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 AN INCOMPLETE FIRST DRAFT.
All of the posts I've so far posted to this thread have been preliminary
drafts anyway, of course. I've explicitly acknowledged that I got the
renaming of NET.* to net.* completely wrong in those hierarchies'
summaries and in the 1980-81 year-summary, and that a usage in the first
draft of the 1986 year-summary was incorrect; there are probably other
errors I haven't found yet.
But I do have a number of ways to catch my mistakes *before* posting
them, and the fact is, I haven't used *most* of those ways on the data
that follow. I'm writing this on a computer about to go into storage,
using tools I can't replicate on the library computers that will soon be
my only available option. I have twenty-five hours left to work in, and
other things to do besides this work. All this post offers is what
those twenty-five hours allow.
My reasons for wanting to get it out there anyway? There are several:
1. I have no confidence I'll ever get this computer out of storage
again, because I have no confidence I'll actually *survive* the next few
months; my computer isn't the only thing losing its home tomorrow. The
more of the work I did in assembling my tools that actually gets used
and passed on to the world at large, the less is wasted.
2. I had all along intended the second phase of this project to consist
of year-summaries for the years 1987 to 1994, the years of the Big 7.
The closer I get to that, the happier I am.
3. As I've done each year from 1987 onward, I've been looking for the
coming explosion. Today's Big 8 hierarchies have over 2000 groups,
indeed *twice* as many as there were at the end of 1993, but the list
hasn't grown dramatically since 1998 at latest. Year by year, the
explosion has not shown up in my data, and I can now confidently assert
that even by 1993 the exponential growth I expected had not begun.
Well, it has to have begun *sometime*, and with the long September
already under way, 1994 is a good place to look for that start.
So on with it.
Google's Usenet archive has only one source for 1994, Jurgen
Christoffel's archive.
LATER NOTES: I had finished only two posting runs before the computer
was moved, and those posting runs' treatments did not include any
look at alt.* for interesting changes, nor any list of gatewayed
groups. Within twenty-four hours, I had learnt of the existence of
the series Mailing Lists Available in Usenet that continued the lists
of gatewayed groups, and I had done, as I'd intended, a bunch of
decisions about alt.* via the Changes posts discussed in the 1985
and 1988 posts up the thread. As noted in the introduction to the 1993
post, the obvious result was that I went ahead and used Changes posts
for other things too: for the gateways, in the first two posting
runs of 1994, and for *everything*, in the remaining three. (Oh, and
also, the error-checking routines mentioned above remain impossible,
with this approach.)
Also as noted in the 1993 post, I don't really trust this approach,
and do expect to do the work the way I prefer, group by group in the
original lists, if I'm ever able to. But at least this approach
allows me, if only half-assedly, to present the posts I had intended
to present in this bunch: 1987 to 1994, year-summaries, each.
Hope they've been worth something.
For what it's worth, my summary of 1994 is a confirmation of the above
guess: it's the year the Big 7 began to grow exponentially.
(It is not, alas, the still awaited year in which inet froze in place.
On the other hand, talk.* did, in this year's lists, as news.* had last
year in reality. The talk.* freeze of 1994 is, however, an illusion;
a list dated January 1, 1995 shows two new talk.* groups.)
(One more note. This *is* the year in which trial.* froze in place;
I simply failed to note in the 1993 post that the creation of
rec.crafts.metalworking was the last example to date of a trial.*
group moving into the Big 8. trial.talk.politics.peace remained on
January 1, 1994, what it remains today, the only completely
unreplaced trial.* group; although there are still, I gather, those
who think trial.misc.legal.software has not been fully replaced.)
Joe Bernstein
Lists of Newsgroups Posted in 1994
DAVID C LAWRENCE
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part I"
February 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active_760147603@uunet.uu.net
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part II"
February 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active2_760147665@uunet.uu.net
"List of Moderators for Usenet"
February 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.answers
Message-ID: moderate_760147912@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I"
February 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups_760147713@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II"
February 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups2_760147774@uunet.uu.net
"Mailing Lists Available in Usenet"
February 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,bit.admin,news.answers
Message-ID: gateways_760147820@uunet.uu.net
On this List of Moderators for Usenet, for the first time, Gene
Spafford's name doesn't appear at the end of the forematter. I
therefore consider it extremely unlikely that he had anything to do with
it, and I remove his name as a maintainer from the above heading.
However, the "New USENET Groups" post's boilerplate continued to refer
to "Gene Spafford's List of Moderators" until the posting dated March
10, 1994.
Unfortunately, the removal of Spafford's name from the forematter did
not indicate that David Lawrence had reviewed the entire list; while he
might not have noticed, or might have chosen to continue, treating two
of the inet moderated groups differently from the rest, surely any
careful check would have turned up the undeadness of rec.games.cyber.
Anyway. Perhaps the most obvious sign in these lists of the long
September (which at this point *still* was not being fed by all AOL's
customers; see on this the 1993 post) is indeed in the moderated
groups. comp.unix.wizards' moderation in place is a famous example;
note also the first moderated soc.culture.* group. But that group
was in fact a perfectly conventional announcement group meant to
parallel a busy discussion group, not moderation in response to
unbridled misbehaviour.
Again, these lists show multiple new misc.* groups, a rare event thus
far; more rec.* groups than comp.* ones; and a total pace of growth
nearly equal to that of mid-1993, thus a significant increase over
late 1993 - but it's worth noting that this increase is composed
largely of an unusually fast growth in sci.*.
