For an introduction to this thread's chronological posts, please see the
first post in the series, for the year 1981, with Message-ID 
<3c4a40c1$0$95686$892e7fe2@authen.puce.readfreenews.net>.

This is the first full year of a quasi-formal newsgroup creation
process, and the last year (not quite full; see September and November
below) of the Backbone Cabal's reign.  Except for the backbone's fall,
it's a very quiet year, in which removals - of inet groups and moderated
groups, mostly - and unmoderations of groups which had only been
moderated in the first place because they'd been based on mailing lists,
were almost as frequent as creations.  Nearly three fourths of the net
growth in the seven hierarchies was in comp.*.  Anyway, there *was* some
growth:  the official lists had reached 100 groups in 1982 and 200
groups in 1984; it was only in 1987 if you count inet, or in 1988 if you
don't, that they reached 300.

Joe Bernstein


Lists of Newsgroups Posted in 1988

GENE SPAFFORD

"List of Active Newsgroups (Last changed: 28 December 1987)"
January 1, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  2805@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Last changed: 10 December 1987)"
January 1, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  2807@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Last changed: 2 January 1987)"
January 3, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  2846@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

"Checkgroups message (with INET groups)"
January 1, 1988
news.admin
Message-ID:  2816@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  comp.ivideodisc, rec.games.moria, rec.music.bluenote.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 96 to 97 unmoderated groups,
from 43 to 43 moderated groups, from 139 to 140 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, from 68 to 70 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 7 moderated
groups, from 75 to 77 total.  In sci.*, no change:  16 unmoderated
groups, 1 moderated group, 17 total.  In soc.*, no change:  16
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 20 total.  In talk.*, no change:
10 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 10 total.  294 total (62
moderated, 232 unmoderated).

Summary for inet:  In comp.*, no change:  43 unmoderated groups, 2
moderated groups, 45 total.  In news.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, no change:  4 unmoderated groups,
0 moderated groups, 4 total.  In soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  53 total (3 moderated, 50 unmoderated).

Overall summary:  In comp.*, from 139 to 140 unmoderated groups, from 45
to 45 moderated groups, from 184 to 185 total.  In misc.*, no change: 
14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In news.*, no
change:  10 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 14 total.  In rec.*,
from 69 to 71 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 77
to 79 total.  In sci.*, no change:  20 unmoderated groups, 1 moderated
group, 21 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  10 unmoderated
groups, 0 moderated groups, 10 total.  347 total (65 moderated, 282
unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 11 January 1988)"
January 16, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  2956@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 11 January 1988)"
January 16, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  2958@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

"Checkgroups message (with INET groups)"
January 16, 1988
news.admin
Message-ID:  2965@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  talk.politics.soviet.

Unmoderated in place:  comp.std.misc, comp.sys.sequent.

Removed:  rec.food.recipes.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 97 to 99 unmoderated groups,
from 43 to 41 moderated groups, from 140 to 140 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, from 70 to 70 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 6 moderated
groups, from 77 to 76 total.  In sci.*, no change:  16 unmoderated
groups, 1 moderated group, 17 total.  In soc.*, no change:  16
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 20 total.  In talk.*, from 10 to
11 unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 10 to 11
total.  294 total (59 moderated, 235 unmoderated).

Summary for inet:  In comp.*, no change:  43 unmoderated groups, 2
moderated groups, 45 total.  In news.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, no change:  4 unmoderated groups,
0 moderated groups, 4 total.  In soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  53 total (3 moderated, 50 unmoderated).

Overall summary:  In comp.*, from 140 to 142 unmoderated groups, from 45
to 43 moderated groups, from 185 to 185 total.  In misc.*, no change: 
14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In news.*, no
change:  10 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 14 total.  In rec.*,
from 71 to 71 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 7 moderated groups, from 79
to 78 total.  In sci.*, no change:  20 unmoderated groups, 1 moderated
group, 21 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, from 10 to 11 unmoderated
groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 10 to 11 total.  347 total
(62 moderated, 285 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 21 January 1988)"
February 3, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  3120@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 31 January 1988)"
February 3, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  3122@arthur.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  comp.sources.games.bugs.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 99 to 100 unmoderated groups,
from 41 to 41 moderated groups, from 140 to 141 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, no change:  70 unmoderated groups, 6 moderated groups, 76
total.  In sci.*, no change:  16 unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group,
17 total.  In soc.*, no change:  16 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated
groups, 20 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0
moderated groups, 11 total.  295 total (59 moderated, 236 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 29 February 1988)"
March 2, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  3388@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 29 February 1988)"
March 2, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  3390@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  soc.culture.arabic.

