Re: No new rec.windsurfing messages

On Oct 2, 3:22 pm, fprintf <stuart.a.h...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Oct 2, 12:37 pm, "wtrplnet" <w...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

And now that Google has offered up usenet to browser users the
entire experience has changed (degraded). Usenet has always been a mess, but
it was "our" mess. Unless you have a paid usenet provider or find a good
free server don't expect any improvement. There are 'forums' for most
interests now, the trick is finding one that meets your needs.

Alan

Craig, it is you. Consider that at least one major provider (Cox cable
or perhaps Comcast?) said they were discontinuing NNTP permanently,
and AOL did the same a few weeks ago.

Alan,
There are plenty of us that have been around for a while and say that
the experience has degraded since endless September began w/ the AOL
introduction to Usenet. There was an additional degradation when
Dejanews became popular for a while. Google is just the latest in a
long line of providers, albeit currently the largest, offering spam
onto NNTP. To me, anyone who came online since AOL is a newbie.

That said, I agree about the forums being generally superior. However
I actually find this newsgroup *more* helpful with this subject
because the few people who did stick around are really really helpful,
whereas there is no really good central set of forums on the web. That
is, people are spread all around on various manufacturer forums rather
than in a central place. I often see similar posts on iWindsurf,
Starboard, boards.uk and others that I can't think of right now. At
least with other hobbies, there is a generally regarded leader as a
starting point, e.g. kiting has kiteforums.com, bagpiping has
bobdunsire.com, tech has slashdot.org etc.

I got on the Internet a bit earlier than AOL, but AOL provided my
first meaningful forray onto the Web. Once I started using a regular
browser my web experience changed for the better. The one thing I can
say for AOL is that they got the whole Web 2.0 thing down from the
very beginning. Very far in front of the curve on that one.

I stick around on rec dot for the variety of posts and opinions. It's
been about 9 years for me and, while the names have changed -for the
better and worse-, it remains a fun distraction.

Well, the forcast is for a lot of wind in Boston today, so I'm taking
a mental health day and am gonna try to find some waves.

Peace.

-Dan
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: No new rec.windsurfing messages
    ... Unless you have a paid usenet provider or find a good ... There was an additional degradation when ... I agree about the forums being generally superior. ...
    (rec.windsurfing)
  • Re: ISP vs "newsgroup server provider": [was: Re: Question for Agent (and other news reader) users]
    ... >> would identify AOL as an ISP, regardless of the lack of usenet ... It's a very popular news provider in the developing ... > define the Internet in a traditional way, ...
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  • Re: Where did the Internet come from?
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    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: Where did the Internet come from?
    ... of the availability of usenet newsgroups to aol members en ... Dave Fischer's Extension to Usenet ... of 1994 when AOL showed up. ... intake of students settled down - and i suspect ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: [soc.men]: Official Apology
    ... >> AOL has just dropped it's usenet service because it reckons usenet is just ... > reality, not having to contend with AOL may in the long run be a Good Thing, ... > as it means that there is less a chance that some skippy suburban soccer-mom ... It figures that consumerist-kick Debwhorah would drop the ball ...
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