Glossary

The Usenet is a global discussion platform with several million users which has a similar structure to the forums commonly found on the Internet. In the so-called newsgroups, users can not only discuss various topics, they can also download files (binaries) saved on the newsservers at full DSL speeds. The group "alt." is particularly important and is generally the most popular. This is the platform for all possible topics and for exchanging all manner of files, so-called binaries. This is where the diversity of the Usenet really becomes apparent, as "alt" truly offers a completely free exchange of all information and content. Access software (a newsreader also called a newsclient) is required for easy access to the Usenet. The Usenet was established by American students in 1979, making it older than the Internet. Originally, the Usenet was founded as an alternative to the Arpanet (a predecessor to the modern Internet). Although Arpanet played a decisive role in the development of the Internet, today most users are more aware of the Internet than its "older brother" - the Usenet. The name Usenet is an abbreviation for Unix User Network. Currently, the Usenet has more than 200,000 newsgroups containing 30,000 terabytes of data and discussions from all over the globe; numbers which only hint at the sheer immensity of the Usenet! You can get more interesting facts about the development of the Usenet since 1979 in: History of the Usenet.