Usenet is an independent global network of servers that carry newsgroups about nearly any subject one can imagine. A newsgroup is a discussion group about a specific topic of interest. Simply stated, a newsgroup is what the World Wide Web refers to as a forum topic. Like the web, usenet exists in its own little sub universe, complete with its own strict tradition of jargon, rules and etiquette.

Before the advent of the graphical web interface, Usenet was the chief means of community and communication, second only to email. Is Usenet relevant to today's modern online user? Absolutely! Just as IRC is still valid for chat, even though there exists a plethora of web chatrooms, usenet can be an invaluable tool to augment web forums for research and discussion. While most newsgroups are for text only discussion, many are set aside as binary groups. The purpose of the binary newsgroups is to propagate file attachments.

Just as the World Wide Web employs the use of a client program, or web browser for access, usenet also requires a client program called a newsreader. To access usenet, one must also be able to log on to a usenet server. Most ISPs have a server you may access as part of their service, but since ISPs are in the business to provide internet service, their usenet servers are usually small in capacity. Good usenet services concentrate on two very important attributes: completion and retention.

Let's say, for example, your usenet server has 400GB of HDD space. As new articles and binary posts flow in, the oldest ones flow out to make room. If you haven't read an article before it flows out you are out of luck. But if your usenet server has 50 Terabytes of HDD space you can expect the service to retain articles and binaries for 2 - 4 weeks. These dedicated servers also tend to receive nearly every article IN FULL that propagates to it from other servers on the usenet backbone. For this reason it is prudent to invest in a premium usenet service for a modest monthly fee. There are many to choose from

Just as web browsers vary, newsreaders vary as well. The one thing I cannot stress enough is the fact that Outlook and Outlook Express are email apps. Please save yourself the trouble of attempting to employ them as a newsreader. Some good newsreaders are Forte's Agent, or their free version, FreeAgent, and Xnews, also free. Newsbin is also popular. That said, it's estimated that Agent still reigns in popularity by 90% of users. It's just that good.

Binary newsgroups are used to upload file attachments. Every kind of file imaginable eventually finds it’s way to usenet. If usenet is text only, how can this be? The attached file is changed or "encoded" into a text file and your newsreader automatically decodes it back into a binary file as it is being download. A few years ago the decoding process was an extra step done manually by the user.

The usenet community has it’s own society. Almost every newsgroup has a charter and a faq. In this case, the faq is not only Frequently Asked Questions, it is the rulebook of that particular newsgroup. Usenet server administrators and ISPs recognize this fact and adherence to these faqs are usually part of the TOS (Terms Of Service) Agreement with your ISP and always part of the TOS Agreement with your premium news server.Some newsgroups are not very strict. Others will report faq violations. The point here is read a lot and lurk a while before posting, especially in binary newsgroups. Get a feel about what a newsgroup unfamiliar to you expects. Post nothing before reading the faq.

Usenet can be great fun. It can also be an excellent source of information, tools and entertainment well beyond the average web-only user's imagination. Start by accessing your ISP’s usenet server. If you can’t stop you can subscribe to a premium usenet service. Fair warning: Usenet is highly addictive.