I asked the opposite question on the usenet newsgroup, after I had been absent for a long time. I got several serious answers, a few irritated ones, and one guy who ripped me a new one. Basically, the usenet folks love their newsreaders better than the web-based interface, hate paying for a subscription, and hate being moderated. My words.
So why do you guys like to use this board instead of using a free usenet newsgroup?
That, of course, stands for the Straight Message Dope Board. :smack:
Honestly, I didn’t know it was an option.
Because this one actually supports the guy. Guy has a right to make a living dosen’t he?
usenet doesn’t have a web-based interface? Say what now?
Because it’s moderated.
I don’t always agree with the moderators’ actions, but it’s still better than dealing with unchecked flame wars and trolls.
In other words…
I was never a regular reader of a.f.c.a., but I was a constant reader of alt.folklore.urban, and there seemed to be a good deal of crossposting between groups, so I’ll throw my two cents in: I started reading newsgroups my freshman year of college (1995), and it was pretty straightforward, easy to do, and everything was interesting. By the time I graduated in '99, unmoderated usenet groups seemed to be a cesspool of spam. It really wasn’t worth the time it took to slog thru all the crap to get to some, any, content.
Different. You can use a web interface (e.g., Google Groups) for usenet, that wasn’t quite the issue. The complaint was that web-based message boards in general, and the SDMB as an example, have poor user interfaces. Specifically, things you can do with a newsreader that you can’t do here are things like see a list of headers showing who is replying to what posts (a tree structure showing subthreads), you can ignore posts coming from not just individuals but entire domains, IIRC (one guy on a.f.c-a filters out anything posted from Google Groups, DAMW).
Many people felt that performance and reliability was better in usenet. My experience does not confirm that.
I just like the people here.
I’m not terribly familiar with the Internets and therefore didn’t know that that was out there. I also wouldn’t know how to “get” there.
In other words, I’m a dummy. Me likely world wide web.
When the board was on AOL, I read a.f.c-a, because I had no desire to get AOL. Once the board here was started I pretty much completely forgot the usenet group.
A guy said on some newsgroup a few years ago that Usenet was a poorly maintained public restroom off the information superhighway – the equivalent of Post-it Notes on the windshield of a rusted-out VW Bus compared to web-based bboards. Suffice it to say that I read the handwriting on the wall, drank the Kool-Aid and asked for seconds.
Because Usenet – if any of the newsgroups are anything but wall-to-wall spam these days – rarely has much in the way of intelligent discussion. It’s more flaming and pointless arguments.
It’s also much easier to choose a topic and follow the thread than to try to keep track of all the discussions at once. Also, you can pick and choose more easily. And the fact that the mods can shut down particularly annoying users and threads.
Huh. Now what the fucking fuck is he fucking talking about?
I must ask you to tone down the fucking “fucks” while fucking posting in IMHO-this isn’t the fucking BBQ Pit, motherfucker.
Thank you.
And even when the moderators moderate on this board, they do so with a smirk.
If I was in a position to grade moderator posts, I’d grade this a fuckin’ A.
Please see my report What’s the origin of “fuckin’ A”?
I’ve been reading threads here for several years, and I also briefly lurked on the usenet group. I’ve also participated in usenet groups related to specific hobbies. I have found that I prefer this message board in every respect.
The moderation here is a big plus: because it exists at all and because it is done, for the most part, with fairness, wit and style. The intent in almost every case seems to be to improve the overall experience for the TM. When I began to lurk here, I got an immediate feeling that this MB has history, customs and a culture that interest me. The structure and rules of the separate forums work well for me. It’s nice to be able to post to a discussion in GD and have a reasonable expectation that it won’t be met with a torrent of incomprehensible gibberish or cursing. It’s also nice to visit the Pit when a taste of gibberish and cursing is what I’m in the mood for.
This board has a higher percentage of intelligent, literate posters than any newsgroup I’ve seen.
And, on preview, I concur with Ponder Stibbons. Good job, Czarcasm. That’s the fairness, wit and style I’ve come to expect.