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As someone that did not live through pre-Eternal September Usenet, what did it have that Facebook and Reddit do not?
by espadrine 10y ago
As someone that did not live through pre-Eternal September Usenet, what did it have that Facebook and Reddit do not?
- weinzierl 10y agoI can't comment on the pre-Eternal September Usenet because I only joined 1995. I wouldn't compare Usenet back then to Facebook, not even to Reddit. If I had to compare it with something we have today it would be HN and Stackoverflow. A place where one could interact with interesting people and a place to satisfy ones thirst for knowledge.
- rwmj 10y agoIt wasn't a million miles away from what HN and Reddit are today, or perhaps more select sites like LtU[1]. People used their own real names, and even real physical addresses and phone numbers(!), partly because most had access through a university or company which might enforce[2] that, but partly because the risks were low and/or not well understood. I spent many, many happy hours reading through postings on comp.unix.wizards when I should have been working. Oh and nobody ever top-posted (yay!) [1] http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/ http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/ [2] Very loosely - it was possible, indeed simple, to spoof postings.