So these lists aren't *only* about the long September.
Added: comp.databases.paradox, comp.dcom.telecom.tech,
comp.infosystems.announce, comp.lang.basic.misc, comp.lang.basic.visual,
comp.org.lisp-users, comp.std.lisp, comp.sys.mac.graphics,
comp.sys.sinclair, comp.unix.advocacy, comp.unix.unixware,
misc.invest.funds, misc.invest.stocks, misc.kids.vacation,
rec.autos.marketplace, rec.autos.misc, rec.autos.simulators,
rec.collecting.stamps, rec.games.bolo, rec.games.frp.live-action,
rec.games.video.3do, rec.games.video.advocacy,
rec.games.video.arcade.collecting, rec.games.video.atari, rec.toys.lego,
rec.toys.misc, sci.agriculture, sci.anthropology.paleo,
sci.bio.ethology, sci.bio.evolution, sci.bio.herp,
sci.med.psychobiology, sci.physics.particle, sci.space.policy,
sci.space.science, sci.space.tech, sci.techniques.microscopy,
soc.culture.burma, soc.culture.indian.info.
Moderated in place: comp.unix.wizards.
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. rec.games.cyber
remained on this List of Moderators for Usenet despite its absence from
the List of Active Newsgroups.
comp.soft-sys.wavefront, comp.virus, sci.bio.ethology, and
soc.culture.chile are added to the Mailing Lists Available in Usenet;
comp.unix.internals, comp.unix.questions, and rec.railroad are
removed from it, and a flag is added to indicate that rec.video's
gateway might not work.
Noteworthy additions to alt.*: alt.2600 (wasn't this the first group
with a namespace component lacking letters?); a bunch of
alt.binaries.sounds.* groups; alt.christnet and eleven subgroups;
more alt.current-events.* groups in both the topical and regional
molds; alt.religion.christian, which I believe to be the first
alt.religion.* group for a more or less conventional religion; a lot
of alt.sports.football.pro.* and alt.sports.hockey.nhl.* groups;
alt.usenet.kooks; alt.uu.{comp.os.linux.questions|lang.russian.misc},
apparently showing that the Usenet University in fact did have a
future. Noteworthy removal: alt.syntax.tactical. I'm becoming
decreasingly confident in the Changes posts, since this posting run's
one includes yet *more* additions of groups recently removed and vice
versa, and in some cases additions of groups I thought had last been
added, not removed, anyway. So please take the alt.* paragraphs in
this post with as many grains of salt as you need to make them
palatable.
Bruce Becker's lists of alt.* groups did continue. He posted them,
between the last posting run and this one, on December 6, 1993 and
January 4, 1994. Again, subject lines, 'Another listing of newsgroups
in the "alt" hierarchy, Part 1 of 2' and '[...] Part 2 of 2'.
(And although I *am* in fact much more interested in alt.* than in
the regional or topical hierarchies, I should play fair, and note
that Bruce Becker also began, on December 14, 1993, to post "A listing
of Canadian regional and university newsgroups". Since I've come
across it, and all. It does appear to have continued thereafter.)
Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 395 to 403 unmoderated groups,
from 76 to 79 moderated groups, from 471 to 482 total. In misc.*, from
37 to 40 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 6 moderated groups, from 43 to 46
total. In news.*, no change: 13 unmoderated groups, 8 moderated
groups, 21 total. In rec.*, from 262 to 274 unmoderated groups, from 30
to 30 moderated groups, from 292 to 304 total. In sci.*, from 71 to 79
unmoderated groups, from 14 to 17 moderated groups, from 85 to 96 total.
In soc.*, from 92 to 93 unmoderated groups, from 10 to 11 moderated
groups, from 102 to 104 total. In talk.*, no change: 21 unmoderated
groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1075 total (152 moderated, 923
unmoderated).
Summary for inet: In comp.*, no change: 52 unmoderated groups, 7
moderated groups, 59 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. 66 total (8 moderated, 58 unmoderated).
Overall summary: In comp.*, from 447 to 455 unmoderated groups, from 83
to 86 moderated groups, from 530 to 541 total. In misc.*, from 37 to 40
unmoderated groups, from 6 to 6 moderated groups, from 43 to 46 total.
In news.*, no change: 14 unmoderated groups, 8 moderated groups, 22
total. In rec.*, from 263 to 275 unmoderated groups, from 31 to 31
moderated groups, from 294 to 306 total. In sci.*, from 74 to 82
unmoderated groups, from 14 to 17 moderated groups, from 88 to 99 total.
In soc.*, from 93 to 94 unmoderated groups, from 10 to 11 moderated
groups, from 103 to 105 total. In talk.*, no change: 21 unmoderated
groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1141 total (160 moderated, 981
unmoderated).
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part I"
April 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active_765184351@uunet.uu.net
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part II"
April 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active2_765184366@uunet.uu.net
"List of Moderators for Usenet"
April 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.answers
Message-ID: moderate_765184462@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I"
April 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups_765184382@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II"
April 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups2_765184404@uunet.uu.net
"Mailing Lists Available in Usenet"
April 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newusers,news.announce.newgroups,bit.admin,news.answers
Message-ID: gateways_765184421@uunet.uu.net
The pace of the previous set of lists is maintained but not exceeded;
although an impressive variety of topics is covered by the new groups,
there is no such surprise as last time's sci.* explosion. In any event,
to judge by the "New USENET Groups" posting of April 5, the next lists
should show a dramatic increase in growth. Thus, I think 1994 is in
fact the year the exponential growth phase in the Big 8 began.