Added by promotion from inet:  sci.psychology.

Unmoderated in place:  comp.unix.microport.

Removed:  rec.humor.spc.

rec.humor.spc remained on the List of Moderators despite its official
nonexistence.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 100 to 101 unmoderated groups,
from 41 to 40 moderated groups, from 141 to 141 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, from 70 to 70 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 5 moderated
groups, from 76 to 75 total.  In sci.*, from 16 to 17 unmoderated
groups, from 1 to 1 moderated group, from 17 to 18 total.  In soc.*,
from 16 to 17 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 4 moderated groups, from 20
to 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated
groups, 11 total.  296 total (57 moderated, 239 unmoderated).

Summary for inet (inferred):  In comp.*, no change:  43 unmoderated
groups, 2 moderated groups, 45 total.  In news.*, no change:  1
unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no change:  1
unmoderated group, 1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, from 4 to 3
unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 4 to 3 total.  In
soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.  52
total (3 moderated, 49 unmoderated).

Overall summary (inferred):  In comp.*, from 143 to 144 unmoderated
groups, from 43 to 42 moderated groups, from 186 to 186 total.  In
misc.*, no change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.
In news.*, no change:  10 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 14
total.  In rec.*, from 71 to 71 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 6
moderated groups, from 78 to 77 total.  In sci.*, no change:  20
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 21 total.  In soc.*, from 17 to
18 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 4 moderated groups, from 21 to 22
total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated
groups, 11 total.  348 total (60 moderated, 288 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 11 March 1988)"
March 17, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  3553@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 11 March 1988)"
March 17, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  3555@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Checkgroups message (with INET groups)"
March 17, 1988
news.admin
Message-ID:  3561@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  comp.parallel, comp.sys.mac.programmer.

Removed:  comp.hypercube.

comp.hypercube and rec.humor.spc remained on the List of Moderators
despite their official nonexistence; in comp.hypercube's case, this sort
of makes sense given that it had simply been renamed to comp.parallel.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 101 to 102 unmoderated groups,
from 40 to 40 moderated groups, from 141 to 142 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, no change:  70 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated groups, 75
total.  In sci.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group,
18 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated
groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0
moderated groups, 11 total.  297 total (57 moderated, 240 unmoderated).

Summary for inet (beginning numbers inferred):  In comp.*, no change: 
43 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 45 total.  In news.*, no
change:  1 unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no
change:  1 unmoderated group, 1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, no
change:  3 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 3 total.  In soc.*,
no change:  1 unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.  52 total
(3 moderated, 49 unmoderated).

Overall summary (beginning numbers inferred):  In comp.*, from 144 to
145 unmoderated groups, from 42 to 42 moderated groups, from 186 to 187
total.  In misc.*, no change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated
groups, 17 total.  In news.*, no change:  10 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 14 total.  In rec.*, no change:  71 unmoderated
groups, 6 moderated groups, 77 total.  In sci.*, no change:  20
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 21 total.  In soc.*, no change: 
18 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 22 total.  In talk.*, no
change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  349 total
(60 moderated, 289 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 2 April 1988)"
April 3, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  3730@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 2 April 1988)"
April 3, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  3732@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Checkgroups message (with INET groups)"
April 3, 1988
news.admin
Message-ID:  3743@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

It's typical of this period that as the Big 7 finally passed the
300-group mark, most but not all of the groups added were in comp.*.

The oldest surviving copy of Steven Grimm's "Introduction to 
comp.binaries.atari.st" dates to March 21, 1988, with message-ID
<2448@saturn.ucsc.edu>.

Added:  comp.fonts, comp.mail.sendmail, comp.simulation, comp.unix.aux,
sci.logic.

Unmoderated in place:  comp.std.c.

comp.hypercube and rec.humor.spc remained on the List of Moderators
despite their official nonexistence.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 102 to 106 unmoderated groups,
from 40 to 40 moderated groups, from 142 to 146 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, no change:  70 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated groups, 75
total.  In sci.*, from 17 to 18 unmoderated groups, from 1 to 1
moderated group, from 18 to 19 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:
11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  302 total (57
moderated, 245 unmoderated).

Summary for inet:  In comp.*, no change:  43 unmoderated groups, 2
moderated groups, 45 total.  In news.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, no change:  3 unmoderated groups,
0 moderated groups, 3 total.  In soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  52 total (3 moderated, 49 unmoderated).

