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>. As you will see, 1992 was the year re-orgs ("reorganisations" that split groups) became a major force behind changes in the lists of groups in the Big 8. It didn't actually have to be this way; the tremendous growth in alt.* didn't result from re-orgs, and there are numerous second- and third-level groups created in 1992 which look head-smackingly obvious in hindsight. As best I can tell, by sheer numbers, re-orgs produced only a third of the total change in the list of newgroups in 1992. But all the same, the year's theme, in the Big 8, was undoubtedly re-org. This predictably means that comp.* revived from the doldrums it had been in during 1991; although not due to re-orgs, sci.* also grew rapidly. So did rec.*, but the other major growth centre of 1991, soc.*, slowed down. Meanwhile alt.* came much closer than before to the form I've known it in (alt.* didn't exist yet when I was on Usenet in the 1980s). Even Gene Spafford's lists, reflecting a relatively conservative take on the hierarchy, show numerous joke groups (including the most famous of these, alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork); at the same time, and rather more stressed in my selective treatment of the hierarchy below, the hierarchy's set of serious groups grew significantly and filled some notable gaps. The "NetNews on CD" series is the main source for Google's archives of 1992. This means the international hierarchies are covered, as they weren't (for the most part) in the Toronto archives. Google doesn't say how well the archives obtained from Jurgen Christoffel cover the international hierarchies, and I haven't investigated. I can't be sure, but it's my *impression* that Christoffel's archives have holes in them, as Toronto's certainly did in the later years; this may, therefore, be the first year since perhaps 1985 or so for which the archives are anywhere near complete for the groups they do cover. At any rate, whether or not this is the first year in which the international hierarchies are well archived, it's not a year in which they're well tracked. David Lawrence did briefly extend his summaries of new groups to those hierarchies, but found it too difficult to maintain this; and the "Regional Newsgroup Hierarchies" post stopped changing, and then stopped appearing at all, in 1992. Joe Bernstein Lists of Newsgroups Posted in 1992 GENE SPAFFORD "Checkgroups message (without INET groups)" February 24, 1992 news.admin,news.announce.newgroups Message-ID: spaf-ckgrp_698911946@cs.purdue.edu "List of Moderators" February 24, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-moderate_698911867@cs.purdue.edu "Changes to Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I" February 24, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.misc,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-c_altgroups_692072066@cs.purdue.edu "Changes to Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II" February 24, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.misc,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-c_altgroups2_698911927@cs.purdue.edu In this set of lists, the inet-included total of groups passed 700, and the inet-included total of *moderated* groups passed 100. Beginning January 21, the regular news.announce.newgroups posting "Current Status of Votes on Newsgroups" includes a list of groups for which RFDs (no longer CFDs) had been posted in the past thirty days. This fills one of the two major gaps the news.announce.newgroups regular postings had previously had, as full records of nan activity. Added: comp.apps.spreadsheets, comp.databases.ingres, comp.databases.oracle, comp.dcom.lans.ethernet, comp.dcom.lans.fddi, comp.dcom.lans.misc, comp.infosystems.gis, comp.internet.library, comp.lang.tcl, comp.lang.verilog, comp.os.vxworks, comp.sys.mac.databases, comp.sys.mentor, comp.sys.pen, comp.sys.sun.admin, comp.sys.sun.announce, comp.sys.sun.apps, comp.sys.sun.hardware, comp.sys.sun.misc, comp.sys.sun.wanted, comp.sys.unisys, comp.text.interleaf, comp.windows.x.pex, rec.antiques, rec.arts.startrek.current, rec.arts.startrek.fandom, rec.arts.startrek.misc, rec.arts.startrek.tech, rec.games.cyber, rec.humor.oracle, rec.humor.oracle.d, rec.models.railroad, rec.motorcycles.dirt, rec.motorcycles.racing, rec.music.indian.classical, rec.music.indian.misc, rec.skate, rec.sport.cricket.scores, rec.sport.hockey.field, sci.astro.hubble, sci.engr.biomed, sci.materials, sci.space.news, soc.culture.brazil, soc.culture.bulgaria, soc.culture.netherlands, soc.culture.romanian. Removed: comp.sys.sun, rec.arts.sf-lovers. Unmoderated in place: comp.protocols.iso.x400 (inet). comp.org.eff.news, comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway, and comp.security.announce were only partly listed on this List of Moderators, as described under June 1, 1988. comp.sys.sun, on the other hand, was fully listed on this List of Moderators despite its removal from the official list; the removal is reflected in the summary below. comp.protocols.iso.x400, entirely omitted from this List of Moderators, had never, in fact, been fully listed. Noteworthy additions to alt.