In this set of lists, talk.* reclaims its place as the smallest of the
Big 7, thanks to two new groups in news.*.
Also in this posting run appeared a copy of the Guidelines that
explicitly acknowledged that the UVV were taking all votes.
The "Current Status of USENET Newsgroup Proposals" posting of March
15 included a note that "proposals" (in context apparently meaning
CFVs) could be found via FTP. This is, I think, the first reference
to what is now the ISC archive in any of the postings I'm tracking
for this series of posts. I'm well aware that the archive itself
is older than this.
Added: comp.bbs.tbbs, comp.binaries.geos, comp.binaries.newton,
comp.constraints, comp.graphics.raytracing, comp.home.misc,
comp.infosystems.interpedia, comp.lang.prograph, comp.lang.python,
comp.os.os2.games, comp.os.os2.networking.misc,
comp.os.os2.networking.tcp-ip, comp.os.os2.programmer.oop,
comp.os.os2.programmer.tools, comp.soft-sys.powerbuilder,
comp.software.config-mgmt, misc.education.adult,
misc.education.multimedia, misc.test.moderated, news.groups.questions,
news.groups.reviews, rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5, rec.crafts.jewelry,
rec.food.drink.beer, rec.food.veg.cooking, rec.games.board.marketplace,
rec.games.deckmaster, rec.music.makers.builders, rec.music.makers.piano,
rec.music.rem, rec.skiing.alpine, rec.skiing.announce,
rec.skiing.nordic, rec.skiing.snowboard, rec.sport.basketball.women,
rec.sport.water-polo, sci.engr.semiconductors, sci.geo.satellite-nav,
sci.med.radiology, sci.physics.electromag, sci.research.postdoc,
sci.techniques.spectroscopy, soc.culture.hongkong.entertainment,
soc.culture.swiss, soc.history.moderated.
Removed: comp.sys.hp, comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware, sci.space,
talk.politics.space.
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. rec.games.cyber
remained on this List of Moderators for Usenet despite its absence from
the List of Active Newsgroups. In addition, comp.binaries.newton,
although listed as moderated in the List of Active Newsgroups, was
entirely absent from this List of Moderators for Usenet; and four
newsgroups entirely absent from the List of Active Newsgroups, probably
to be added in the next list, were fully listed on this List of
Moderators for Usenet: comp.org.cpsr.announce, rec.autos.sport.info,
rec.aviation.questions, and sci.psychology.research. As usual, I stick
to the List of Active Newsgroups version in the summaries below.
comp.ai.fuzzy, comp.lang.prograph, comp.music, comp.research.japan,
rec.arts.dance, rec.audio.high-end, rec.crafts.jewelry,
rec.music.gaffa, rec.org.sca, and sci.bio.herp are added to the
Mailing Lists Available in Usenet; rec.music.funky and
rec.sport.cricket.scores are removed from it.
Noteworthy additions to alt.*: alt.america.online;
alt.binaries.{doom|misc}; alt.fan.cecil-adams; alt.make.money.fast;
a bunch of alt.online-service.* groups to go with the parent group
and a.o-s.delphi; alt.religion.{computers|gnostic|islam|shamanism},
strengthening both the oddball and the mainstream sides of that
sub-hierarchy (and providing unmoderated alternatives to more than
half of the then-existing soc.religion.* groups); a bunch of
alt.sports.basketball.nba.* team groups; alt.support.depression
(my first large newsgroup) and alt.support.tall (replacing part of
alt.sigma2.height, one of the few groups removed in 1993 whose
restoration has not appeared on any subsequent list);
alt.this.group.has.the.longest.name.of.any.alt.group.there.is.just.to.mess.up.your.newsreader
(yes, it was on an official list). Noteworthy removals: six of
the eleven alt.christnet.* sub-groups; alt.fan.david-lawrence ("All
about cricket"). At this point, it looks to me like most of the
groups whose removals I highlighted in the 1993 post have been
listed again, although in some cases they have flip-flopped between
the listed and delisted states two or three times. (For example,
alt.paranet.*, whose creation in five groups I highlighted, saw
two of those groups removed, one each in the next two lists, then
both added back in; now one that hadn't been removed goes away.
Either these Changes postings I'm working from are nothing but lies,
or these lists are meant primarily as a demonstration of a chaotic
system, take your pick.)
Bruce Becker's alt.* lists, which showed only additions and so are,
for this period, much more stable than David Lawrence's, appeared
in the intervening period on February 9 and March 6, 1994, with
subject lines 'Another listing of newsgroups in the "alt" hierarchy,
Part 1 of 2' and '[...] Part 2 of 2'.
Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 403 to 416 unmoderated groups,
from 79 to 82 moderated groups, from 482 to 498 total. In misc.*, from
40 to 41 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 8 moderated groups, from 46 to 49
total. In news.*, from 13 to 14 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 9
moderated groups, from 21 to 23 total. In rec.*, from 274 to 287
unmoderated groups, from 30 to 32 moderated groups, from 304 to 319
total. In sci.*, from 79 to 85 unmoderated groups, from 17 to 17
moderated groups, from 96 to 102 total. In soc.*, from 93 to 95
unmoderated groups, from 11 to 12 moderated groups, from 104 to 107
total. In talk.*, no change: 21 unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group,
22 total. 1120 total (161 moderated, 959 unmoderated).