Overall summary:  In comp.*, from 145 to 149 unmoderated groups, from 42
to 42 moderated groups, from 187 to 191 total.  In misc.*, no change: 
14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In news.*, no
change:  10 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 14 total.  In rec.*,
no change:  71 unmoderated groups, 6 moderated groups, 77 total.  In
sci.*, from 20 to 21 unmoderated groups, from 1 to 1 moderated group,
from 21 to 22 total.  In soc.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 22 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated
groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  354 total (60 moderated, 294
unmoderated).


"Changes to List of Active Newsgroups"
May 9, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4033@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Changes to List of Moderators"
May 9, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4035@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

As the use of checkgroups messages may already have shown, this is a
period for which the archives are demonstrably incomplete, and is also a
period for which the best documentation varies month by month.  My main
procedure for these months was to go through the List of Active
Newsgroups to identify the Big 7 groups, then go through the nearly
identical list in the inet-inclusive checkgroups to identify the inet
groups.  Yuck.  This particular date reflects a *much* more baroque
situation:  either by looking at the Changes posts' presentation of
last-modified dates, or by tracking Supersedes: headers (which had
finally started appearing on these lists), I established that there were
lists posted April 17, 1988, but that Google didn't have them.  Google
did have the *next* posting date's Changes posts, essentially diffs
between the April 17 and the subsequent May 9 lists.  So I did each step
of my data entry based on the May 9 lists, and then used the Changes
posts to work backward to the lists of April 17.  It will not shock me
at all if someone catches me in a mistake, here or in 1988 in general,
but I have used several methods to try to find them, so hope I'm not
perpetrating a completely useless post.

I considered, but rejected, the idea of doing the whole job, year after
year, with the Changes posts.  It would certainly have been quicker. 
But I believe they're actually *less* completely archived than the full
lists; they started later; and mainly, I wanted the backstop of being
able to verify exactly how a group had been represented, every time.  I
could still have tried to download the full set of Changes posts, but
frankly, life is too short (and online time shorter still).  Instead I
only downloaded those that filled gaps in the archival of the longer
lists.  It must be obvious, though, that anyone who wishes to check my
work could make a good start just by looking for the Changes posts I
didn't use, and comparing them to my results.

Meanwhile, perhaps it's worth noting that the only significant revision
the newsgroup creation guidelines written by Gene Spafford ever
underwent was dated April 14 of this year, although the oldest copy
actually archived at Google was posted May 9.  I detect no overall
message in the revision.

Added:  comp.binaries.apple2, comp.binaries.hypercard,
comp.sys.amiga.tech.

I suppose if I don't explicitly mention that comp.binaries.apple2 was
created unmoderated, someone will think I goofed in the summary below.

comp.hypercube and rec.humor.spc remained on the List of Moderators
despite their official nonexistence.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 106 to 108 unmoderated groups,
from 40 to 41 moderated groups, from 146 to 149 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, no change:  70 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated groups, 75
total.  In sci.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group,
19 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated
groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0
moderated groups, 11 total.  305 total (58 moderated, 247 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 28 April 1988)"
May 9, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4023@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 5 May 1988)"
May 9, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4025@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Checkgroups message (with INET groups)"
May 9, 1988
news.admin
Message-ID:  4038@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d, comp.org.usrgroup,
comp.protocols.iso.x400 (inet), comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway (inet).

Moderated in place:  comp.binaries.ibm.pc.

Removed:  comp.mail.mhs (inet), comp.mail.mhs.arpa (inet).

We have not, as of this set of lists, reached the days when changes
in the inet lists were actually announced; or if we have, the
announcement isn't archived.

comp.sys.apple is added to the list of gatewayed Big 7 groups.

comp.hypercube and rec.humor.spc remained on the List of Moderators
despite their official nonexistence.  comp.binaries.ibm.pc was omitted
from it despite being shown as moderated (once again) on both the List
of Active Newsgroups and the checkgroups; comp.protocols.iso.x400 and
comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway were also omitted from it despite being
shown, from this start, as moderated on the checkgroups.  (They were
renamings/moderations of comp.mail.mhs and comp.mail.mhs.arpa, to judge
by description lines.)

In the "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies" post, message-ID
4022@medusa.cs.purdue.edu, noteworthy additions to alt.*: 
alt.rock-n-roll, alt.sca, alt.sex.  Noteworthy newly-listed hierarchy: 
biz.*.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 108 to 109 unmoderated groups,
from 41 to 42 moderated groups, from 149 to 151 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, no change:  70 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated groups, 75
total.  In sci.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group,
19 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated
groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0
moderated groups, 11 total.  307 total (59 moderated, 248 unmoderated).

