2004-10-15T12:04:35Z")
> [@waccoe](#): > > So I’m just curious, if what you want from a board is diversity, is this the final destination? For many of us who have elected to pay up, the answer would at least seem to be “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/8 "2004-10-15T12:04:38Z")
I cant believe some of those boards mentioned on Big-Boards that are bigger than this. Number 20 “Chiquititas - Hebrew forum for an argentinian soap opera” Whaaaat! Number 35 “The Bridge-Dave Matthews Band discussion forums” - there are some seriously sad people out there (I should know being one of them) ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/9 "2004-10-15T12:51:22Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > As an aside, Usenet doesn’t really count. Comparing the obsessively decentralized Usenet to the completely centralized SDMB is comparing apples to pigeons. That depends on whether you compare back-end infrastructure or front-end interface. From the user’s perspective, Usenet and SDMB accomplish exactly the same thing - threaded discussions within topic-specific forums. In terms of functionality, it’s apples to apples. And **Derleth** is right about the content. There are groups on Usenet which are every bit as useful and community-minded as SDMB. There are also groups which aren’t. The main difference between SDMB and Usenet is the signal-to-noise ratio. We’ll now have a moment of thanks for our mods. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/10 "2004-10-15T13:41:56Z")
Not meaning to hijack, but since it seems the OP has been satisfied, can someone explain the whole alt.whatever thing to me? I’ve heard about newsgroups and such, but (and this is embarrassing) I can’t, um, find them. Typing alt.whatever into my browser bar yields nothing. There seems to be this whole internet that I can’t find 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/11 "2004-10-15T13:56:11Z")
For a quick look at Usenet, try [Google Groups](http://www.google.com/grphp?hl=en&tab=wg&q=). ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/12 "2004-10-15T14:03:40Z")
Is anyone familiar with any of these other BB’s? Are there any worth checking out? Dear, God! Why am I asking this? I already spend way too much time right here. Never mind. Forget I asked. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/13 "2004-10-15T14:51:05Z")
Number of posts does not equate to quality. It doesn’t even equate to amount of discussion. We’ve all seen boards that have a large number of single post threads with no reply, or one reply added six months after the first that says “Yeah, I’ve wondered/seen this too. Anyone know the answer?” Many single-subject boards also consist of a much more fluid membership. People join to ask one particular query, then vanish forever. Very little sense of community, except among a small number of dedicated obsessives. Although you do get single-subject boards that have _large_ numbers of high posting obsessives. The top ten demonstrates that. 🙂 Usenet is definitely the biggest. But it is quite literally anarchy. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/14 "2004-10-16T01:30:04Z")
> [@Papermache Prince](#): > > For a quick look at Usenet, try [Google Groups](http://www.google.com/grphp?hl=en&tab=wg&q=). This is good as a quick look, but the interface is horrible for long-term usage. You really should download a newsreader and see if your ISP has a news server of its own. If it does not, there are plenty of free servers available. Which newsreader you should get depends on which OS you’re using. [Thunderbird](http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/) works pretty well, but it isn’t as good as some others. [Xnews](http://xnews.newsguy.com/) is probably the best Windows newsreader. [Pan](http://pan.rebelbase.com/) is great if you are running Linux. I really don’t know about Macintosh newsreaders, since I’ve never used Macs to read news. You should use your ISP’s news server, usually located at news.yourisp.foo, where yourisp.foo is the domain name of the company you buy Internet access from. If your ISP doesn’t offer any such thing, get yourself a real ISP. If you cannot, you can use any one of the sagan of free servers accessable [many](http://www.newzbot.com/) [places](http://www.newsservers.net/) [online](http://www.arcwebserv.com/jumpsite/usenet.html), as evidenced by this [cursory Google search](http://www.google.com/search?q=free+news+servers&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1). ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/15 "2004-10-16T04:16:28Z")
> [@micco](#): > > That depends on whether you compare back-end infrastructure or front-end interface. From the user’s perspective, Usenet and SDMB accomplish exactly the same thing - threaded discussions within topic-specific forums. In terms of functionality, it’s apples to apples. And there’s back end structure too, especially in the big eight groups. And there are moderated groups which are stricter than this board, and unmoderated groups that are looser than the Pit. Usenet is just not owned by a newspaper. note to Cluricaun: in IE, go to Tools/Mail and News/Read News News is synonymous with usenet, that’ll get you started. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/16 "2004-10-16T04:24:34Z")
> [@RM Mentock](#): > > And there’s back end structure too, especially in the big eight groups. And there are moderated groups which are stricter than this board, and unmoderated groups that are looser than the Pit. Usenet is just not owned by a newspaper. And then there’s the alt. hierarchy, the lesser-known (and mostly-dead) free. hierarchy, groups within the comp. hierarchy that are unmoderated (comp.lang.c, for example, which is too old to have a charter), and so on and so forth. Usenet is a very big place indeed. > [@](#): > > note to Cluricaun: in IE, go to Tools/Mail and News/Read News Another bad solution. Xnews does the job better. > [@](#): > > News is synonymous with usenet, that’ll get you started. This can be useful to know, even if it means you constantly think Google News _should_ be the Usenet interface. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/17 "2004-10-16T04:35:20Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Another bad solution. Xnews does the job better. No, it doesn’t for many. And, I am a long time, heavy posting Usenet rat who has tried just about every newsreader out there. Xnews is totally useless for me, as it is an online reader. With OE, with one mouse click I can download all posts in 30 different newsgroups on 5 different news servers. Xnews can’t do anything close to that. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/18 "2004-10-16T04:41:45Z")
OMG. The corvette discussion board is bigger than this! Anyways, notice that The Straight Dope is right between Canadian Clubing and Erotic Art. That says it all. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/19 "2004-10-16T05:32:05Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > No, it doesn’t for many. And, I am a long time, heavy posting Usenet rat who has tried just about every newsreader out there. Xnews is totally useless for me, as it is an online reader. With OE, with one mouse click I can download all posts in 30 different newsgroups on 5 different news servers. Xnews can’t do anything close to that. Really? That’s interesting. I’m so used to MS making maldesigned software this is a surprise. I like Xnews because I can easily killfile people and the interface is really very simple. Plus, it shows images inline, instead of just downloading them, but I won’t go into why I like doing _that_. 😉 I don’t use Xnews anymore, so I can’t speak to its features, but I think most newsreaders will allow you to download articles as well as headers in one fell swoop. Pan can, I know, and Thunderbird can as well. (Living on a dialup connection means I’ve never done this. I barely have a fat enough pipe for the articles I know I want.) ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340/20 "2004-10-16T05:39:43Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Number of posts does not equate to quality. It doesn’t even equate to amount of discussion. Damn straight on that. I noticed a couple of the bigger boards than this one are video game discussion boards. I’ve been to a few of those and they seem to be filled with thousands of teenagers posting a lot of drivel in some sort of contest to see who can be the fastest to reach an insane number of posts. As opposed to here, where the drivel from people like me isn’t nearly as prolific. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-largest-messageboard/269340.md?page=2)