Summary for inet: In comp.*, no change: 52 unmoderated groups, 7
moderated groups, 59 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. 66 total (8 moderated, 58 unmoderated).
Overall summary: In comp.*, from 455 to 468 unmoderated groups, from 86
to 89 moderated groups, from 541 to 557 total. In misc.*, from 40 to 41
unmoderated groups, from 6 to 8 moderated groups, from 46 to 49 total.
In news.*, from 14 to 15 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 9 moderated
groups, from 22 to 24 total. In rec.*, from 275 to 288 unmoderated
groups, from 31 to 33 moderated groups, from 306 to 321 total. In
sci.*, from 82 to 88 unmoderated groups, from 17 to 17 moderated groups,
from 99 to 105 total. In soc.*, from 94 to 96 unmoderated groups, from
11 to 12 moderated groups, from 105 to 108 total. In talk.*, no change:
21 unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1186 total (169
moderated, 1017 unmoderated).
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part I"
June 2, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active_770605906@uunet.uu.net
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part II"
June 2, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active2_770605912@uunet.uu.net
"List of Moderators for Usenet"
June 2, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.answers
Message-ID: moderate_770605943@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I"
June 2, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups_770605919@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II"
June 2, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups2_770605926@uunet.uu.net
"Mailing Lists Available in Usenet"
June 2, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,bit.admin,news.answers
Message-ID: gateways_770605934@uunet.uu.net
These lists make clear the exponential growth had indeed begun. The
fastest pace in 1993 was somewhat over 20 groups per month, matched
in the months leading up to the April 1994 list posting run; but
*these* lists show about 40 groups per month being added.
And David Lawrence finally did remove the lists from the new users'
group, where in my opinion they hadn't belonged for some time. (It
made sense to post them in the new users' group in 1984, when the
group began, or for the next several years, while the total number of
groups remained low; but a list that takes over an hour to read is
unlikely to be as useful to a new user as a pointer to where that
user can find out which groups are actually available to him or her.
Sez me, anyway.)
In the May 23 "New USENET Groups" posting, Lawrence added a list
of groups that had failed their votes to the other lists provided.
From this point, therefore, this posting along with the "Current
Status of USENET Newsgroup Proposals" one provided a complete
summary of news.announce.newgroups's core activity. This does not
change my methods for this phase of this chronology, but will
obviously give me much more flexibility for later phases. (It
may interest people to know that passing votes seem to be *vastly*
more common than failed ones, from here through October 3, 1994.)
Added: comp.arch.arithmetic, comp.emulators.announce,
comp.emulators.apple2, comp.emulators.cbm, comp.emulators.misc,
comp.groupware.lotus-notes.misc, comp.home.automation, comp.mail.pine,
comp.mail.smail, comp.org.cpsr.announce, comp.org.cpsr.talk,
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.comm, comp.os.ms-windows.apps.financial,
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.misc, comp.os.ms-windows.apps.utilities,
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.word-proc, comp.os.ms-windows.networking.misc,
comp.os.ms-windows.networking.tcp-ip,
comp.os.ms-windows.networking.windows,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.controls,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.drivers,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.graphics,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.memory,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.multimedia,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.networks,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.ole, comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.winhelp, comp.os.ms-windows.video,
comp.publish.prepress, comp.soft-sys.ptolemy,
comp.software.international, comp.sys.acorn.games, comp.sys.amiga.cd32,
misc.creativity, misc.education.science, rec.arts.books.marketplace,
rec.arts.sf.tv.quantum-leap, rec.arts.theatre.misc,
rec.arts.theatre.musicals, rec.arts.theatre.plays,
rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft, rec.arts.tv.mst3k, rec.audio.marketplace,
rec.audio.misc, rec.audio.opinion, rec.audio.tech,
rec.autos.sport.info, rec.autos.sport.nascar, rec.autos.sport.tech,
rec.aviation.questions, rec.food.drink.coffee, rec.games.video.cd32,
rec.music.movies, rec.outdoors.fishing.fly, rec.sport.boxing,
rec.travel.cruises, rec.video.desktop, sci.agriculture.beekeeping,
sci.archaeology.mesoamerican, sci.astro.research,
sci.chem.electrochem, sci.geo.eos, sci.geo.hydrology, sci.mech.fluids,
sci.physics.computational.fluid-dynamics, sci.physics.plasma,
sci.psychology.research, sci.techniques.mag-resonance,
soc.culture.belgium, soc.culture.colombia,
soc.culture.jewish.holocaust, soc.culture.mexican.american,
soc.culture.mongolian, soc.culture.puerto-rico, soc.culture.slovenia,
soc.culture.somalia, soc.history.war.misc,
soc.history.war.world-war-ii.
Removed: rec.autos.
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. rec.games.cyber
remained on this List of Moderators for Usenet despite its absence from
the List of Active Newsgroups, and comp.binaries.newton remained absent
from this List of Moderators for Usenet despite is presence in the List
of Active Newsgroups as a moderated group. As in previous examples,
there are a number of new discrepancies: comp.emulators.announce
(on List of Active Newsgroups, not List of Moderators for Usenet),
and comp.sys.atari.announce, rec.arts.ascii, and rec.sport.cricket.info
(all on List of Moderators for Usenet, not List of Active Newsgroups).