Summary for inet (beginning numbers inferred):  In comp.*, from 43 to 41
unmoderated groups, from 2 to 4 moderated groups, from 45 to 45 total. 
In news.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.
In rec.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group, 1 moderated group, 2 total. 
In sci.*, no change:  3 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 3 total.
In soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.
52 total (5 moderated, 47 unmoderated).

Overall summary (beginning numbers inferred):  In comp.*, from 151 to
150 unmoderated groups, from 43 to 46 moderated groups, from 194 to 196
total.  In misc.*, no change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated
groups, 17 total.  In news.*, no change:  10 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 14 total.  In rec.*, no change:  71 unmoderated
groups, 6 moderated groups, 77 total.  In sci.*, no change:  21
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total.  In soc.*, no change: 
18 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 22 total.  In talk.*, no
change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  359 total
(64 moderated, 295 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 15 May 1988)"
May 17, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4121@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 16 May 1988)"
May 17, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4123@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  sci.nanotech.

Unmoderated in place:  comp.os.os9.

comp.hypercube and rec.humor.spc remained on the List of Moderators
despite their official nonexistence.  comp.binaries.ibm.pc reappeared on
that list, having already been re-moderated according to the List of
Active Newsgroups.

In the "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies" post, message-ID
4120@medusa.cs.purdue.edu, noteworthy newly-listed hierarchy:  gnu.*.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 109 to 110 unmoderated groups,
from 42 to 41 moderated groups, from 151 to 151 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, no change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total. 
In rec.*, no change:  70 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated groups, 75
total.  In sci.*, from 18 to 18 unmoderated groups, from 1 to 2
moderated groups, from 19 to 20 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:
11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  308 total (59
moderated, 249 unmoderated).


"Changes to List of Active Newsgroups"
June 1, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4255@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 31 May 1988)"
June 1, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4250@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

You can probably infer my methods for this posting date from those I
described above for April 17.

The "Minix Information Sheet" began its life as a periodic posting
with a post by Glen Overby to comp.os.minix on May 27, 1988, with
message-ID <961@ndsuvax.UUCP>.  It had previously been posted by
Andy Tanenbaum, the original author both of it and of MINIX itself,
as "MINIX announcement, version 1.2; comments to me", February 23,
1988, message-ID <660@ast.cs.vu.nl>.  It is probably the oldest
surviving example of a comprehensive FAQ, with definitions, 
references, pointers to other net resources, a question-and-answer
format, and citation of material by other hands; without access to
the rec.arts.drwho materials, I can't say whether it's the oldest
such document *period*.

Added:  rec.autos.sport, rec.folk-dancing.

comp.hypercube and rec.humor.spc finally disappeared from this List of
Moderators, some months after their removal from the List of Active
Newsgroups. On the other hand... well, this is complicated.  The Lists
of Moderators, from very early and at least up to this time, actually
contained two lists.  The first gave moderators' names and contact
addresses; the second only gave posting submission addresses.  So.  The
new inet groups, comp.protocols.iso.x400 and
comp.protocols.x400.gateway, had previously not been on either list; as
of this List of Moderators, their submission addresses were on the
second list, but their moderators and contact addresses still did not
appear on the first.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, no change:  110 unmoderated groups,
41 moderated groups, 151 total.  In misc.*, no change:  14 unmoderated
groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In news.*, no change:  9
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total.  In rec.*, from 70 to
72 unmoderated groups, from 5 to 5 moderated groups, from 75 to 77
total.  In sci.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups,
20 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated
groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0
moderated groups, 11 total.  310 total (59 moderated, 251 unmoderated).


"Changes to List of Active Newsgroups"
July 27, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4553@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 26 July 1988)"
July 27, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4552@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 26 July 1988)"
July 27, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4538@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

The Supersedes: headers for this posting date tell a peculiar story. 
The new List of Active Newsgroups shown superseded one with Message-ID
4536@medusa..., which was not archived.  To judge by the Changes posting
archived, they had the same last-modified line, and the older one had
the removal of news.stargate, but the newer one incorporated the
addition of comp.society.women.  According to the Great Renaming FAQ
(both versions, but with considerably more detail in version 2), the
quasi-rogue creation of comp.society.women, which had passed its vote
but had been vetoed by Backbone admin Rick Adams, was the event that
finally broke the Backbone Cabal, although its complete dissolution
waited a few more months.  I haven't yet looked in Google's archives
(which are at their worst about this time) to see how well they support
this account.

