For an introduction to this thread's hierarchical posts, please see the first post in the series, for the NET.* hierarchy. Joe Bernstein THE net.* HIERARCHY --Rise-- In early Usenet software, according to later reminiscences in the Usenet.Hist mailing list archives, capitalisation in a hierarchy's name meant that that hierarchy was intended as a broadcast one. By 1981, this distinction had already become unnecessary, and at some time between November 11, 1980 and May 12, 1981 (I lean strongly toward the latter end of this period), Mark Horton, already an influential figure on Usenet, is said to have orchestrated the renaming of the NET.* groups. An announcement by Horton on May 12, 1981 details the renaming of those groups gatewayed from ARPAnet, into the new fa.* hierarchy. I have not yet found any comparable record of the creation of the net.* hierarchy, although discussions from around May 12, 1981, imply that this creation was either recent or still in the future at that date. (The Usenet.Hist archive does contain a small archive of 1980 posts, included in my posting of early newsgroup lists in this thread, which shows that as of November 11, 1980, NET.general still was thus named.) With the clear distinction between the fa.* groups, some of which were more or less heavily moderated, and the net.* groups, the scene was set. net.* became the main battleground over what Usenet's anarchy would mean. As a result, net.*'s story is largely told in the annual summaries which form the other branch of this thread. But briefly: The list of original net.* newsgroups appears likely to have been moderately small, but in the autumn of 1981, significant numbers of "non-technical" newsgroups began to appear - net.aviation, net.chess, net.columbia (space shuttle discussion), net.cycle (motorcycles), net.ham-radio, net.movies, net.music, the entire net.sport.* sub-hierarchy (which was, along with net.bugs.*, the first sub-hierarchy). Some old-timers despaired of what Usenet was coming to - I'm fairly certain that the first quasi-official newsgroup lists were in part containment measures against this wave - but gradually, the notion that any reasonably interesting topic could have its own newsgroup took hold, and net.* rocketed from 32 groups on the first such list known (late November, 1981) to 170 groups less than three years later. net.* is the Usenet I remember from 1985, the Usenet in which newsgroups could be created by typos (although you were widely ridiculed if you did such a thing) and in which sober, respectable newsgroups like net.bugs.2bsd shared the network with frivolities like net.games.frp (the only one in which posts of mine are archived, as it happens) and rowdyhouses like net.flame or net.bizarre. Let me be clear: I treasure the memory of finding the early netiquette documents, and even of being netcopped by one of the Founding Fathers when I did something stupid; I valued these evidences of anarchy as a functioning way of doing things. But I also treasure the posts I printed out from net.flame, I also valued these evidences of anarchy as a *different* way of doing things; and had I known that a few months later those Founding Fathers would be removing the group, I would never have maintained the same view of Usenet anarchy thereafter. --Fall-- I left one creation of autumn 1981 out of the above list: net.suicide. Which brings us to the issue of good taste. net.suicide actually arrived shortly *after* net.jokes.q, which however proved ephemeral; but soon thereafter, net.flame was to begin its reign as one of Usenet's busiest groups. Not everyone approved of the developing state of affairs, to put it mildly. In 1982 the disapproval resulted in, inter alia, Jerry Schwarz's document ancestral to the major netiquette and FAQ posts; but it wasn't until 1983 that serious experiments in moderation had begun. By late 1984, moderation - at that time confined to mod.* and net.announce.* - was evidently working well enough that the powers of the day felt comfortable creating large number of mod.* groups. Powers? Yes. From Usenet's early days the concept of a "backbone", consisting of sites willing to pay the telephone charges of transmitting Usenet across long distances, was already in existence. There is some dispute in the Usenet.Hist archives over who organised what, but I'm inclined to believe Mark Horton's claim to have originated the backbone concept both in maps of Usenet and, more importantly, as a mailing list for admins. Horton reported having handed both ideas over to Gene Spafford when Spafford expressed an interest, and given that Spafford's farewell message includes at least one false claim to have originated something someone else had actually started, I think it likely that he also forgot having inherited the mailing list. At any rate, Spafford inherited the other thing mentioned - the List of Active Newsgroups - in August 1984. The mod.* hierarchy came of age just two months later, and from then until the Great Renaming, the official growth of the unmoderated net.* hierarchy slowed to a crawl, from 170 groups on October 1, 1984 to 182 groups on July 15, 1985 (the numerical peak), and then actually *down* to 181 groups on September 16, 1986 (the first list to include the last net.* group to be created, net.music.makers, and the last list to include the groups that became talk.*). I strongly suspect that the abrupt slowdown of net.*'s growth, and Spafford's assuming responsibility for listing groups, were both connected to Spafford's role in organising backbone administrators (although he himself was never such an administrator). In 1985, significant numbers of groups were removed from the official lists, and while many of these were probably simply dead, controversy erupted over others. Spafford defended the removal of net.bizarre as an improperly created group; I haven't yet researched what justification was given for the removal of, for example, net.flame. The only one of the well-known bad taste groups to survive until the Great Renaming was, in fact, the oldest, net.suicide, which retained articulate defenders until the end (and, I'd guess, was also probably lower traffic); it would then be folded into misc.misc, a de facto removal. These removals got a lot more press than others, but in fact, numerous net.* groups were axed in 1985. (Note that since the overall number didn't change much, the implication is that numerous net.* groups *were* still being created.) The unmoderated Usenet would flourish again, but that story is no longer the story of net.*. Even getting rid of the high-traffic "junk" groups didn't make the backbone admins happy, and the one who sent Usenet to Europe finally forced the Great Renaming as a way of distinguishing groups by merit: comp.* and news.* deserved, in this view, the best propagation, then misc.* and sci.*, then rec.*, then soc.*, and least of all talk.*. In a few months, from August or September to December of 1986, first talk.*, then misc.*, news.*, and soc.*, then comp.* and sci.*, and finally rec.*, were created, and in their wake, the corresponding net.* groups died. The last surviving net.* groups were in the net.sources.* hierarchy, because their survival as moderated groups was under consideration, and so their removal awaited the sorting out of mod.* in the spring of 1987. --Afterlife-- Like mod.*, net.* died a true death in the Great Renaming; and like mod.*, net.* was revived (as a name, anyway) in a bit of nostalgic hubris ten years later. By then, the glory days of Usenet's anarchy were the "good old days", and the complaints of the backbone administrators long forgotten; but the new net.*, although technically unmoderated, was closer in spirit to the moderation concept, just as the new mod.*, although technically moderated, would have been closer in spirit to the old unmoderated groups. net.* these days is an imperfectly closed hierarchy, each of whose sub-hierarchies is loosely run by a "czar" with authority to create newsgroups and cancel posts; the whole is meant to be protected from spam and other Usenet crimes by the network's closure. But that closure was never perfect; many never saw the point of moving, while others didn't have the opportunity; and anecdotal reports indicate that net.* has largely died down. I have normally not had access to the hierarchy, however, and don't know for sure. The hierarchy's official web site has been . GROUP BY GROUP Note: Description lines are reformatted as necessary, but the text in them is exactly what the original list has. In a few cases, the assembled descriptions differ markedly (net.ucds is the most extreme case), although I don't see any such flat-out contradictions as there are in fa.