*: alt.astrology; alt.binaries.pictures.{erotica{|.male|.female}|misc|tasteless}, replacing alt.sex.pictures.* and alt.binaries.pictures; alt.binaries.sounds.{d|erotica|misc}; alt.devilbunnies; alt.drugs.usenet, the first alt.drugs.* subgroup; alt.education.{distance|disabled}, beginning that sub-hierarchy; alt.ensign.wesley.die.die.die, alt.french.captain.borg.borg.borg, alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork, and a number of less conforming knock-offs; a bunch of new alt.fan.* groups; alt.flame.psu, the second alt.flame.* group listed; alt.gopher; alt.irc.recovery and alt.usenet.recovery (the first subgroups in those sub-hierarchies, though that's not the main reason I mention them); alt.os.linux; alt.politics.correct, the second alt.politics.* group listed; alt.religion.kibology; a bunch of new alt.sex.* groups. Also, alt.books.technical, alt.humor.oracle, and alt.tennis are delisted, presumably reflecting the creation of relevant Big 7 groups. My, such a busy hierarchy... This "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies" post also showed Eliot Lear's retirement as head of bionet.*, to be replaced by David Kristofferson. He appears, however, to have continued running ba.*. Bruce Becker's alt.* lists dated January 2 and February 12, 1992 had subject line 'A listing of "alt" newsgroups'. Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 219 to 240 unmoderated groups, from 54 to 55 moderated groups, from 273 to 295 total. In misc.*, no change: 25 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 29 total. In news.*, no change: 13 unmoderated groups, 7 moderated groups, 20 total. In rec.*, from 154 to 166 unmoderated groups, from 13 to 16 moderated groups, from 167 to 182 total. In sci.*, from 35 to 37 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 8 moderated groups, from 41 to 45 total. In soc.*, from 60 to 64 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 6 moderated groups, from 66 to 70 total. In talk.*, no change: 17 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 17 total. 658 total (96 moderated, 562 unmoderated). Summary for inet: In comp.*, from 44 to 45 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 6 moderated groups, from 51 to 51 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. 58 total (7 moderated, 51 unmoderated). Overall summary: In comp.*, from 263 to 285 unmoderated groups, from 61 to 61 moderated groups, from 324 to 346 total. In misc.*, no change: 25 unmoderated groups, 4 moderated groups, 29 total. In news.*, no change: 14 unmoderated groups, 7 moderated groups, 21 total. In rec.*, from 155 to 167 unmoderated groups, from 14 to 17 moderated groups, from 169 to 184 total. In sci.*, from 38 to 40 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 8 moderated groups, from 44 to 48 total. In soc.*, from 61 to 65 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 6 moderated groups, from 67 to 71 total. In talk.*, no change: 17 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 17 total. 716 total (103 moderated, 613 unmoderated). "List of Active Newsgroups" May 12, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active_705647149@cs.purdue.edu "List of Moderators" May 12, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-moderate_705647151@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I" May 6, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups_705196262@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II" May 6, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups2_705196264@cs.purdue.edu I have ignored the six-day gap and treated these as being all part of the same posting run. For what it's worth, making that assumption, there are no changes in the inet groups anyway. In this set of lists, unsurprisingly, the Big 7 reached the same pair of marks (700 groups, 100 moderated groups) that the inet-included total had passed last time. The groups added are also an excellent example of what I meant in the summary up top when I mentioned groups whose creation this late in Usenet's history seems surprising: comp.programming, comp.unix.bsd, rec.arts.sf.starwars, rec.scouting, rec.sport.paintball, rec.sport.swimming, sci.classics. (Perhaps I should explain. I have always understood paintball to be a relatively geekish sport, perhaps because it was popular among the wargamers I knew when I was a child; and classics was, alongside French literature, the first of the humanities to embrace computers as a tool in a major, well-publicised, way. At which I pause to note that Usenet *still* has no English-language group concerned specifically with French literature...) Note also the groups whose creation points to changes underway: comp.infosystems.wais, comp.os.linux, comp.os.ms-windows.