Note that the newsgroup creation process document, with its explicit
references to the backbone admins' role and mailing list, was *not*
revised at this time.

Added:  comp.society.women.

Removed:  news.stargate.

On the list of gatewayed Big 7 newsgroups, unidirectional gateways were
added for comp.emacs and comp.lang.c++.  comp.emacs had already been
listed with a bidirectional gateway, which continued to be listed as
well.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 110 to 110 unmoderated groups,
from 41 to 42 moderated groups, from 151 to 152 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 17 total.  In
news.*, from 9 to 8 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 4 moderated groups,
from 13 to 12 total.  In rec.*, no change:  72 unmoderated groups, 5
moderated groups, 77 total.  In sci.*, no change:  18 unmoderated
groups, 2 moderated groups, 20 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:
11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  310 total (60
moderated, 250 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 7 August 1988)"
August 18, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4693@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 17 August 1988)"
August 18, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4695@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies (Updated: 17 August 1988)"
August 18, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4692@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

As of this posting date, the Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies post
finally began listing inet groups, allowing me to dispense with the
checkgroups posts (which are harder to use, since they require me to
compare two nearly identical lists).  Yay.  The normal format will now
include these three posts, often but not always, until they all fall
away in 1996.

In any event, the checkgroups aren't archived for mid-1988, so this is
the first available list of any kind to include inet since early May.

A welcome message for comp.dcom.telecom survives dated July 30, 1988,
with message-ID <456@vector.UUCP>.  I suspect but of course can't 
prove that this is its first posting.

There were several groups in comp.* where people talked about doing a
group-specific FAQ over the spring and summer of 1988, but the first
evidence of such a document actually having been posted is dated
August 17, and is the actual document, not just a reference to it;
this is Scot Wilcoxon's "Answers to Most Asked UNIX-PC Questions
(1st edition)", posted to comp.sys.att and unix-pc.general, with
message-ID <1439@datapg.MN.ORG>.  This was reposted September 10, 
with subject line "Answers to Common 3B1 Questions", and message-ID
<1709@datapg.MN.ORG>, and again October 3, "Answers to 3B1 Commonly
Asked Questions", <1917@datapg@MN.ORG>.  It settled in to a sustained
subject line, "Answers to UNIX PC Commonly Asked Questions", with the
following posting, and appeared four times as such, until March, 1989.

Added:  comp.lang.scheme.c (inet), comp.sources.x.

Removed:  misc.psi.

comp.protocols.iso.x400 and comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway were only
partly listed on this List of Moderators, as described under June 1
above.

comp.sources.unix and rec.equestrian are added to the list of gatewayed
Big 7 newsgroups.

Noteworthy additions to alt.*:  alt.slack; alt.sources.amiga, the first
third-level alt.* group listed.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 110 to 110 unmoderated groups,
from 42 to 43 moderated groups, from 152 to 153 total.  In misc.*, from
14 to 14 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 2 moderated groups, from 17 to 16
total.  In news.*, no change:  8 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups,
12 total.  In rec.*, no change:  72 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated
groups, 77 total.  In sci.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 2
moderated groups, 20 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated
groups, 4 moderated groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11
unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  310 total (60
moderated, 250 unmoderated).

Summary for inet (beginning numbers inferred):  In comp.*, from 41 to 42
unmoderated groups, from 4 to 4 moderated groups, from 45 to 46 total. 
In news.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.
In rec.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group, 1 moderated group, 2 total. 
In sci.*, no change:  3 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 3 total.
In soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.
53 total (5 moderated, 48 unmoderated).

Overall summary (beginning numbers inferred):  In comp.*, from 151 to
152 unmoderated groups, from 46 to 47 moderated groups, from 197 to 199
total.  In misc.*, from 14 to 14 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 2
moderated groups, from 17 to 16 total.  In news.*, no change:  9
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total.  In rec.*, no change: 
73 unmoderated groups, 6 moderated groups, 79 total.  In sci.*, no
change:  21 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 23 total.  In soc.*,
no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 22 total.  In
talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.
363 total (65 moderated, 298 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 7 August 1988)"
September 12, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4842@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 23 August 1988)"
September 12, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4844@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies (Updated: 11 September 1988)"
September 12, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  4841@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

No changes, except that the description lines for the alt.* newsgroups
were rewritten (by whom?) so they actually made the groups sound worth
reading.  (The previous ones tended to begin "Alternative discussion of
..." !)