*. In order to ensure that this set of posts gets done at all, I'm having to limit the research I do. So in this post I make no attempt to arbitrate which description is right, but simply include the first and last line for each group. (In the numerous cases where the first and last lines are identical, I include only the first.) However, I can't resist pointing out that many description lines as of the Great Renaming are *much* more concerned with laws and regulations than the same groups' original description lines, and urging you, in general, to pay some attention to the description lines as indications of the approaches of their several writers. Again to avoid delaying the initial series of posts, I'm also not consistently including in this post information about who proposed these groups, who created them, when those things happened, or whether there were mailing list gateways. Such information is obviously high on my list of things to include in the later version of the chronology. When the other things that I'm trying to do make it possible for me to ascertain such things relatively easily, I've thrown that information in, but that doesn't mean the information is available only for those newsgroups where I've provided it. The fact that I have creation dates for some groups in 1981 and 1982 results not from my research methods at this time, but from one of the things I did in 1997 when I first encountered the A-News Archive. Some other groups' creations are documented in the Google archives but not yet noted in this post; some groups' creations are not documented anywhere I know of. And I can, anyway, answer one question now. To the best of my knowledge, from more than one source, there were no FAQ documents specific to particular newsgroups until after the end of this net.* hierarchy. I will, of course, be interested in any evidence to the contrary. net.all Listed on December 16, 1981 only. Description line (12/16/1981): All usenet-wide news groups The 12/16/1981 list was written by Mark Horton, who as late as the 1983 RFC 850 was using "all" as a sort of equivalent of "*". In this context, "net.all" probably meant "The net.* hierarchy". Since net.all did not appear in Mark Horton's related December 23 "list", I'm inclined to think it wasn't meant to be seen as a group in the December 16 list. However, the archives do preserve a post creating a net.all newsgroup, dated July 14, 1981. There was some debate in 1981 considering the desirability of a newsgroup so named, with consensus against it. net.2bsd-bugs Created July 10, 1981. Listed on November 29, 1981 only. Since the November 29, 1981 list contained no description lines, none survive for this newsgroup. Renamed to net.bugs.2bsd on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. net.abortion Listed March 15, 1984 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/15/1984): Abortion: moral, ethical, and legal implications. Description line (9/16/1986): All sorts of discussions on abortion. Renamed to talk.abortion. net.adm.site Listed November 21, 1982 to September 15, 1984 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Automatic maintenance of the USENET directory. Currently not used. Description line (9/15/1984): Automatic maintenance of the USENET directory -- currently experimental. net.ai Listed January 23, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/23/1983): Artificial intelligence. Description line (11/1/1986): Artificial intelligence discussions. Renamed to comp.ai. net.analog Listed April 2, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/2/1983): Analog design developments, ideas, and components. Renamed to sci.electronics. net.announce Listed June 15, 1983 to July 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (6/15/1983): General announcements of interest to all -- moderated. Moderated by Mark Horton. Description line (7/1/1986): Moderated, general announcements of interest to all. Renamed to mod.announce. Notes: This was the first moderated group in the "official" hierarchies, and quite probably the first one in Usenet at all, disregarding the fact that some of the mailing lists from which fa.* was gated were moderated as mailing lists (but not as newsgroups). It was later renamed from mod.announce to news.announce.important, under which name it still survives; although no post has been approved for it since 1996, the moderator told me by e-mail dated January XX, 2002 that she is still rejecting posts on a post by post basis. It is still moderated by the same person, now named Mary Ann Horton, who is thus, by a sizable margin, the longest-serving Usenet moderator (to add to the long collection of distinctions which this set of posts documents for M. Horton). net.announce.newusers Listed March 1, 1984 to July 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/1/1984): Subgroup for new users. Monthy postings, etc. Moderated by Mark Horton, March 1 to October 1, 1984; Gene Spafford, October 15, 1984 to July 1, 1986. Description line (7/1/1986): Moderated, explanatory postings for new users. Renamed to mod.announce.newusers. net.announce.arpa-internet Renamed from fa.arpa-bboard circa October 21, 1985. Listed November 1, 1985 to December 15, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/1/1985): Announcements from the Arpa world Moderated by Glenn Burke. net.applic Created November 13, 1981. Listed November 29, 1981 to December 15, 1983 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Applicative programming languages Description line (12/15/1983): Applicative language and related architecture. net.arch Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Computer architecture. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Renamed to comp.arch. net.astro Listed December 1, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/1/1983): Astronomy. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group, but with an asterisk to indicate that the status of the gateway was uncertain. Description line (10/16/1986): Astronomy discussions and information. Renamed to sci.astro (representing a merger with net.astro.expert). net.astro.expert Listed December 1, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/1/1983): Subgroup for experts in astronomy. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (10/16/1986): Discussion by experts in astronomy. Renamed to sci.astro (representing a merger with sci.astro). net.audio Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on audio. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (12/1/1986): High fidelity audio. Renamed to rec.audio. net.auto Listed December 16, 1981 (as net.auto.all) to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Car owner discussions/queries Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (12/1/1986): Automobiles, automotive products and laws. Renamed to rec.autos. net.auto.tech Listed October 15, 1985 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/15/1985): Technical aspects of automobiles, et. al. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Renamed to rec.autos.tech. net.auto.vw Renamed from net.vwrabbit on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. Listed December 16, 1981 to November 21, 1982 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Volkswagen Rabbit Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as "too specific" and not "used much". net.aviation Created November 10, 1981. Listed December 16, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Aviation topics Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (12/1/1986): Aviation rules, means, and methods. Renamed to rec.aviation. net.bicycle Listed October 15, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/15/1983): Bicycles and related products and laws. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (12/1/1986): Bicycles, related products and laws. Renamed to rec.bicycles. net.bio Listed February 1, 1984 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (2/1/1984): Biology and related sciences. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Renamed to sci.bio. net.bizarre Listed August 1 to October 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (8/1/1985): Strange postings and reports of odd occurrences. Notes: Gene Spafford explained this group's removal by saying that it had not been created by accepted procedures, *and* a solid majority of the backbone administrators had agreed not to propagate it. It isn't clear to me how much weight to attach to the first of these reasons, but see net.internat below. Note also that talk.bizarre was one of the first two groups created in what became the Big 8 hierarchies; this suggests, but does not require, that net.bizarre had in fact meaningfully survived its loss of "official" status. net.books Listed March 2, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/2/1983): Books of all genres, shapes, and sizes. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Renamed to rec.arts.books. net.bugs Listed December 16, 1981 (as net.bugs.all) to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Bug reports on various software Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (11/1/1986): General bug reports and fixes. Renamed to comp.bugs.misc (representing a merger with net.bugs.uucp and net.bugs.v7). net.bugs.2bsd Renamed from net.2bsd-bugs on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. Listed December 16, 1981 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Berkeley pdp-11 distribution Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (11/1/1986): Reports of UNIX* version 2BSD related bugs. (The asterisk referred to a trademark.) Renamed to comp.bugs.2bsd. net.bugs.4bsd Renamed from net.4bsd-bugs on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. (net.4bsd-bugs is not on any newsgroup list in my data set, which is why it isn't listed in this set of posts; I know it existed.) Listed December 16, 1981 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Berkeley VAX distribution Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (11/1/1986): Reports of UNIX version 4BSD related bugs. (And no, I don't know why UNIX here is *not* asterisked.) Renamed to comp.bugs.4bsd. net.bugs.u3 Listed December 16 to December 23, 1981 only. Description line (12/16/1981): UNIX 3.0 net.bugs.usg Listed December 5, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/5/1982): Subgroup for USG (System III, IV, etc.) bugs. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (11/1/1986): Reports of USG (System III, V, etc.) bugs. Renamed to comp.bugs.sys5. net.bugs.uucp Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for UUCP related bugs. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (11/1/1986): Reports of UUCP related bugs. Renamed to comp.bugs.misc (representing a merger with net.bugs and net.bugs.v7). net.bugs.v7 Renamed from net.v7bugs on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. Listed December 16, 1981 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Version 7 bugs Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (11/1/1986): Reports of UNIX V7 related bugs. Renamed to comp.bugs.misc (representing a merger with net.bugs and net.bugs.uucp). net.chess Created November 25, 1981. Listed December 16, 1981 to February 3, 1982, and then November 21, 1982 to August 15, 1985, during each interval without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Computer chess Description line (8/15/1985): Chess & computer chess. Apparently renamed to net.games.chess. Notes: I have no explanation for its absence from three lists in 1982, but will note that a renaming to net.games.chess, or merger with net.games, was more or less constantly being urged by various people, from before the group's creation until its demise. net.cms Created April 24, 1982. Listed November 21, 1982 only. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on CMS, an IBM 370 OS. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as not having been used "very much". net.cog-eng Listed September 1, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (9/1/1983): Cognitive engineering. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Renamed to comp.cog-eng. net.college Listed April 2, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/2/1983): College, college activities, campus life, etc. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Renamed to soc.college. net.columbia Created September 16, 1981 by Adam Buchsbaum. Listed November 29, 1981 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): News about the space program Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Description line (10/16/1986): The space shuttle and the STS program. Renamed to sci.space.shuttle. net.comics Listed April 15, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/15/1983): The funnies, old and new. Double-listed November 1, 1985 through an editing error. Renamed to rec.arts.comics. net.consumers Listed February 1, 1984 to October 16, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (2/1/1984): Consumer interests, product reviews, etc. Renamed to misc.consumers. net.consumers.house Listed June 2, 1986 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (6/2/1986): Discussion about owning and maintaining a house. Renamed to misc.consumers.house. net.cooks Listed February 3, 1982 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (2/3/1982): Interest group - food, cooking, cookbooks, and recipes. Description line (12/1/1986): Food, cooking, cookbooks, and recipes. Renamed to rec.food.cooking. net.crypt Listed June 15, 1983 to October 16, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (6/15/1983): Different methods of data en/decryption. Renamed to sci.crypt. net.cse Listed March 19, 1982, and then November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (3/19/1982): Computer Science Education Description line (11/1/1986): Computer science education. Renamed to comp.edu. net.cse.cai Listed December 1 to December 15, 1983 only. Description line (12/1/1983): Subgroup for Computer Assisted Instruction. net.cycle Created on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. Listed December 16, 1982 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (12/16/1981): Motorcycle topics Description line (12/1/1986): Motorcycles and related products and laws. Renamed to rec.motorcycles. net.database Listed August 15, 1985 to November 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (8/15/1985): Database and data management issues and theory. Renamed to comp.databases. net.dcom Listed March 9, 1982 to November 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (3/9/1982): data communication - modems,multiplexers,port selectors etc. Description line (11/1/1986): Data communications hardware and software. Renamed to comp.dcom.modems. net.decus Listed January 23, 1983 to November 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (1/23/1983): Info and discussions on the DEC* User's Society. Description line (11/1/1986): DEC* Users' Society newsgroup. (The asterisks referred to a trademark.) Renamed to comp.org.decus. net.emacs Listed January 23, 1983 to November 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (1/23/1983): Info and discussions on the EMACS editor. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to November 1, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group (and yes, this does include the 11/1/1985 list in which the group is not listed as active, which is the main piece of evidence, besides common sense, that the mass erasure and double-listing represents an editing error). Description line (11/1/1986): EMACS editors of different flavors. Renamed to comp.emacs. net.eunice Listed November 29, 1981 to November 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (12/16/1981): The Eunice Unix emulator for VMS Description line (11/1/1986): The SRI Eunice system. Renamed to comp.os.eunice. net.flame Created January 15, 1982. Listed November 21, 1982 to November 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): For flaming on any topic. net.followup Created February 17, 1982. Listed March 19, 1982, and then November 21, 1982 to October 16, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (3/19/1982): follow-up articles to those posted in net.general Description line (10/16/1986): Followups to articles in net.general. Renamed to misc.misc (representing a merger with net.general, net.misc, and, technically, net.suicide). net.games Listed November 29, 1981 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (12/16/1981): Computer games of the /usr/games type Description line (12/1/1986): Games and computer games. Renamed to rec.games.misc. net.games.board Listed September 1, 1985 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (9/1/1985): Discussion and hints on board games. Renamed to rec.games.board. net.games.chess Listed September 1, 1985 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (9/1/1985): Chess & computer chess. Renamed to rec.games.chess. net.games.dip Created April 25, 1982. Listed November 21, 1982 only. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for Diplomacy. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as having been unused for three months. net.games.emp Listed "November 20, 1982" to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Note that the date of the November 20, 1982 list is unreliable: it dates to sometime after March 9, 1982 and before the posting date of November 20, 1982. Description line ("11/20/1982"): Subgroup net.games - empire Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion and hints about Empire. Renamed to rec.games.empire. net.games.frp Listed January 26, 1982 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (January 26, 1982): Subgroup net.games - fantasy role playing games Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about Fantasy Role Playing games. Renamed to rec.games.frp. net.games.go Listed January 3, 1984 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (1/3/1984): Subgroup for Go. Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about Go. Renamed to rec.games.go. net.games.hack Listed February 1, 1985 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (2/1/1985): Discussion, hints, etc. about the Hack game. Renamed to rec.games.hack. net.games.pacman Created February 16, 1982. Listed November 21, 1982 to December 15, 1983. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for Pacman. net.games.pbm Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for Play by Mail games. Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about Play by Mail games. Renamed to rec.games.pbm. net.games.rogue Listed December 16, 1981 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only November 1, 1985 (by an editing error). Description line (12/16/1981): That wonderful game Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion and hints about Rogue. Renamed to rec.games.rogue. net.games.trivia Listed January 26, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Trivia contests and results. Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about trivia. Renamed to rec.games.trivia. net.games.video Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for video games. Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about video games. Renamed to rec.games.video. net.garden Listed April 2, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/2/1983): Gardening, methods and results. Renamed to rec.gardens. net.general Renamed from NET.general sometime between November 11, 1980 and May 11, 1981. Listed November 29, 1981 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Usenet news of general interest Description line (10/16/1986): *Important*, timely announcements of worldwide interest. (Note the description of net.misc.) Renamed to misc.misc (representing a merger with net.followup, net.misc, and, technically, net.suicide). Notes: This means that misc.misc is *ancestrally* the oldest group in the Big 8, since it's reasonably certain that NET.general was the first net-wide newsgroup (see the posts on 1980-81 and on the NET.* hierarchy). But talk.bizarre is the oldest Big 8 group *under the same name*; and a purpose sometimes stated to have been NET.general's original purpose was later served by net.announce, mod.announce, and news.announce.important before that purpose was effectively abandoned. net.graphics Listed January 23, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/23/1983): Info and discussions on computer graphics. Description line (11/1/1986): Computer graphics, art, animation, image processing, pattern recognition, and machine vision. (This was one of the two last surviving two-line descriptions.) Renamed to comp.graphics. net.ham-radio Listed November 29, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Ham radio In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to November 1, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group. Description line (12/1/1986): Amateur Radio practices, contests, events, rules, etc. Renamed to rec.ham-radio. net.ham-radio.packet Listed August 15, 1985 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (8/15/1985): Discussion about packet radio setups. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to November 1, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group. Renamed to rec.ham-radio.packet. net.house Listed May 17, 1986 only. Description line (5/17/1986): Discussion about owning and maintaining a house. Apparently renamed to net.consumers.house. net.info-micro Listed November 21, 1982 only. Description line (11/21/1982): Info on micro computers. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as duplicative of net.micro. net.info-terms Listed November 21, 1982. Description line (11/21/1982): Info on terminals. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as duplicative of fa.info-terms. Listed January 23, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group. Description line (11/1/1986): All sorts of terminals. Renamed to comp.terminals. net.internat Listed November 15, 1985 to November 1, 1986, interrupted only April 17, 1986. (This was probably not an editing error; Gene Spafford did object to the way the group had been created. See also net.bizarre, above.) Description line (11/15/1985): Discussion about international standards Renamed to comp.std.internat. net.invest Listed "November 20, 1982" to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Note that the actual date of the list posted November 20, 1982 is at an undetermined time between March 9 and November 20, 1982. Description line ("11/20/1982"): Information and discussion about investments. Description line (10/16/1986): Investments and the handling of money. Renamed to misc.invest. net.jobs Created May 4, 1982. Listed November 21, 1982 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Job announcements, requests, etc. Renamed to misc.jobs. net.jokes Listed December 16, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): The latest good joke you heard Description line (12/1/1986): Jokes and the like. May be somewhat offensive. Renamed to rec.humor. net.jokes.d Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for discussions on the content on net.jokes. Description line (12/1/1986): Discussions on the content of net.jokes articles Renamed to rec.humor.d. net.jokes.q Listed December 23, 1981 only. Description line (12/23/1981): We drop this newsgroup (No, I'm not making this up.) net.kids Listed November 15, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/15/1983): Children, their behavior and activities. Renamed to misc.kids. net.lan Created January 13, 1982. Listed January 26, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Local area network interest group. Description line (11/1/1986): Local area network hardware and software. Renamed to comp.dcom.lans. net.lang Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Discussions on computer languages. Description line (11/1/1986): Different computer languages. Renamed to comp.lang.misc. net.lang.ada Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for ADA. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Ada*. (The asterisk referred to a trademark.) Renamed to comp.lang.ada. net.lang.apl Created March 24, 1982. Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for APL. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about APL. Renamed to comp.lang.apl. net.lang.c Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for C. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about C. Renamed to comp.lang.c. net.lang.c++ Listed February 16 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (2/16/1986): The object-oriented C++ language. Renamed to comp.lang.c++. net.lang.f77 Listed December 1, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/1/1983): Subgroup for FORTRAN. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about FORTRAN. Renamed to comp.lang.fortran. net.lang.forth Listed January 23, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/23/1983): Subgroup for Forth. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to November 1, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group (although this is the only such group that was gatewayed with BITnet, not ARPAnet). Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Forth. Renamed to comp.lang.forth. net.lang.lisp Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for LISP. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about LISP. Renamed to comp.lang.lisp. net.lang.mod2 Listed October 15, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/15/1983): Subgroup for Modula-2. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Modula-2. Renamed to comp.lang.modula2. net.lang.pascal Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for PASCAL. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Pascal. Renamed to comp.lang.pascal. net.lang.prolog Listed December 5, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/5/1982): Subgroup for PROLOG. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated group. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about PROLOG. Renamed to comp.lang.prolog. net.lang.st80 Listed December 5, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/5/1982): Subgroup for Smalltalk 80. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Smalltalk 80. Renamed to comp.lang.smalltalk. net.legal Listed September 1, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (9/1/1983): Legalities and the ethics of law. Renamed to misc.legal. net.lsi Listed January 26, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Large Scale Integrated Circuit discussions. Description line (11/1/1986): Large scale integrated circuits. Renamed to comp.lsi. net.mag Listed April 15, 1984 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/15/1984): Magazine summaries, tables of contents, etc. Renamed to rec.mag. net.mail Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on the proposed new mail standards. Description line (11/1/1986): Proposed new mail/network standards. Renamed to comp.mail.uucp. net.mail.headers Listed July 16, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (7/16/1983): Subgroup for the ARPA header-people list. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (11/1/1986): Gatewayed from the ARPA header-people list. Renamed to comp.mail.headers. net.mail.msggroup Listed July 16, 1983 to July 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (7/16/1983): Subgroup for the ARPA MsgGroup list. Description line (7/15/1985): Gatewayed from the ARPA MsgGroup list. net.math Created February 8, 1982. Listed March 19, 1982 to October 16, 1986, interrupted only "November 20, 1982". Note that the actual date of the list posted November 20, 1982 is at an undetermined time between March 9 and November 20, 1982. Description line (3/19/1982): mathematical discussions (eg. what is lim x->0 log(x)-log(x)) Description line (10/16/1986): Mathematical discussions and puzzles. Renamed to sci.math. net.math.stat Listed June 1, 1984 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (6/1/1984): Subgroup for statistics. Description line (10/16/1986): Statistics discussion. Renamed to sci.math.stat. net.math.symbolic Listed September 15, 1984 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (9/15/1984): Subgroup for symbolic algebra discussion. Description line (10/16/1986): Symbolic algebra discussion. Renamed to sci.math.symbolic. net.med Listed January 23, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/23/1983): Info and discussions on medicine and health. Description line (10/16/1986): Medicine and its related products and regulations. Renamed to sci.med. net.micro Possibly created (this or its possible predecessor NET.micro) January 21, 1981. Listed March 19, 1982 to November 1, 1986, interrupted only "November 20, 1982". Note that the actual date of the list posted November 20, 1982 is at an undetermined time between March 9 and November 20, 1982. Description line (3/19/1982): micro-computers, see also fa.info-micro. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (11/1/1986): Micro computers of all kinds. Renamed to comp.sys.misc. net.micro.16k Listed April 2, 1983 to May 17, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/2/1983): Subgroup for 16k's. Description line (5/17/1986): National Semiconductor 32000 series chips Apparently renamed to net.micro.ns32k. net.micro.432 Listed November 21, 1982 to August 1, 1985 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for 432's. Description line (8/1/1985): Discussion about Intel 432's. net.micro.6809 Listed October 1, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/1/1983): Subgroup for 6809's. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about 6809's. Renamed to comp.sys.m6809. net.micro.68k Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for 68k's. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about 68k's. Renamed to comp.sys.m68k. net.micro.apple Listed March 2, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/2/1983): Subgroup for Apple's. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Apple micros. Renamed to comp.sys.apple. net.micro.amiga Listed September 1, 1985 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (9/1/1985): Talk about the new Amiga micro. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Renamed to comp.sys.amiga. net.micro.atari Listed November 21, 1982 to February 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for Atari's. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to June 2, 1986 (yes, after its removal), listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (2/16/1986): Discussion about Atari micros. Apparently split into net.micro.atari8 and net.micro.atari16. net.micro.atari8 Apparently created from a split of net.micro.atari. Listed March 1 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/1/1986): Discussion about 8 bit Atari micros. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from June 19 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Renamed to comp.sys.atari.8bit. net.micro.atari16 Apparently created from a split of net.micro.atari. Listed March 1 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/1/1986): Discussion about 16 bit Atari micros. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from June 19 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Renamed to comp.sys.atari.st. net.micro.att Listed May 15, 1985 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (5/15/1985): Discussions about AT&T microcomputers Renamed to comp.sys.att. net.micro.cbm Listed June 15, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (6/15/1983): Subgroup for Commodore's. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Commodore micros. Renamed to comp.sys.cbm. net.micro.cpm Listed June 15, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (6/15/1983): Subgroup for the CP/M operating system. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about the CP/M operating system. Renamed to comp.os.cpm. net.micro.hp Listed March 15, 1984 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/15/1984): Subgroup for Hewlett/Packard's. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Hewlett/Packard's. Renamed to comp.sys.hp. net.micro.mac Listed November 15, 1984 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/15/1984): Material about the Apple MacIntosh & Lisa Renamed to comp.sys.mac. net.micro.ns32k Apparently renamed from net.micro.16k. Listed June 2 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (6/2/1986): National Semiconductor 32000 series chips Renamed to comp.sys.nsc.32k. net.micro.pc Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for personal computers. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about IBM personal computers. Renamed to comp.sys.ibm.pc. net.micro.ti Listed July 15, 1984 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (7/15/1984): Subgroup for Texas Instruments. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about Texas Instruments. Renamed to comp.sys.ti. net.micro.trs-80 Listed January 15, 1984 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/15/1984): Subgroup for TRS-80's. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about TRS-80's. Renamed to comp.sys.tandy. net.micro.zx Listed November 21, 1982 to July 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for zx's. Description line (7/15/1985): Discussion about zx's. net.misc Listed January 26, 1982 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Miscellaneous discussions that start in net.general but are not permanent enough for their own newsgroup. Description line (10/16/1986): Various discussions too short-lived for other groups. Also items of a general nature not important enough for net.general or mod.announce. Renamed to misc.misc (representing a merger with net.followup, net.general, and, technically, net.suicide). net.misc.coke Listed July 15 to October 1, 1985 without interruption. Description line (7/15/1985): Discussion about New Coke vs. Classic Coke. This is a temporary newsgroup. Description line (10/1/1985): Discussion about New Coke vs. Classic Coke.* This is a temporary newsgroup. (The asterisk referred to a trademark.) net.motss Listed October 15, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/15/1983): Issues pertaining to homosexuality. Renamed to soc.motss. net.movies Created December 15, 1981. Listed December 23, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/23/1981): Movie reviews Description line (12/1/1986): Reviews and discussions of movies. Renamed to rec.arts.movies. net.movies.sw Listed July 15, 1983 to July 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (6/15/1983): Subgroup for the Star Wars saga(s). Description line (7/15/1985): Discussions about the Star Wars saga(s). net.music Created December 23, 1981. Listed December 23, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/23/1981): What is this group about, anyway? (No, I'm not making that up.) Description line (12/1/1986): Music lovers' group. Renamed to rec.music.misc. net.music.classical Listed May 1, 1984 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (5/1/1984): Subgroup for classical music. Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about classical music. Renamed to rec.music.classical. net.music.folk Listed December 1, 1984 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/1/1984): Folks discussing folk music of various sorts Renamed to rec.music.folk. net.music.gdead Listed April 15, 1985 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/15/1985): A group for (Grateful) Dead-heads Renamed to rec.music.gdead. net.music.makers Listed September 16 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (9/16/1986): For performers and their discussions. Renamed to rec.music.makers. Note: This was the last net.* group to be created. net.music.synth Listed February 15, 1985 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (2/15/1985): Discussion about synthesizers & their products Description line (12/1/1986): Synthesizers and computer music Renamed to rec.music.synth. net.net-people Listed April 15, 1984 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/15/1984): Announcements, requests, pointers, etc. concerning people on the net. Description line (10/16/1986): Announcements, requests, etc. about people on the net. Renamed to soc.net-people. net.news Renamed from NET.news at an undetermined date. Listed November 29, 1981 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): News about netnews Double-listed January 26 to March 9, and "November 20", 1982 for reasons unknown (each listing had a different newsgroup line, but the lines were complementary and may have been intended as a single two-line description). Description line (11/1/1986): Discussions of USENET itself. Renamed to news.misc. net.news.adm Listed October 1, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/1/1983): Subgroup for news administrators. Description line (11/1/1986): Comments directed to news administrators. Renamed to news.admin. net.news.b Listed December 16, 1981 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Version B news Description line (11/1/1986): Discussion about B news software. Renamed to news.software.b. net.news.config Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for posting of computer down times and network interruptions. Description line (11/1/1986): Postings of system down times and interruptions. Renamed to news.config. net.news.directory Created January 20, 1982. Listed January 26 to November 21, 1982 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): to post all or part of the USENET directory, Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for the USENET Directory. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as having been unused for over four months. net.news.group Listed January 26, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): for discussions about proposed new newsgroups, Description line (11/1/1986): Discussions and lists of newsgroups (Sound familiar, anyone?) Renamed to news.groups. net.news.map Listed January 26, 1982 to December 1, 1984 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): for discussions about maps of newsites. Description line (12/1/1984): Postings of maps. Apparently split into (moderated) mod.map, mod.map.news, and mod.map.uucp. net.news.newsite Listed January 26, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): to announce a new site. Description line (11/1/1986): Postings of new site announcements. Renamed to news.newsites. net.news.notes Apparently renamed from net.notes. Listed September 1, 1985 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (9/1/1985): Notesfile software from the Univ. of Illinois. Renamed to news.software.notes. net.news.sa Listed October 1, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/1/1983): Subgroup for system administrators. Description line (11/1/1986): Comments directed to system administrators. Renamed to news.sysadmin. net.news.stargate Listed January 15, 1985 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/15/1985): Discussion about satellite transmission of news. Renamed to news.stargate. net.nlang Listed November 21, 1982 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Discussions on ''natural languages'' Description line (10/16/1986): Natural languages, cultures, heritages, etc. Renamed to sci.lang. net.nlang.africa Listed May 15, 1985 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (5/15/1985): Discussions about Africa & things African Renamed to soc.culture.african. net.nlang.celts Listed December 15, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/15/1983): Subgroup for Celtics. Description line (10/16/1986): Group about Celtics. Renamed to soc.culture.celtic. net.nlang.greek Listed February 1, 1984 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (2/1/1984): Subgroup for Greeks. Description line (10/16/1986): Group about Greeks. Renamed to soc.culture.greek. net.nlang.india Listed February 15, 1985 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (2/15/1985): Group for discussion about India & things Indian Renamed to soc.culture.indian. net.notes Listed November 21, 1982 to August 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): For the notesfile software from the University of Illinois. Description line (8/15/1985): Notesfile software from the University of Illinois. Apparently renamed to net.news.notes. net.oa Created January 16, 1982. Listed January 26 to November 21, 1982 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Office Automation/Word Processing interest group. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on office automation. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1981 by Adam Buchsbaum, as having been unused for over four months. net.origins Listed April 15, 1984 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/15/1984): Evolution versus creationism (hot). In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to September 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (9/16/1986): Evolution versus creationism (sometimes hot!). Renamed to talk.origins. net.periphs Listed December 16, 1981 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Hardware peripherals Description line (11/1/1986): Peripheral devices. Renamed to comp.periphs. net.pets Listed April 2, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/2/1983): Pets, pet care, and household animals in general. Renamed to rec.pets. net.philosophy Listed March 2, 1983 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/2/1983): Philosophical discussions. Renamed to talk.philosophy.misc. net.physics Listed "November 20, 1982" to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Note that the actual date of the list posted November 20, 1982 is at an undetermined time between March 9 and November 20, 1982. Description line ("11/20/1982"): Information and discussion of physics. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (10/16/1986): Physical laws, properties, etc. Renamed to sci.physics. net.poems Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): For the posting of poems. Renamed to rec.arts.poems. net.politics Listed November 21, 1982 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Discussions on politics. Could get hot. Description line (9/16/1986): Political discussions. Could get hot. Renamed to talk.politics.misc (representing a merger with net.politics.terror). net.politics.terror Listed May 17 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (5/17/1986): Discussion about the problem of terrorism. Renamed to talk.politics.misc (representing a merger with net.politics). net.politics.theory Listed February 1, 1985 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (2/1/1985): Theory of politics and political systems. Renamed to talk.politics.theory. net.puzzle Listed October 1, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/1/1983): Puzzles, problems, and quizzes. Renamed to rec.puzzles. net.railroad Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info on railroads. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to November 1, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (12/1/1986): Real and model train fans' newsgroup. Renamed to rec.railroad. net.rec Listed December 16, 1981 (as net.rec.all) to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Participant sports (recreation) Description line (12/1/1986): Recreational/participant sports. Renamed to rec.misc. net.rec.birds Created April 14, 1982. Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for bird watching. Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in bird watching. Renamed to rec.birds. net.rec.boat Listed March 19, 1982 to December 1, 1986, interrupted only "November 20, 1982". Note that the actual date of the list posted November 20, 1982 is at an undetermined time between March 9 and November 20, 1982. Description line (3/19/1982): boating (sail and motor???) Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in boating. Renamed to rec.boats. net.rec.bridge Listed January 26, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Subgroup of net.rec - contract bridge. Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in bridge. Renamed to rec.games.bridge. net.rec.caves Listed November 21, 1982 to July 15, 1984 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for caving. net.rec.coins Listed November 21, 1982 to July 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for coin collecting. Description line (7/15/1985): Hobbyists interested in coin collecting. net.rec.disc Listed August 1, 1983 to July 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (8/1/1983): Subgroup for disc activities. Description line (7/15/1985): Hobbyists interested in disc activities. net.rec.nude Listed April 15, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/15/1983): Subgroup for nude sunbathing. Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in naturist/nudist activities. Renamed to rec.nude. net.rec.photo Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for photography. Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in photography. Renamed to rec.photo. net.rec.scuba Renamed from net.scuba on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. (net.scuba is not on any newsgroup list in my data set, which is why it isn't listed in this set of posts; I know it existed.) Listed December 16, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Diving (formerly net.scuba) Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in SCUBA diving. Renamed to rec.scuba. net.rec.ski Renamed from net.ski on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. (net.ski is not on any newsgroup list in my data set, which is why it isn't listed in this set of posts; I know it existed.) Listed December 16, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Skiing (formerly net.ski) Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in skiing. Renamed to rec.skiing. net.rec.skydive Listed March 19, 1982 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only "November 20, 1982". Note that the actual date of the list posted November 20, 1982 is at an undetermined time between March 9 and November 20, 1982. Description line (3/19/1982): (net.rec.skydive) sky diving (The duplication of the name in the description line has to do with the fact that early newsgroup names were required to be unique in their first 14 characters, so some newsgroup lists, like this one, allocated only 14 characters for listing those names.) Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in skydiving. Renamed to rec.skydiving. net.rec.wood Listed October 15, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/15/1983): Subgroup for woodworking. Description line (12/1/1986): Hobbyists interested in woodworking. Renamed to rec.woodworking. net.records Created January 20, 1982. Listed January 26, 1982 to March 1, 1984 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Info and opinions about records (and tapes ?). Description line (3/1/1984): Records, both new and old, of all musical varieties. net.religion Listed March 2, 1983 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/2/1983): Religious, ethical, and moral implications of actions. Renamed to talk.religion.misc. net.religion.christian Listed December 1, 1984 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/1/1984): Debates about form and nature of Christianity. Description line (10/16/1986): Discussion about form and nature of Christianity Apparently renamed to (moderated) mod.religion.christian. Note: The renaming may be the first instance of outright replacement of an unmoderated group with a moderated one, but see also net.news.map above. net.religion.jewish Listed March 1, 1984 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/1/1984): Subgroup for Judaism. Description line (9/16/1986): Information and discussion about Judaism. Renamed to soc.culture.jewish. net.research Listed November 21, 1982 only. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on research and computer research. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as having been unused for three months. Listed April 2, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (4/2/1983): Research and computer research. Renamed to sci.research. net.roots Listed November 1, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/1/1983): Genealogical matters. Renamed to soc.roots. net.rumor Listed December 16, 1981 to September 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Rumors about software, hardware, etc. Description line (9/16/1986): For the posting of rumors. Renamed to talk.rumors. net.sci Listed July 1, 1984 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (7/1/1984): General purpose scientific discussions. Renamed to sci.misc. net.sf-lovers Listed March 19, 1982 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only "November 20, 1982". Note that the actual date of the list posted November 20, 1982 is at an undetermined time between March 9 and November 20, 1982. Description line (3/19/1982): Science Fiction Lovers - undigested from fa.sf-lovers In the March 19, 1982 list, listed as a gatewayed newsgroup. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to November 1, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (12/1/1986): Science fiction lovers' newsgroup. Renamed to rec.arts.sf-lovers. net.singles Listed November 21, 1982 to October 16, 1986. Description line (11/21/1982): Newsgroup for single people, their activities, etc. Renamed to soc.singles. net.social Listed November 21, 1982 to October 16, 1986. Description line (11/21/1982): Like net.singles, but for everyone. Renamed to soc.misc. net.sources Listed January 26, 1982 to April 1, 1987 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): A place for sources and the distribution of material in large volume. More for software distribution that for general info. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to April 1, 1987, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (4/1/1987): For the posting of software packages & documentation. Renamed to (moderated) comp.sources.misc. Listed May 3, 1987 as "obsolete". net.sources.bugs Listed October 1, 1984 to April 1, 1987 without interruption. Description line (10/1/1984): For bug fixes and features discussion pertaining to items in net.sources Renamed to comp.sources.bugs. Listed May 3, 1987 as "obsolete". net.sources.d Listed March 16 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (3/16/1986): For followup discussion on net.sources postings. Description line (11/1/1986): For any discussion on net.sources postings. Renamed to comp.sources.d. net.sources.games Listed February 15, 1985 to April 1, 1987 without interruption. Renamed to (moderated) comp.sources.games. Description line (2/15/1985): Postings of recreational software Listed May 3, 1987 as "obsolete". net.sources.mac Listed February 1, 1985 to April 1, 1987 without interruption. Renamed to (moderated) comp.sources.mac. Description line (2/1/1985): Software for the Apple MacIntosh Listed May 3, 1987 as "obsolete". net.space Listed February 3, 1982 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (2/3/1982): Space programs and research, gatewayed to fa.space In the March 19, 1982 list, listed as a gatewayed group. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (10/16/1986): Space, space programs, space related research, etc. Renamed to sci.space. net.sport Listed December 16, 1981 (as net.sport.all) to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): All spectator sports mailing lists Description line (12/1/1986): Spectator sports. Renamed to rec.sport.misc. net.sport.baseball Created on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. Listed December 16, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Baseball Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about baseball. Renamed to rec.sport.baseball. net.sport.football Created on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. Listed December 16, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Football Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about football. Renamed to rec.sport.football. net.sport.hockey Created on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. Listed December 16, 1981 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Hockey Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about hockey. Renamed to rec.sport.hockey. net.sport.hoops Listed November 15, 1983 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/15/1983): Subgroup for basketball. Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about basketball. Renamed to rec.sport.basketball. net.startrek Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on Star Trek. Description line (12/1/1986): Star Trek, the TV show and the movies. Renamed to rec.arts.startrek. net.std Listed June 15, 1983 to August 1, 1985 without interruption. Description line (6/15/1983): All sorts of standards. Description line (8/1/1985): All sorts of standards (e.g., ANSI, IEEE). net.suicide Created December 8, 1981. Listed November 21, 1982 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on suicide. Description line (10/16/1986): Suicide, laws, ethics, and its causes and effects (!). Renamed to misc.misc (technically, representing a merger with net.followup, net.general, and net.misc; realistically, representing the removal of the group). Notes: This is effectively the first example of removing a group by renaming it to misc.misc. One could say the same of the other three groups, I suppose, but both net.followup and net.misc had been created in what amounted to (failed) splits of net.general, so I don't see their re-merger as a meaningful example of group removal; in contrast, net.suicide had led an entirely independent existence until this point. net.taxes Listed January 26, 1982 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Tax advice and queries. Description line (10/16/1986): Tax laws and advice. Renamed to misc.taxes. net.test Possibly renamed from NET.test at an undetermined date (see the NET.* post for more on this matter). Listed December 16, 1981 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): Test messages, not interesting. Description line (10/16/1986): For testing of network software. Very boring. Renamed to misc.test. net.text Listed July 16, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (7/16/1983): Text processing. Renamed to comp.text. net.theater Listed December 1, 1984 to August 1, 1985 without interruption. Description line (12/1/1984): For performers and audiences of the theater. net.travel Listed January 26, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): Requests, suggestions, and opinions about traveling Description line (12/1/1986): Traveling all over the world. Renamed to rec.travel. net.trivia Listed November 21, 1982 only. Description line (11/21/1982): Trivia questions and answers. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as duplicative of net.games.trivia. net.tv Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on the boob tube. Description line (12/1/1986): The boob tube, its history, and past and current shows. Renamed to rec.arts.tv. net.tv.da Listed December 1, 1983 to March 1, 1984 without interruption. Description line (12/1/1983): Subgroup for "The Day After." net.tv.drwho Listed January 3, 1984 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/3/1984): Subgroup for Dr. Who. Description line (12/1/1986): Discussion about Dr. Who. Renamed to rec.arts.drwho. net.tv.sctv Listed November 21, 1982 only. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for SCTV. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as having been unused for over four months and "much too specific". net.tv.soaps Listed May 15, 1984 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (5/15/1984): Subgroup for soap operas. Description line (12/1/1986): Postings about soap operas. Renamed to rec.arts.tv.soaps. net.ucds Listed December 16, 1981 to December 15, 1983 without interruption. Description line (12/16/1981): VLSI draw software system. Description line (12/15/1983): The UNIX circuit design system. net.unix Listed September 15, 1983 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (9/15/1983): UNIX neophytes group. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Renamed to comp.unix.questions. net.unix-wizards Renamed from fa.unix-wizards, probably by Andrew Knutsen, beginning about December 24, 1981. Listed January 26, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/26/1982): ARPANET mailing list for UNIX Wizards. Anything and everything relating to UNIX is discussed here. This list is gatewayed to the ARPANET mailing list but appears like a regular newsgroup to USENET. In the lists dated March 19 and "November 20", 1982, listed as a gatewayed newsgroup. In each surviving List of Active Newsgroups from November 1, 1985 to October 16, 1986, listed as a gatewayed unmoderated newsgroup. Description line (11/1/1986): Discussions, bug reports, and fixes on and for UNIX. Not for the weak of heart. (This was one of the two last surviving two-line descriptions.) Renamed to comp.unix.wizards. net.usenix Listed November 21, 1982 to November 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on the USENIX Association. Description line (11/1/1986): USENIX Association events and announcements. Renamed to comp.org.usenix. net.usoft Listed November 21, 1982 to August 1, 1985 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on general software packages. Description line (8/1/1985): Universal (public domain) software packages. net.usoft.s Listed November 21, 1982 to December 15, 1983 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Subgroup for the S Statistical Package. net.v7bugs Renamed from NET.v7bugs at an undetermined date. Listed November 29, 1981 only. Since the November 29, 1981 list contained no description lines, none survive for this newsgroup. Renamed to net.bugs.v7 on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. net.veg Listed January 3, 1984 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/3/1984): Vegitarians. Description line (12/1/1986): Vegetarians. Renamed to rec.food.veg. net.video Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on video and video components. Description line (12/1/1986): Video and video components. Renamed to rec.video. net.vvs Listed March 2, 1983 to October 1, 1984 without interruption. Description line (3/2/1983): The Vortex Video System for digitized video images. net.vwrabbit Listed November 29, 1981 only. Since the November 29, 1981 list contained no description lines, none survive for this newsgroup. Renamed to net.auto.vw on or near December 10, 1981 by Mark Horton. net.wanted Listed November 21, 1982 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Requests for things that are needed, e.g. device drivers, pointers to people, etc. Description line (10/16/1986): Requests for things that are needed. Renamed to misc.wanted. net.wanted.sources Listed October 1, 1984 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (10/1/1984): Requests for software, termcap entries, etc. Renamed to comp.sources.wanted. net.wines Created February 27, 1982. Listed March 9, 1982 to December 1, 1986 interrupted only December 5, 1982. Description line (3/9/1982): Info and reccomendations about wines and alcoholic beverages. Rmgrouped on or near December 5, 1982 by Adam Buchsbaum, as having been unused for a month and a half and "MAYBE too specific". Obviously, this rmgroup didn't take, but I don't have details yet. Description line (12/1/1986): Wines and spirits. Renamed to rec.food.drink. net.wobegon Listed November 21, 1982 to December 1, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on that radio show. Description line (12/1/1986): "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show discussion. Renamed to rec.arts.wobegon. net.women Listed January 23, 1983 to October 16, 1986 without interruption. Description line (1/23/1983): Info and discussions for both sexes on women's rights, discrimination, etc. Description line (10/16/1986): Women's rights, discrimination, etc. Renamed to soc.women. net.women.only Listed September 1, 1983 to July 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (9/1/1983): For women only. Description line (7/15/1985): Postings by women only (read by all). net.works Created April 6, 1982. Listed November 21, 1982 to June 19, 1986 without interruption. Description line (11/21/1982): Info and discussions on workstations. Description line (6/19/1986): Assorted workstations. net.works.apollo Listed March 1, 1984 to February 15, 1985 without interruption. Description line (3/1/1984): Subgroup for Apollo's. Description line (2/15/1985): Discussion about Apollo workstations.