*; perhaps this is really where rec.arts.sf.starwars belongs too? (I've been told that the Star Wars franchise had become relatively somnolent, from a *commercial* point of view, until the release of Timothy Zahn's first Star Wars novel, which began the semi-regular stream of such books since, in mid-1991.) On a different note, this is the first set of lists since October, 1990 to show no new soc.culture.* group. Beginning March 9, the regular news.announce.newgroups posting "Current Status of Votes on Newsgroups" includes a list of votes that had closed but whose results had not yet been posted. Beginning April 27, it's rearranged to put RFDs first, then votes in progress, then results not yet posted, and given the subject line "Current Status of USENET Newsgroup Proposals". The April 13 "New Groups Summary" includes for the first time a new group from a hierarchy not included in the "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies" posting: de.soc.recht. It's introduced with the same text previously used to introduce vmsnet.* or inet changes, except that in place of "alternate hierarchies" we read "alternate regional hierarchies". In the April 23 posting, two sfnet.* groups appear as well, and the table is rearranged to include description lines. In the May 5 posting, a significant number of additional groups appear, including a bit.* group and a clari.* group; thus at this point, the "alternate hierarchies" of old have in fact become "alternate regional hierarchies". (The same May 5 posting *also* includes an announcement of the abg.* hierarchy for Augsburg, Germany. However, no further new- hierarchy announcements appear between that date and September 21, on whose postings of this kind see below under the October 19 set of lists.) Added: comp.arch.storage, comp.bbs.waffle, comp.databases.theory, comp.dcom.cell-relay, comp.infosystems.wais, comp.os.linux, comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy, comp.os.ms-windows.announce, comp.os.ms-windows.apps, comp.os.ms-windows.misc, comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc, comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools, comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32, comp.os.ms-windows.setup, comp.os.msdos.pcgeos, comp.os.os2.advocacy, comp.os.os2.networking, comp.programming, comp.society.privacy, comp.sys.next.advocacy, comp.sys.next.hardware, comp.sys.next.marketplace, comp.sys.next.software, comp.unix.bsd, comp.windows.x.apps, rec.arts.comics.strips, rec.arts.sf.starwars, rec.audio.pro, reg.games.netrek, rec.games.xtank.play, rec.games.xtank.programmer, rec.music.info, rec.music.marketplace, rec.music.phish, rec.org.mensa, rec.puzzles.crosswords, rec.radio.broadcasting, rec.scouting, rec.sport.baseball.college, rec.sport.football.australian, rec.sport.paintball, rec.sport.swimming, rec.travel.air, rec.video.production, sci.astro.fits, sci.classics, sci.comp-aided, sci.engr.civil, sci.systems, soc.libraries.talk, soc.religion.bahai. Removed: comp.dcom.lans, misc.security, rec.arts.startrek. comp.org.eff.news, comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway, and comp.security.announce were only partly listed on this List of Moderators, as described under June 1, 1988. comp.sys.sun, on the other hand, was removed from that list, as it had been from the List of Active Newsgroups the previous time. comp.society.privacy and rec.music.phish are added to the list of gatewayed Big 7 groups. Several other additions may have been done in the previous listing (which I don't have), or may in fact be new in this one: comp.databases.ingres, comp.mail.mh, comp.sys.sun.announce (replacing comp.sys.sun), comp.text.tex (an additional unidirectional gateway to go with the one it already had), and rec.arts.sf.misc (replacing rec.arts.sf-lovers, but with a notation that the gateway might not work). Noteworthy additions to alt.*: um, well, actually, I don't think any of the additions this time *are* noteworthy. Small wonder, after the massive expansion shown in the last set of lists... Bruce Becker's list of alt.* groups posted March 10, 1992 had subject line 'A listing of "alt" newsgroups'. The April 6 posting had subject line 'Yet another listing of "alt" newsgroups'. The May 9 one (which Google presents as dated May 11) has subject line 'Another listing of newsgroups in the "alt" hierarchy'. Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 240 to 262 unmoderated groups, from 55 to 57 moderated groups, from 295 to 319 total. In misc.*, from 25 to 25 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 3 moderated groups, from 29 to 28 total. In news.*, no change: 13 unmoderated groups, 7 moderated groups, 20 total. In rec.*, from 166 to 182 unmoderated groups, from 16 to 18 moderated groups, from 182 to 200 total. In sci.*, from 37 to 42 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 45 to 50 total. In soc.*, from 64 to 65 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 7 moderated groups, from 70 to 72 total. In talk.*, no change: 17 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 17 total. 706 total (100 moderated, 606 unmoderated). Summary for inet: In comp.*, no change: 45 unmoderated groups, 6 moderated groups, 51 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. 58 total (7 moderated, 51 unmoderated). Overall summary: In comp.*, from 285 to 307 unmoderated groups, from 61 to 63 moderated groups, from 346 to 370 total. In misc.*, from 25 to 25 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 3 moderated groups, from 29 to 28 total. In news.*, no change: 14 unmoderated groups, 7 moderated groups, 21 total. In rec.*, from 167 to 183 unmoderated groups, from 17 to 19 moderated groups, from 184 to 202 total. In sci.*, from 40 to 45 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 48 to 53 total. In soc.*, from 65 to 66 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 7 moderated groups, from 71 to 73 total. In talk.*, no change: 17 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 17 total. 764 total (107 moderated, 657 unmoderated). "List of Active Newsgroups, Part I" July 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active_711614931@cs.purdue.edu "List of Active Newsgroups, Part II" July 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active2_711614933@cs.purdue.edu "List of Moderators" July 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-moderate_711614955@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I" July 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups_711614936@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II" July 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups2_711614940@cs.purdue.edu And with these lists, the inet-included total of groups passes 800... The "New Groups Summary" for May 26 announces a forthcoming rmgroup for soc.culture.indian.american, "having failed its revote". I cannot figure out what this means, but I do note that a CFV for soc.culture.native.american (which was the outcome of an RFD for soc.culture.amerindian) was reported to have passed 141:40, but then found to include three duplicate votes and omit one vote, with the ultimate result 139:40. Rich Salz posted on June 15 on recent Usenix discussions of the fate of the inet distribution: message-ID <1992Jun15.165116.16964@osf.org>. The thread is the largest single discussion of the distribution to that date, and probably ever. The measures described by Salz in his post demonstrably were not carried out. For the thread, see . Added: comp.bbs.misc, comp.cad.cadence, comp.compression.research, comp.dcom.isdn, comp.dcom.servers, comp.graphics.explorer, comp.os.msdos.4dos (inet), comp.security.misc, comp.soft-sys.nextstep (inet), comp.sys.ibm.pc.games, comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard, comp.unix.solaris (inet), comp.windows.x.intrinsics, misc.invest.real-estate, rec.arts.comics.info, rec.arts.comics.misc, rec.arts.comics.xbooks, rec.arts.manga, rec.games.frp.advocacy, rec.games.frp.announce, rec.games.frp.archives, rec.games.frp.dnd, rec.games.frp.marketplace, rec.games.frp.misc, rec.games.mud.admin, rec.games.mud.announce, rec.games.mud.diku, rec.games.mud.misc, rec.games.mud.tiny, rec.sport.baseball.fantasy, rec.sport.olympics, sci.anthropology, sci.cognitive, sci.cryonics, sci.engr.mech, sci.image.processing, sci.research.careers, soc.culture.czecho-slovak, soc.culture.tamil, soc.penpals, talk.politics.china. None of the news.announce.newgroups postings related to soc.culture.czecho-slovak acknowledged the existence of trial.soc.culture.czechoslovak or were cross-posted to that group; one news.groups poster mentioned it during discussion, and a couple of posts about the result were cross-posted to it. The three new inet groups were announced June 5 by Michael C. Berch, with Erik Fair's approval: . This is what launched the substantial thread referred to above, which conveys the (probably inaccurate) impression that inet at that time was run primarily by Fair, but also by Berch and Eliot Lear. (In reality, the picture I get from the posts of this period is that Fair had pretty much dropped Usenet from his interests. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Berch were running the show, probably with Lear's assistance, and with Fair signing off on what they proposed.) comp.org.eff.news, comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway, and comp.security.announce were only partly listed on this List of Moderators, as described under June 1, 1988. comp.emacs, on the list of gatewayed Big 7 groups, is now listed with only one, bidirectional, gateway; the two unidirectional gateways previously shown no longer appear. Noteworthy additions to alt.*: alt.best.of.internet; alt.binaries.pictures.fine-art.{d|graphics|digitizes}, all moderated; alt.cascade; alt.culture.{tamil|tuva}, the second and third groups in their sub-hierarchy (I ignored alt.culture.electric-midget, the first, a list or two further back); alt.fan.shostakovich and alt.fan.tom-robbins, arguably the first alt.fan.* groups for high culture; all at once, seriously, alt.music.{alternative|enya|filk|progressive|rush|the.police}; alt.newbie ("Alt's answer to news.newusers.*"); alt.polyamory; alt.silly.group.names.d ("Eponymy"), the inevitable recursion of the most obvious feature of alt.* group creation in 1992. Also, this is the first list in years that didn't list both alt.emusic and alt.exotic-music, with a footnote saying these groups were aliased together at many sites; interestingly, it was the group with the clearer name, alt.exotic-music, that was delisted. Bruce Becker's alt.* list posted June 5, 1992 had subject line 'Another listing of "alt" newsgroups'. The posting of July 7 had what became the list's lasting subject line, 'Another listing of newsgroups in the "alt" Usenet hierarchy'. The "Regional Newsgroup Hierarchies" post appeared for the last time in this posting run; it hadn't been modified since the previous November anyway. Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 262 to 272 unmoderated groups, from 57 to 57 moderated groups, from 319 to 329 total. In misc.*, from 25 to 26 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 3 moderated groups, from 28 to 29 total. In news.*, no change: 13 unmoderated groups, 7 moderated groups, 20 total. In rec.*, from 182 to 195 unmoderated groups, from 18 to 22 moderated groups, from 200 to 217 total. In sci.*, from 42 to 48 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 50 to 56 total. In soc.*, from 65 to 68 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 7 moderated groups, from 72 to 75 total. In talk.*, from 17 to 18 unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 17 to 18 total. 744 total (104 moderated, 640 unmoderated). Summary for inet: In comp.*, from 45 to 48 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 6 moderated groups, from 51 to 54 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. 61 total (7 moderated, 54 unmoderated). Overall summary: In comp.*, from 307 to 320 unmoderated groups, from 63 to 63 moderated groups, from 370 to 383 total. In misc.*, from 25 to 26 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 3 moderated groups, from 28 to 29 total. In news.*, no change: 14 unmoderated groups, 7 moderated groups, 21 total. In rec.*, from 183 to 196 unmoderated groups, from 19 to 23 moderated groups, from 202 to 219 total. In sci.*, from 45 to 51 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 53 to 59 total. In soc.*, from 66 to 69 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 7 moderated groups, from 73 to 76 total. In talk.*, from 17 to 18 unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 17 to 18 total. 805 total (111 moderated, 694 unmoderated). "List of Active Newsgroups, Part I" September 4, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active_715578732@cs.purdue.edu "List of Active Newsgroups, Part II" September 4, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active2_715578734@cs.purdue.edu "List of Moderators for Usenet" September 4, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-moderate_715578989@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I" September 4, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups_715578736@cs.purdue.edu The lack of Part II of the Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies list means that the inet list cannot be updated; this appears to be the first set of lists since 1988 in which the list of inet groups doesn't survive. However, the changes in the inet list shown in the next posting run are almost certainly attributable to that date alone, so inet probably didn't actually see any changes between July 20 and September 4 anyway. Added: comp.databases.sybase, comp.infosystems.gopher, comp.lang.logo, comp.society.cu-digest, comp.software.licensing, comp.sources.testers, comp.sys.acorn.advocacy, comp.sys.acorn.announce, comp.sys.acorn.tech, comp.windows.garnet, misc.jobs.offered.entry, news.admin.misc, news.admin.policy, news.admin.technical, rec.bicycles.marketplace, rec.bicycles.misc, rec.bicycles.racing, rec.bicycles.rides, rec.bicycles.soc, rec.bicycles.tech, rec.food.historic, rec.food.sourdough, rec.motorcycles.harley, rec.music.compose, rec.outdoors.fishing, sci.med.nutrition, sci.med.occupational, soc.culture.indian.telugu. Removed: comp.windows.ms, comp.windows.ms.programmer, rec.games.frp. comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway and comp.security.announce were only partly listed on this List of Moderators for Usenet, as described (in re a post titled List of Moderators) under June 1, 1988. However, comp.org.eff.news was fully listed, for the first time. Noteworthy additions to alt.*: alt.chinese.text ("Postings in Chinese"); alt.culture.usenet; alt.support.{cancer|diet}, the first subgroups in their sub-hierarchy; a bunch of alt.uu.* groups for a "Usenet University"; alt.zines. Bruce Becker's only list between this posting run and the previous one appeared August 7, 1992, with subject line 'Another listing of newsgroups in the "alt" Usenet hierarchy'. Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 272 to 278 unmoderated groups, from 57 to 59 moderated groups, from 329 to 337 total. In misc.*, from 26 to 27 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 3 moderated groups, from 29 to 30 total. In news.*, from 13 to 15 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 8 moderated groups, from 20 to 23 total. In rec.*, from 195 to 205 unmoderated groups, from 22 to 22 moderated groups, from 217 to 227 total. In sci.*, from 48 to 50 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 56 to 58 total. In soc.*, from 68 to 69 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 7 moderated groups, from 75 to 76 total. In talk.*, no change: 18 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 18 total. 769 total (107 moderated, 662 unmoderated). "List of Active Newsgroups, Part I" September 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active_716962655@cs.purdue.edu "List of Active Newsgroups, Part II" September 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active2_716962657@cs.purdue.edu "List of Moderators for Usenet" September 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-moderate_716962665@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I" September 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups_716962660@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II" September 20, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups2_716962661@cs.purdue.edu Added: comp.graphics.animation, comp.sys.mac.advocacy, rec.heraldry, sci.engr.control, sci.fractals, soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna. Added by promotion from inet: comp.org.eff.news, comp.org.eff.talk. Removed: rec.games.mud. comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway and comp.security.announce were only partly listed on this List of Moderators for Usenet, as described (in re a post titled List of Moderators) under June 1, 1988. Noteworthy addition to alt.*: alt.hindu (moderated, and notably *not* placed in alt.religion.* along with emacs, Kibology, and Scientology...). Bruce Becker posted a list September 7, 1992, with subject line 'Another listing of newsgroups in the "alt" Usenet hierarchy'. Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 278 to 281 unmoderated groups, from 59 to 60 moderated groups, from 337 to 341 total. In misc.*, no change: 27 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 30 total. In news.*, no change: 15 unmoderated groups, 8 moderated groups, 23 total. In rec.*, no net change: 205 unmoderated groups, 22 moderated groups, 227 total. In sci.*, from 50 to 52 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 58 to 60 total. In soc.*, from 69 to 70 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 7 moderated groups, from 76 to 77 total. In talk.*, no change: 18 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 18 total. 776 total (108 moderated, 668 unmoderated). Summary for inet (beginning numbers inferred): In comp.*, from 48 to 47 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 5 moderated groups, from 54 to 52 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. 59 total (6 moderated, 53 unmoderated). Overall summary (beginning numbers inferred): In comp.*, from 326 to 328 unmoderated groups, from 65 to 65 moderated groups, from 391 to 393 total. In misc.*, no change: 27 unmoderated groups, 3 moderated groups, 30 total. In news.