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 11 September 1988)"
October 11, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5062@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 23 August 1988)"
October 11, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5064@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies (Updated: 10 October 1988)"
October 11, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5061@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

I'm well aware that the date shown in the subject line of this List of
Active Newsgroups suggests a posting between it and the one posted on
September 12.  No in-between posting is archived, however, and the
Supersedes: header confirms that there was none.

Google contains a post dated October 2 that says that Gene Spafford
had (at that time recently) shut down the Backbone mailing list.

The first *archived* reference to a sci.space FAQ dates to September 
17, 1988.  The reference in question comes from Henry Spencer, 
saying "Eugene [Miya, presumably], better put this one in your 
frequently-asked-questions compilation."  Message-ID
<1988Sep17.073035.29265@utzoo.uucp>; posted to sci.space.shuttle.
Google preserves several more posts by Spencer and by Dani Eder in
the following days with similar remarks, suggesting to me that in
fact the document had yet to be posted, and this was a brainstorm
about what it might contain when it appeared.  However, finally Miya 
posted an answer, September 22, post <1600@eos.UUCP>, which I find 
somewhat hard to parse, but if I'm reading it correctly, it indicates 
that the FAQ in question was already appearing monthly.  However,
several searches have failed to turn up any earlier references.

Meanwhile, welcome messages were spreading beyond the moderated 
comp.* groups where they'd originated.  In a post dated September
23, 1988, to news.admin, Charleen Bunjiovianna mentions that John
Haugh had been posting guidelines for misc.jobs.misc (other
sources indicate, actually for all of misc.jobs.*), and that she'd
used his text as a basis for similar posts to soc.men.  There is
corroborating evidence of both series of posts existing, but this
is the earliest sign of them, and gives no hint as to how long they'd
already been appearing.  See message-ID <5540@zodiac.UUCP>.

Added:  comp.protocols.nfs.

comp.protocols.iso.x400 and comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway were only
partly listed on this List of Moderators, as described under June 1
above.

In this Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies post, Eliot Lear is first
listed as running bionet.*.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 110 to 111 unmoderated groups,
from 43 to 43 moderated groups, from 153 to 154 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 16 total.  In
news.*, no change:  8 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 12 total. 
In rec.*, no change:  72 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated groups, 77
total.  In sci.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups,
20 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated
groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0
moderated groups, 11 total.  311 total (60 moderated, 251 unmoderated).

Summary for inet:  In comp.*, no change:  42 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 46 total.  In news.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, no change:  3 unmoderated groups,
0 moderated groups, 3 total.  In soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  53 total (5 moderated, 48 unmoderated).

Overall summary:  In comp.*, from 152 to 153 unmoderated groups, from 47
to 47 moderated groups, from 199 to 200 total.  In misc.*, no change: 
14 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 16 total.  In news.*, no
change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total.  In rec.*,
no change:  73 unmoderated groups, 6 moderated groups, 79 total.  In
sci.*, no change:  21 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 23 total. 
In soc.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 22
total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated
groups, 11 total.  364 total (65 moderated, 299 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 12 November 1988)"
November 12, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5402@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 9 November 1988)"
November 12, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5404@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies (Updated: 12 November 1988)"
November 12, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5401@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

The Great Renaming FAQ, version 2, says the last act of the Backbone
Cabal was to sanction the "rush creation" of comp.sys.next, which is
shown in these lists.  What I actually find in Google's archive is
a post from Gene Spafford that explicitly says that the Backbone 
mailing list no longer existed, but that he would poll some news
admins to find out whether the rogue creation should be recognised
in the lists.  This is dated by Google to October 20.

Although the acrimony over comp.society.women had helped dissolve its 
internal unity, the backbone had really been done in by new technology:  
most of Usenet's traffic by this time was on the Internet, whose leading 
lights didn't necessarily care about Usenet, and no longer used the 
UUCPnet the backbone admins controlled.  There was no user revolution, 
the newsgroup lists didn't show any immediate upheaval, and the document 
describing the newsgroup creation process continued to claim that the 
backbone admins could veto groups, for months to come; for all I know, 
this could even have been true.

Another comp.* moderator had begun posting a welcome message:  
T. William Wells in comp.archives, beginning with <115@twwells.uucp>
on October 24, 1988.

Added:  comp.sys.next, comp.windows.ms, rec.music.cd.

Removed:  comp.binaries.hypercard.