As usual, I stick to the List of Active Newsgroups version in the
summaries below.
comp.compilers.tools.pccts, comp.dcom.sys.cisco,
comp.groupware.lotus-notes.misc, comp.home.misc, comp.mail.pine,
rec.arts.drwho, rec.skiing.nordic, sci.bio.evolution, and
soc.religion.christian.bible-study are all added to the Mailing
Lists Available in Usenet; note that comp.compilers.tools.pccts
had not yet appeared on the List of Active Newsgroups.
Noteworthy additions to alt.*: alt.culture.riot-grrrls;
alt.current-events.net-abuse; alt.flame.canter-and-siegel;
alt.folklore.suburban (the moderated counterpart of
alt.folklore.urban); alt.horror.shub-internet; alt.music.nirvana
(this is clearly the list on which the 1990s show up all at once!);
alt.sex.cthulhu; alt.sex.femdom; alt.sports.baseball.fla-marlins
(go, Yankees opponents!); alt.stop.spamming (detecting a trend
here?). I'm no longer noting the oscillations in alt.*, so I
don't know whether the Florida Marlins group was really new to
this list, but I'm pretty sure the others are.
Bruce Becker's alt.* lists appeared in the intervening period on
April 12 and May 6, 1994, with subject lines 'Another listing of
newsgroups in the "alt" hierarchy, Part 1 of 3', '[...] Part 2 of 3',
and '[...] Part 3 of 3'. My search strategy for finding these
listings is to search on his name, and since he stopped signing
part 2 some while back and apparently never signed part 3, I've given
up, as of these two dates, verifying that Google actually has all
parts of each one; sorry.
Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 416 to 450 unmoderated groups,
from 82 to 84 moderated groups, from 498 to 534 total. In misc.*, from
41 to 43 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 49 to 51
total. In news.*, no change: 14 unmoderated groups, 9 moderated
groups, 23 total. In rec.*, from 287 to 307 unmoderated groups, from
32 to 34 moderated groups, from 319 to 341 total. In sci.*, from 85 to
93 unmoderated groups, from 17 to 20 moderated groups, from 102 to 113
total. In soc.*, from 95 to 103 unmoderated groups, from 12 to 14
moderated groups, from 107 to 117 total. In talk.*, no change: 21
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1201 total (170
moderated, 1031 unmoderated).
Summary for inet: In comp.*, no change: 52 unmoderated groups, 7
moderated groups, 59 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. 66 total (8 moderated, 58 unmoderated).
Overall summary: In comp.*, from 468 to 502 unmoderated groups, from 89
to 91 moderated groups, from 557 to 593 total. In misc.*, from 41 to 43
unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 49 to 51 total.
In news.*, no change: 15 unmoderated groups, 9 moderated groups, 24
total. In rec.*, from 288 to 308 unmoderated groups, from 33 to 35
moderated groups, from 321 to 343 total. In sci.*, from 88 to 96
unmoderated groups, from 17 to 20 moderated groups, from 105 to 116
total. In soc.*, from 96 to 104 unmoderated groups, from 12 to 14
moderated groups, from 108 to 118 total. In talk.*, no change: 21
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1267 total (178
moderated, 1089 unmoderated).
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part I"
August 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active_775784480@uunet.uu.net
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part II"
August 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active2_775784490@uunet.uu.net
"List of Moderators for Usenet"
August 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.answers
Message-ID: moderate_775784528@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I"
August 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups_775784498@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II"
August 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups2_775784509@uunet.uu.net
"Mailing Lists Available in Usenet"
August 1, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,bit.admin,news.answers
Message-ID: gateways_775784517@uunet.uu.net
A summer slowdown: not quite 30 groups per month added.
This summer in news.*, there are a number of threads about the inet
groups, in which the most informative answers given revolved around
a not entirely accurate article Rich Salz had posted earlier in the
year. It's clear, from reading the discussions of the distribution
in news.* in 1994, that the controversies of just two years earlier
had been almost totally forgotten, and the distinction no longer
carried meaning to most posters.
Ironically, it may be that the intermarriage of the Internet with
Usenet that was central to inet's self-presentation is also what
ultimately doomed it, and that an inet group was instrumental in
that doom. Rich Salz began writing a new Usenet server package
in 1990, which he published as INN in 1992. INN has always come
with a sample file indicating how to handle control messages such
as newgroups and rmgroups, called control.ctl, and in its earlier
versions, this file's instructions included automatic execution of
any newgroup sent by David Lawrence, but treated newgroups sent by
Erik Fair the same as those sent by anyone else. Over time, this
almost certainly led to a situation in which inet groups were at a
material disadvantage in propagation, and among precisely the sites
inet had originally targeted, those whose news came via the
Internet. (The earlier versions of INN can be found at
.)
The inet distribution had always uneasily married three core
characteristics: a preference for a group creation system driven
by the wise, not the many; a belief that group creation (and
removal) should be less cumbersome than the Big 7 system made it;
and an effort to link Usenet newsgroups with Internet mailing
lists, ostensibly targeted specifically at Internet-connected
sites. Neither in 1987 nor at any time since was there any obvious,
inherent, link between these three traits. If the INN defaults did,
in fact, do inet in, the third trait is in fact what did the deed;
because INN stands for InterNet News, and was in origin the first
server optimised for use of the Internet to transmit posts. And
news.software.nntp - an inet group, and by some claims the only
inet group created without a mailing list behind it, as a banner of
inet's focus on Internet traffic - is where Rich Salz announced
his program, found his beta testers, and provided advice to his
users.