*, no change: 16 unmoderated groups, 8 moderated groups, 24 total. In rec.*, no net change: 206 unmoderated groups, 23 moderated groups, 229 total. In sci.*, from 53 to 55 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 61 to 63 total. In soc.*, from 70 to 71 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 7 moderated groups, from 77 to 78 total. In talk.*, no change: 18 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 18 total. 835 total (114 moderated, 721 unmoderated). "List of Active Newsgroups, Part I" October 19, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active_719471688@cs.purdue.edu "List of Active Newsgroups, Part II" October 19, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-active2_719471694@cs.purdue.edu "List of Moderators for Usenet" October 19, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-moderate_719471717@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I" October 19, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups_719471699@cs.purdue.edu "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II" October 19, 1992 news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers Message-ID: spaf-altgroups2_719471705@cs.purdue.edu In this set of lists, the Big 7 grew past 800 groups. The "New Groups Summary" posting was split in two on my twenty-fifth birthday, September 21, 1992: "New USENET Groups" and "New Groups in Alternate and Regional Hierarchies". The format was considerably condensed, making the posts, in my opinion, rather harder to read; but probably easier to handle. The alternate/regional post then explicitly said that its data source was control messages received at UUNET (then tale's employer), although it also explicitly said UUNET didn't necessarily carry the resulting groups; finally, "It does not indicate new hierarchies that UUNET is carrying, just new groups created within existing hierarchies." This last would appear to rule out further announcements of new hierarchies such as the announcement of abg.* on May 5, but I'm not altogether sure I understand it correctly. The October 8 "New USENET Groups" post includes a note that sci.virtual-worlds.apps was being revoted because "the running total was divulged before the close of the vote". (Interestingly, in the revote it got more than twice as many YES votes as the first time around.) Added: comp.client-server, comp.graphics.gnuplot, comp.graphics.opengl, comp.speech, comp.sys.apple2.gno, comp.sys.stratus, comp.unix.dos-under-unix, comp.unix.osf.misc, comp.unix.osf.osf1, comp.unix.pc-clone.16bit, comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit, comp.unix.sys3, comp.unix.sys5.misc, comp.unix.sys5.r3, comp.unix.sys5.r4, misc.forsale.computers.d, misc.forsale.computers.mac, misc.forsale.computers.other, misc.forsale.computers.pc-clone, misc.forsale.computers.workstation, rec.aviation.announce, rec.aviation.answers, rec.aviation.homebuilt, rec.aviation.ifr, rec.aviation.military, rec.aviation.misc, rec.aviation.owning, rec.aviation.piloting, rec.aviation.products, rec.aviation.simulators, rec.aviation.soaring, rec.aviation.stories, rec.aviation.student, rec.games.int-fiction, rec.models.scale. Removed: rec.arts.comics, rec.aviation. comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway and comp.security.announce were only partly listed on this List of Moderators for Usenet, as described (in re a post titled List of Moderators) under June 1, 1988. Noteworthy addition to alt.*: alt.culture.kerala, showing that the precedent of ac.tamil and ac.tuva would in fact be continued. Bruce Becker posted a list October 5, 1992 with subject line 'Another listing of newsgroups in the "alt" Usenet hierarchy'. Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 281 to 296 unmoderated groups, from 60 to 60 moderated groups, from 341 to 356 total. In misc.*, from 27 to 32 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 3 moderated groups, from 30 to 35 total. In news.*, no change: 15 unmoderated groups, 8 moderated groups, 23 total. In rec.*, from 205 to 215 unmoderated groups, from 22 to 25 moderated groups, from 227 to 240 total. In sci.*, no change: 52 unmoderated groups, 8 moderated groups, 60 total. In soc.*, no change: 70 unmoderated groups, 7 moderated groups, 77 total. In talk.*, no change: 18 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 18 total. 809 total (111 moderated, 698 unmoderated). Summary for inet: In comp.*, no change: 47 unmoderated groups, 5 moderated groups, 52 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. 59 total (6 moderated, 53 unmoderated). Overall summary: In comp.*, from 328 to 343 unmoderated groups, from 65 to 65 moderated groups, from 393 to 408 total. In misc.*, from 27 to 32 unmoderated groups, from 3 to 3 moderated groups, from 30 to 35 total. In news.