Mac partisan that I am, I can't resist noting that on this List of
Active Newsgroups, and several to follow, a blank line appeared after
comp.windows.ms, as if to quarantine Microsoft Windows off from real
windowing systems...  (When the blank line finally goes away, comp.virus
is added, un-alphabetically after comp.windows.*.  I figure the blank
line was removed at that point to reduce the distance between the
Microsoft Windows group and the virus one, but anything's possible, of
course.  :-)

comp.archives appeared on this List of Moderators, but not yet on this
List of Active Newsgroups (nor in the inet list), so is not counted in
the summary below.  comp.protocols.iso.x400 and
comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway were only partly listed on this List of
Moderators, as described under June 1 above.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 111 to 113 unmoderated groups,
from 43 to 42 moderated groups, from 154 to 155 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 16 total.  In
news.*, no change:  8 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 12 total. 
In rec.*, from 72 to 73 unmoderated groups, from 5 to 5 moderated
groups, from 77 to 78 total.  In sci.*, no change:  18 unmoderated
groups, 2 moderated groups, 20 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:
11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  313 total (59
moderated, 254 unmoderated).

Summary for inet:  In comp.*, no change:  42 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 46 total.  In news.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, no change:  3 unmoderated groups,
0 moderated groups, 3 total.  In soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  53 total (5 moderated, 48 unmoderated).

Overall summary:  In comp.*, from 153 to 155 unmoderated groups, from 47
to 46 moderated groups, from 200 to 201 total.  In misc.*, no change: 
14 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 16 total.  In news.*, no
change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total.  In rec.*,
from 73 to 74 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 6 moderated groups, from 79
to 80 total.  In sci.*, no change:  21 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated
groups, 23 total.  In soc.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 22 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated
groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  366 total (64 moderated, 302
unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 3 December 1988)"
December 3, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5578@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 20 November 1988)"
December 3, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5580@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies (Updated: 3 December 1988)"
December 3, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5577@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  comp.archives (which had already appeared on the previous List
of Moderators), comp.lang.sigplan.

comp.protocols.iso.x400 and comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway were only
partly listed on this List of Moderators, as described under June 1
above.

On the list of gatewayed Big 7 groups, the flag indicating that the
gateway might not work is removed from comp.sys.atari.8bit and
comp.sys.atari.st.

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 113 to 113 unmoderated groups,
from 42 to 44 moderated groups, from 155 to 157 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 16 total.  In
news.*, no change:  8 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 12 total. 
In rec.*, no change:  73 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated groups, 78
total.  In sci.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups,
20 total.  In soc.*, no change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated
groups, 21 total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0
moderated groups, 11 total.  315 total (61 moderated, 254 unmoderated).

Summary for inet:  In comp.*, no change:  42 unmoderated groups, 4
moderated groups, 46 total.  In news.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, no change:  3 unmoderated groups,
0 moderated groups, 3 total.  In soc.*, no change:  1 unmoderated group,
0 moderated groups, 1 total.  53 total (5 moderated, 48 unmoderated).

Overall summary:  In comp.*, from 155 to 155 unmoderated groups, from 46
to 48 moderated groups, from 201 to 203 total.  In misc.*, no change: 
14 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 16 total.  In news.*, no
change:  9 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total.  In rec.*,
no change:  74 unmoderated groups, 6 moderated groups, 80 total.  In
sci.*, no change:  21 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 23 total. 
In soc.*, no change:  18 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 22
total.  In talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated
groups, 11 total.  368 total (66 moderated, 302 unmoderated).


"List of Active Newsgroups (Updated: 30 December 1988)"
December 30, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5748@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"List of Moderators (Updated: 29 December 1988)"
December 30, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5715@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies (Updated: 29 December 1988)"
December 30, 1988
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers
Message-ID:  5712@medusa.cs.purdue.edu

Added:  comp.lang.eiffel, comp.org.ieee, rec.arts.misc, sci.military.

Removed:  comp.arch.parallel-sym (inet), comp.sys.ibm.pc.net (inet).

A poster asked about comp.sys.ibm.pc.net (but not 
comp.arch.parallel-sym) shortly after the previous posting run, and 
Spafford actually said that it could be rmgrouped, having died.
This is probably the first announcement of an impending change in
inet, no?

comp.protocols.iso.x400 and comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway were only
partly listed on this List of Moderators, as described under June 1
above.

comp.dcom.modems is added to the list of gatewayed Big 7 groups, as is
comp.text (but only with a unidirectional gateway).  Meanwhile, the
unidirectional gateways for comp.emacs and comp.lang.c++ are removed; so
is the flag indicating that the gateway of comp.sys.misc might not work.
Duplicate gateways are added for rec.ham-radio.packet, rec.ham-radio,
and rec.video, and none are flagged as possibly broken (as the
previously existing gateways for rec.ham-radio and rec.video still are).