It isn't shown on the 1994 lists, but by year's end, the promotion
of news.software.nntp to regular Big 7 status was on its way.
There is a post archived at Google in which Bill Bogstad, who had
been one of the more vocal critics of inet in the early 1990s, lays
out something approximating the combination of reasons for inet's
decline that I offered in this post and the last one, though his
post is a reply to Dave Hayes so he overlays these with conspiracy-
theory jokes. See "Thank you Rich Salz and company", November 15,
1993, to news.groups, news.admin.policy, news.admin.misc and
alt.culture.usenet, message-ID <2c89n9$r38@blaze.cs.jhu.edu>.
Last archived posts about the inet groups by the four people I've
found who claimed at least some responsibility for them:
Erik Fair: October 28, 1994, to bit.listserv.netnews-l,
message-ID <15027.783376364@apple.com>; last post not to a
mailing list gateway, the manifesto already mentioned in the 1990
post, <45512@apple.Apple.COM> October 10, 1990.
Michael Berch: June 23, 1993, to bit.listserv.lstsrv-l,
message-ID <9306240022.AA00834@presto.ig.com>; last post not to a
mailing list gateway, February 1, 1993, to news.admin.policy,
message-ID .
Eliot Lear: January 17, 1994, to news.groups, message-ID
.
David Herron: May 25, 1989, to comp.sys.amiga, message-ID
<11769@s.ms.uky.edu>.
Added: comp.ai.alife, comp.arch.fpga, comp.compilers.tools.pccts,
comp.dcom.cabling, comp.edu.languages.natural,
comp.emulators.ms-windows.wine, comp.infosystems.kiosks,
comp.infosystems.www.misc, comp.infosystems.www.providers,
comp.infosystems.www.users, comp.lang.mumps, comp.os.chorus,
comp.os.parix, comp.parallel.mpi, comp.sys.amiga.networking,
comp.sys.amiga.uucp, comp.sys.atari.announce,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.advocacy, comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.games,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.misc, comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.music,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.tech, comp.sys.sgi.audio,
misc.education.home-school.christian, misc.education.home-school.misc,
misc.education.medical, misc.transport.urban-transit, rec.arts.ascii,
rec.arts.comics.creative, rec.arts.movies.production,
rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan, rec.games.deckmaster.marketplace,
rec.games.roguelike.moria, rec.games.roguelike.nethack,
rec.games.roguelike.rogue, rec.gardens.orchids, rec.gardens.roses,
rec.outdoors.fishing.saltwater, rec.photo.advanced,
rec.photo.darkroom, rec.photo.help, rec.photo.marketplace,
rec.photo.misc, rec.sport.baseball.analysis, rec.sport.baseball.data,
rec.sport.cricket.info, rec.travel.asia, rec.travel.europe,
rec.travel.misc, rec.travel.usa-canada, sci.aeronautics.simulation,
sci.chem.labware, sci.electronics.cad, soc.culture.berber,
soc.culture.cuba, soc.org.nonprofit, soc.org.service-clubs.misc,
soc.religion.christian.youth-work, soc.religion.gnosis,
soc.support.transgendered.
Added by promotion from inet: comp.windows.x.announce.
Removed: comp.os.os2.networking, comp.os.os2.ver1x, rec.skiing,
rec.sport.cricket.scores.
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. rec.games.cyber
remained on this List of Moderators for Usenet despite its absence from
the List of Active Newsgroups. But all the other discrepancies between
the two lists were cleared up in this posting run.
comp.infosystems.kiosks, comp.lang.mumps, misc.transport.urban-transit,
rec.arts.marching.drumcorps, and soc.org.nonprofit are added to the
Mailing Lists Available in Usenet, but soc.roots is removed from it.
Noteworthy additions to alt.*: alt.aquaria.killies; several alt.drugs.*
groups; a bunch of groups about O. J. Simpson; alt.graffiti (holy cow;
I hadn't realised there *was* a natural second-level alt.* topic
left...); alt.internet.media-coverage; alt.religion.buddhism.tibetan
(I think this is only the second mainstream religion in this sub-
hierarchy; oh, but ar.mormon and ar.zoroastrianism are coincident...);
alt.sex.masterbation (so whatever Lawrence's criteria for group
addition were at this time, non-duplication and well-spelled names
don't seem to have been among them...); alt.tarot (another natural
for second level in alt.*?); alt.tv.real-world (who knew what was to
come?). Noteworthy removal: yes, I know I said I'd stop listing the
oscillations, but alt.culture.riot-grrrls, that very timely group, was
delisted after one appearance... alt.america.online was delisted, but
alt.aol-sucks and alt.aol.rejects were added. And a bunch of
basketball teams' groups were delisted while a bunch of football teams'
were added, which would fit a seasonal pattern for the US; I'm
beginning to get the sense that Lawrence was, in fact, now basing his
choices on traffic alone, and traffic measured in short intervals at
that.
Bruce Becker's alt.* lists appeared in the intervening period on
June 8 and July 5, 1994, with subject lines 'Another listing of
newsgroups in the "alt" hierarchy, Part 1 of 3', '[...] Part 2 of 3',
and '[...] Part 3 of 3'.
Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 450 to 469 unmoderated groups,
from 84 to 87 moderated groups, from 534 to 556 total. In misc.*, from
43 to 47 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 51 to 55
total. In news.*, no change: 14 unmoderated groups, 9 moderated
groups, 23 total. In rec.*, from 307 to 326 unmoderated groups, from
34 to 36 moderated groups, from 341 to 362 total. In sci.*, from 93 to
95 unmoderated groups, from 20 to 21 moderated groups, from 113 to 116
total. In soc.*, from 103 to 108 unmoderated groups, from 14 to 16
moderated groups, from 117 to 124 total. In talk.*, no change: 21
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1258 total (178
moderated, 1080 unmoderated).
Summary for inet: In comp.*, from 52 to 52 unmoderated groups, from 7
to 6 moderated groups, from 59 to 58 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. 65 total (7
moderated, 58 unmoderated).
Overall summary: In comp.*, from 502 to 521 unmoderated groups, from 91
to 93 moderated groups, from 593 to 614 total. In misc.*, from 43 to 47
unmoderated groups, from 8 to 8 moderated groups, from 51 to 55 total.
In news.*, no change: 15 unmoderated groups, 9 moderated groups, 24
total. In rec.*, from 308 to 327 unmoderated groups, from 35 to 37
moderated groups, from 343 to 364 total. In sci.*, from 96 to 98
unmoderated groups, from 20 to 21 moderated groups, from 116 to 119
total. In soc.*, from 104 to 109 unmoderated groups, from 14 to 16
moderated groups, from 118 to 125 total. In talk.*, no change: 21
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1323 total (185
moderated, 1138 unmoderated).
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part I"
October 3, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active_781163820@uunet.uu.net
"List of Active Newsgroups, Part II"
October 3, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: active2_781163832@uunet.uu.net
"List of Moderators for Usenet"
October 3, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.answers
Message-ID: moderate_781163875@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part I"
October 3, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups_781163840@uunet.uu.net
"Alternative Newsgroup Hierarchies, Part II"
October 3, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,news.answers
Message-ID: altgroups2_781163853@uunet.uu.net
"Mailing Lists Available in Usenet"
October 3, 1994
news.lists,news.groups,news.announce.newgroups,bit.admin,news.answers
Message-ID: gateways_781163861@uunet.uu.net
And with the rest of the summer, back down to 20/month.
Added: comp.bbs.majorbbs, comp.cad.autocad, comp.databases.olap,
comp.internet.net-happenings, comp.lang.asm.x86, comp.lang.beta,
comp.protocols.kermit.announce, comp.protocols.kermit.misc,
comp.protocols.smb, comp.sys.amstrad.8bit,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.marketplace, comp.sys.mac.programmer.codewarrior,
misc.kids.consumers, misc.kids.health, misc.kids.info,
misc.kids.pregnancy, misc.news.bosnia, misc.survivalism,
rec.antiques.radio+phono, rec.arts.books.childrens,
rec.autos.sport.f1, rec.autos.sport.indy, rec.autos.sport.misc,
rec.aviation.ultralight, rec.boats.racing, rec.collecting.coins,
rec.crafts.marketplace, rec.crafts.textiles.misc,
rec.crafts.textiles.needlework, rec.crafts.textiles.quilting,
rec.crafts.textiles.sewing, rec.crafts.textiles.yarn,
rec.food.preserving, rec.music.bluenote.blues, rec.music.tori-amos,
rec.sport.billiard, rec.video.satellite.dbs, rec.video.satellite.misc,
rec.video.satellite.tvro, sci.astro.amateur, sci.crypt.research,
sci.geo.oceanography, sci.geo.petroleum, sci.materials.ceramics,
sci.med.immunology, sci.med.transcription, soc.culture.cambodia,
soc.culture.ecuador, soc.culture.nigeria, soc.culture.punjab,
soc.culture.quebec, soc.history.living, soc.history.science,
soc.religion.unitarian-univ.
Removed: comp.infosystems.www, comp.os.ms-windows.apps,
comp.protocols.kermit, comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard, rec.arts.theatre,
rec.audio, rec.games.hack, rec.games.moria, rec.games.rogue,
rec.travel.
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. rec.games.cyber
remained on this List of Moderators for Usenet despite its absence from
the List of Active Newsgroups.
comp.cad.autocad, comp.os.linux.admin, comp.os.linux.announce,
comp.os.linux.development, comp.os.linux.help, comp.os.linux.misc,
comp.windows.x.announce, rec.arts.startrek.reviews,
sci.aeronautics.airliners, sci.econ.research, soc.culture.nepal,
soc.feminism, and soc.history.science are added to the Mailing Lists
Available in Usenet.
Noteworthy additions to alt.*: alt.animals.felines; alt.anonymous;
alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc, beginning that sub-sub-hierarchy;
alt.comp.shareware; alt.disasters.{aviation|earthquake|misc},
showing alt.* organising its current events tasks;
alt.games.ultima.dragons. The oscillations, of course, continued.
Bruce Becker's alt.* lists appeared in the intervening period on
August 4, September 5, and October 3, 1994, with subject lines 'Another
listing of newsgroups in the "alt" hierarchy, Part 1 of 3', '[...] Part
2 of 3', and '[...] Part 3 of 3'.
