ISPs, Newsgroups, etc. ...OH MY!!!

[Luke -Jr]

On Sunday 29 June 2008, Billy Crook wrote:
> Individual network protocols become obsolete as new ones supersede the
> functions of the old.  It's called progress.  Usenet has tangible and
> irreconcilable flaws.  That is why it was retired, and replaced with what is
> commonly referred to as "the web", http and https.

Actually, Usenet is NOT a network protocol. That's NNTP, and has no viable 
replacement in sight. About the closest you could come to replacing NNTP 
would be some kind of permissions-based anonymous IMAP mailbox, but that 
would be more difficult to setup (with the existing clients, anyhow) than 
it's worth.

E-mail distribution lists have numerous differences (which I consider flaws) 
from NNTP:
1. Nobody, not even the author or moderator, can delete/retract a message
   once it has been posted.
2. Messages are delivered in their entirety to every subscriber. (NNTP only
   sends headers until you view it)
3. New subscribers only get new messages, they cannot browse archives from
   their client.

Web forums and such are similar, but are not a real protocol in themselves. 
You are tied to a single (web-based) client to read, post, etc. Usually, 
these clients do not even track details such as which messages you have read 
(on an individual basis). With NNTP, you can use any client you like which 
often are much more featureful than these web-based forums.