Summary for the Big 7:  In comp.*, from 113 to 115 unmoderated groups,
from 44 to 44 moderated groups, from 157 to 159 total.  In misc.*, no
change:  14 unmoderated groups, 2 moderated groups, 16 total.  In
news.*, no change:  8 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 12 total. 
In rec.*, from 73 to 74 unmoderated groups, from 5 to 5 moderated
groups, from 78 to 79 total.  In sci.*, from 18 to 18 unmoderated
groups, from 2 to 3 moderated groups, from 20 to 21 total.  In soc.*, no
change:  17 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 21 total.  In
talk.*, no change:  11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.
319 total (62 moderated, 257 unmoderated).

Summary for inet:  In comp.*, from 42 to 40 unmoderated groups, from 4
to 4 moderated groups, from 46 to 44 total.  In news.*, no change:  1
unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.  In rec.*, no change:  1
unmoderated group, 1 moderated group, 2 total.  In sci.*, no change:  3
unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 3 total.  In soc.*, no change: 
1 unmoderated group, 0 moderated groups, 1 total.  51 total (5
moderated, 46 unmoderated).

Overall summary:  In comp.*, no net change:  155 unmoderated groups, 48
moderated groups, 203 total.  In misc.*, no change:  14 unmoderated
groups, 2 moderated groups, 16 total.  In news.*, no change:  9
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 13 total.  In rec.*, from 74 to
75 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 6 moderated groups, from 80 to 81
total.  In sci.*, from 21 to 21 unmoderated groups, from 2 to 3
moderated groups, from 23 to 24 total.  In soc.*, no change:  18
unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 22 total.  In talk.*, no change:
11 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 11 total.  370 total (67
moderated, 303 unmoderated).

This is the last newsgroup list/moderator list set known to me posted in
1988.  This is also the date of the last "Alternative Newsgroup
Hierarchies" of the year.  It includes 27 alt.* groups (only two of
which are at the third level; up from nine at year-end 1987), 22
bionet.* groups (up from sixteen), ten biz.* groups (new this year),
sixteen gnu.* groups (new), 51 inet groups (new), seven pubnet.* groups
(new), and five unix-pc.* groups (up from four), for a total of 138.


Annual summary:  IN THE BIG SEVEN:  In comp.*, from 96 to 115
unmoderated groups, from 43 to 44 moderated groups, from 139 to 159
total.  In misc.*, from 14 to 14 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 2
moderated groups, from 17 to 16 total.  In news.*, from 9 to 8
unmoderated groups, from 4 to 4 moderated groups, from 13 to 12 total. 
In rec.*, from 68 to 74 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 5 moderated
groups, from 75 to 79 total.  In sci.*, from 16 to 18 unmoderated
groups, from 1 to 3 moderated groups, from 17 to 21 total.  In soc.*,
from 16 to 17 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 4 moderated groups, from 20
to 21 total.  In talk.*, from 10 to 11 unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0
moderated groups, from 10 to 11 total.  Total, from 229 to 257
unmoderated groups, from 62 to 62 moderated groups, from 291 to 319
total.

IN INET:  In comp.*, from 43 to 40 unmoderated groups, from 2 to 4
moderated groups, from 45 to 44 total.  In news.*, from 1 to 1
unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 1 to 1 total.  In
rec.*, from 1 to 1 unmoderated group, from 1 to 1 moderated group, from
2 to 2 total.  In sci.*, from 4 to 3 unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0
moderated groups, from 4 to 3 total.  In soc.*, from 1 to 1 unmoderated
group, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 1 to 1 total.  Total, from 50
to 46 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 5 moderated groups, from 53 to 51
total.

OVER ALL:  In comp.*, from 139 to 155 unmoderated groups, from 45 to 48
moderated groups, from 184 to 203 total.  In misc.*, from 14 to 14
unmoderated groups, from 3 to 2 moderated groups, from 17 to 16 total. 
In news.*, from 10 to 9 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 4 moderated
groups, from 14 to 13 total.  In rec.*, from 69 to 75 unmoderated
groups, from 8 to 6 moderated groups, from 77 to 81 total.  In sci.*,
from 20 to 21 unmoderated groups, from 1 to 3 moderated groups, from 21
to 24 total.  In soc.*, from 17 to 18 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 4
moderated groups, from 21 to 22 total.  In talk.*, from 10 to 11
unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 10 to 11 total. 
Total, from 279 to 303 unmoderated groups, from 65 to 67 moderated
groups, from 344 to 370 total.