Summary for the Big 7: In comp.*, from 469 to 476 unmoderated groups,
from 87 to 88 moderated groups, from 556 to 564 total. In misc.*, from
47 to 51 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 10 moderated groups, from 55 to
61 total. In news.*, no change: 14 unmoderated groups, 9 moderated
groups, 23 total. In rec.*, from 326 to 341 unmoderated groups, from
36 to 36 moderated groups, from 362 to 377 total. In sci.*, from 95 to
101 unmoderated groups, from 21 to 22 moderated groups, from 116 to 123
total. In soc.*, from 108 to 115 unmoderated groups, from 16 to 17
moderated groups, from 124 to 132 total. In talk.*, no change: 21
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1302 total (183
moderated, 1119 unmoderated).
Summary for inet: In comp.*, no change: 52 unmoderated groups, 6
moderated groups, 58 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. 65 total (7 moderated, 58 unmoderated).
Overall summary: In comp.*, from 521 to 528 unmoderated groups, from 93
to 94 moderated groups, from 614 to 622 total. In misc.*, from 47 to 51
unmoderated groups, from 8 to 10 moderated groups, from 55 to 61 total.
In news.*, no change: 15 unmoderated groups, 9 moderated groups, 24
total. In rec.*, from 327 to 342 unmoderated groups, from 37 to 37
moderated groups, from 364 to 379 total. In sci.*, from 98 to 104
unmoderated groups, from 21 to 22 moderated groups, from 119 to 126
total. In soc.*, from 109 to 116 unmoderated groups, from 16 to 17
moderated groups, from 125 to 133 total. In talk.*, no change: 21
unmoderated groups, 1 moderated group, 22 total. 1367 total (190
moderated, 1177 unmoderated).
This is the last newsgroup list/moderator list set known to me posted in
1994. This is also the date of the last "Alternative Newsgroup
Hierarchies" of the year. It includes probably 1281 alt.* groups (up
from 617 at year-end 1993), 64 bionet.* groups (up from 47), 234 bit.*
groups (up from 205), 40 biz.* groups (up from 35), 315 clari.* groups
(up from 228), 28 gnu.* groups (unchanged), eleven hepnet.* groups
(unchanged), twelve ieee.* groups (unchanged), 65 inet groups (down
from 66), two ddn.* groups (unchanged), 39 info.* groups (down from
40), 36 k12.* groups (unchanged), 103 relcom.* groups (up from 94),
five u3b.* groups (unchanged), and 36 vmsnet.* groups (up from 35), for
a total of probably 2271 (up from 1461).
For comparison, Bruce Becker's post of October 3 claims 1842 active
groups and 599 aliases in alt.*.
This is the earliest date for the last newsgroup list of a year
since the lists began, earlier even than the October 19 of 1992's
last list posting run. So I refer you to the 1992 post for a
reminder that these posts are summaries of the lists, and not
meant to reflect reality; I'm well aware that the annual summaries
below don't represent the state of affairs as of December 31, 1994.
For what it's worth, there was a posting run on January 1, 1995,
and anyone who wants to can certainly do similar summaries for
themselves; I've probably described methods clearly enough... Or
you can wish for my life to become what it should have been for
the past year, so I can proceed with this project. Up to you.
For those of you who find this attitude irksome, I will note that
alt.support.short, one of the three alt.support.* groups I've
frequented, is shown only on Bruce Becker's October 3, 1994 list,
not on David Lawrence's, and only with two posts in its history;
while the one y'all might most easily have predicted, alt.support.ocd,
is not yet listed. 1995 is the year in which I returned to Usenet,
and I'm just as interested in getting to it as any reader could be.
Annual summary: IN THE BIG SEVEN: In comp.*, from 395 to 476
unmoderated groups, from 76 to 88 moderated groups, from 471 to 564
total. In misc.*, from 37 to 51 unmoderated groups, from 6 to 10
moderated groups, from 43 to 61 total. In news.*, from 13 to 14
unmoderated groups, from 8 to 9 moderated groups, from 21 to 23 total.
In rec.*, from 262 to 341 unmoderated groups, from 30 to 36 moderated
groups, from 292 to 377 total. In sci.*, from 71 to 101 unmoderated
groups, from 14 to 22 moderated groups, from 85 to 123 total. In soc.*,
from 92 to 115 unmoderated groups, from 10 to 17 moderated groups, from
102 to 132 total. In talk.*, from 21 to 21 unmoderated groups, from 1
to 1 moderated group, from 22 to 22 total. Total, from 891 to 1119
unmoderated groups, from 145 to 183 moderated groups, from 1036 to 1302
total.
IN INET: In comp.*, from 52 to 52 unmoderated groups, from 7 to 6
moderated groups, from 59 to 58 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 58 to 58
unmoderated groups, from 8 to 7 moderated groups, from 66 to 65 total.
OVER ALL: In comp.*, from 447 to 528 unmoderated groups, from 83 to 94
moderated groups, from 530 to 622 total. In misc.*, from 37 to 51
unmoderated groups, from 6 to 10 moderated groups, from 43 to 61 total.
In news.*, from 14 to 15 unmoderated groups, from 8 to 9 moderated
groups, from 22 to 24 total. In rec.*, from 263 to 342 unmoderated
groups, from 31 to 37 moderated groups, from 294 to 379 total. In
sci.*, from 74 to 104 unmoderated groups, from 14 to 22 moderated groups,
from 88 to 126 total. In soc.*, from 93 to 116 unmoderated groups, from
10 to 17 moderated groups, from 103 to 133 total. In talk.*, from 21 to
21 unmoderated groups, from 1 to 1 moderated groups, from 22 to 22
total. Total, from 949 to 1177 unmoderated groups, from 153 to 190
moderated groups, from 1102 to 1367 total.