*, no change: 16 unmoderated groups, 8 moderated groups, 24 total. In rec.*, from 206 to 216 unmoderated groups, from 23 to 26 moderated groups, from 229 to 242 total. In sci.*, no change: 55 unmoderated groups, 8 moderated groups, 63 total. In soc.*, no change: 71 unmoderated groups, 7 moderated groups, 78 total. In talk.*, no change: 18 unmoderated groups, 0 moderated groups, 18 total. 868 total (117 moderated, 751 unmoderated). This is the last newsgroup list/moderator list set known to me posted in 1992. This is also the date of the last "Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies" of the year. It includes 420 alt.* groups (up from 177 at year-end 1991), 32 bionet.* groups (up from 24), 168 bit.* groups (up from 145), 23 biz.* groups (up from nineteen), 217 clari.* groups (up from 155), 28 gnu.* groups (unchanged), twelve ieee.* groups (up from eleven), 59 inet groups (up from 58), two ddn.* groups (unchanged), 21 k12.* groups (unchanged), five u3b.* groups (unchanged), and 29 vmsnet.* groups (up from 25), for a total of 1016 (up from 670). The "alternative" hierarchies thus moved from approximate equality with the Big 7 (ahead or behind depending on which category you put inet into) to a solid lead in total newsgroups; I haven't checked yet, but I'll be flabbergasted if I find any set of lists later than 1992 in which the Big 7, with or without inet, pull ahead again. Bruce Becker's lists dated October 5 and November 7, 1992 claimed, respectively, 609 and 659 live groups, and 218 and 225 aliases, in alt.*, as opposed to 330 live groups and 103 aliases at the end of 1991. This makes it appear that the growth of alt.* in Gene Spafford's list was at least partly a result of recognising groups created earlier, and not solely 1992 creations. This is, by a fair margin, the earliest date thus far for the last list set of the year. Thus the annual summary below is more than usually a summary of the *lists* of the year, and not a statement about the condition of the relevant hierarchies as of midnight, December 31, 1992, in the time zone of your choice. It is wise, in any event, to remember what's noted in the introductory post mentioned at the top of this one: this series of posts only relates tangentially to reality; its main concern is with the data provided by quasi-official lists of newsgroups. On December 1, 1992, David Lawrence instituted the third of the set of regular news.announce.newgroups postings, "Bogus USENET Groups". On November 23, he announced that he would discontinue the series of "New Groups in Alternate and Regional Hierarchies" posts. I'll deal with these matters in more detail in the 1993 post. Annual summary: IN THE BIG SEVEN: In comp.*, from 219 to 296 unmoderated groups, from 54 to 60 moderated groups, from 273 to 356 total. In misc.*, from 25 to 32 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 3 moderated groups, from 29 to 35 total. In news.*, from 13 to 15 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 8 moderated groups, from 20 to 23 total. In rec.*, from 154 to 215 unmoderated groups, from 13 to 25 moderated groups, from 167 to 240 total. In sci.*, from 35 to 52 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 8 moderated groups, from 41 to 60 total. In soc.*, from 60 to 70 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 7 moderated groups, from 66 to 77 total. In talk.*, from 17 to 18 unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 17 to 18 total. Total, from 523 to 698 unmoderated groups, from 90 to 111 moderated groups, from 613 to 809 total. IN INET: In comp.*, from 44 to 47 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 5 moderated groups, from 51 to 52 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. Total, from 50 to 53 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 6 moderated groups, from 58 to 59 total. OVER ALL: In comp.*, from 263 to 343 unmoderated groups, from 61 to 65 moderated groups, from 324 to 408 total. In misc.*, from 25 to 32 unmoderated groups, from 4 to 3 moderated groups, from 29 to 35 total. In news.*, from 14 to 16 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 8 moderated groups, from 21 to 24 total. In rec.*, from 155 to 216 unmoderated groups, from 14 to 26 moderated groups, from 169 to 242 total. In sci.*, from 38 to 55 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 8 moderated groups, from 44 to 63 total. In soc.*, from 61 to 71 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 7 moderated groups, from 67 to 78 total. In talk.*, from 17 to 18 unmoderated groups, from 0 to 0 moderated groups, from 17 to 18 total. Total, from 573 to 751 unmoderated groups, from 98 to 117 moderated groups, from 671 to 868 total.