List of newsgroups
This is a partial list of newsgroups that are significant for their popularity or their position in Usenet history.
The Big 8 hierarchies
These are the most widely distributed and carefully controlled newsgroup hierarchies. See Big 8 (Usenet) and the Great Renaming for more information.
comp
Computer-related topics.
humanities
Topics related to the humanities (fine arts, literature, philosophy, Classical Latin, etc.).
misc
Miscellaneous topics. Examples include:
- misc.legal.moderated — A moderated legal forum.
- misc.taxes.moderated — A moderated professional tax forum open to the general public.
news
Matters related to the functioning of Usenet itself. Examples include:
- news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting — discussion related to the use of blocklists to deal with spam and other unwanted network traffic.
- news.admin.net-abuse.email — discussion of abuse of email by spammers and other parties.
rec
Recreation and entertainment topics. Examples include:
- rec.arts.movies.current-films—The latest movie releases.
- rec.arts.movies.past-films—Past films.
- rec.arts.poems
- rec.arts.comics—Discussing comic books, current and past
- rec.arts.sf.tv—Discussing general television SF (i.e. science-fiction, or "speculative fiction").
- rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated—discussion of Babylon 5 and other projects of J. Michael Straczynski.
- rec.arts.tv—Television, its history, and past and current shows, i.e. the main television newsgroup.
- rec.arts.tv.soaps.cbs—discussion about soap operas broadcast by the CBS television network.
- rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc—discussion of the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000.
- rec.arts.tv.x-factor—General discussion of the X-Factor tv show and all its worldwide editions.
- rec.food.cooking—"discussion of cooking in general. Recipes and requests for recipes are welcome here, as are discussions of cooking techniques, equipment, etc."[1]
- rec.humor.funny—moderated humor group that featured daily editor-selected jokes[2]
- rec.humor.oracle—Internet humor
- rec.music—Music
- rec.music.folk—Folk music
- rec.sport.cricket—general discussion of world cricket.
- rec.sport.soccer—general discussion of world football (soccer).
- rec.woodworking—general discussion of woodworking.
soc
Discussion related to society and social subcultures. Examples include:
- soc.culture.usa— for the discussion of culture in the USA.
- soc.culture.iraq— for the discussion of Iraq.
- soc.genealogy— for the discussion of genealogy.
- soc.motss— for the discussion of gay and lesbian issues.[3]
- soc.org.nonprofit— for the discussion of nonprofit organization management issues.[4][5]
- soc.org.service—clubs.misc— for the discussion of service clubs such as Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary International, Civitan International and Optimists.
- soc.penpals— to find penpals
- soc.politics— for the discussion of politics
- soc.religion.bahai— for the discussion of Bahai
- soc.religion.christian— for the discussion of Christianity
- soc.rights-human— for the discussion of human rights[6]
talk
Discussion of various topics, especially controversial ones. Includes political topics as well. Examples include:
- talk.bizarre — a newsgroup for experiencing the bizarre.
- talk.origins — evolution-creationism controversy which maintains an extensive FAQ.
The alt hierarchy
This is the most extensive newsgroup hierarchy outside of the Big 8. Examples include:
- alt.2600 — Official group for 2600: The Hacker Quarterly
- Alt.Adoption — for adoption
- alt.arts.poetry.comments — for poetry and poetry critique
- alt.asian-movies — for discussions focusing mainly on Hong Kong action cinema.
- alt.atheism — discusses atheism
- alt.binaries.boneless
- alt.binaries.slack — artwork created by and for the Church of the SubGenius.
- alt.callahans — Spider Robinson's Callahan's Place online
- alt.config — creation of new newsgroups in the alt.* hierarchy.
- alt.digitiser — discussion of the video games magazine Digitiser.
- alt.fan — fandom discussions.
- alt.gothic — a gothic newsgroup and birthplace of Convergence
- alt.horology This Internet newsgroup concerns all aspects of horology (the science of time and timekeeping, clocks and watches). Those posting to it range from novices to collectors to professional watchmakers & clockmakers.
- alt.religion.kibology — He who Greps.
- alt.sex — the first alt.* newsgroup for discussion of sexual topics.
- alt.sex.bondage — discussion of BDSM sex.
- alt.sex.cancel — set up specifically as a means of defeating newsgroup spam cross-posted to the entire alt.sex hierarchy
- alt.sex.stories — text-based erotic stories of all types.
- alt.slack — Posting relating to the Church of the Subgenius.
- alt.startrek.vs.starwars — created to discuss the Comparison of Star Trek and Star Wars.
- alt.suicide.holiday — pro-choice discussion of suicide.
- alt.sysadmin.recovery — the Scary Devil Monastery.
- alt.tasteless — discussion of subject matter in too poor taste to be discussed elsewhere.
- alt.tv.simpsons — discusses the TV show The Simpsons.
- alt.usage.english — discussion of English words, grammar, etymology
- alt.usenet.kooks — discussion of Usenet kooks and their idiosyncratic theories.
- alt.zines — discussion of small-press publications, magazines, and pamphlets (zines).
Other newsgroups
These newsgroups fall outside of the official Big 8 hierarchies, as well as the less formal alt hierarchy. Other newsgroups can consist of geographic regions (official or unofficial), corporations, and other institutions or groups.
References
- Sack, Victor (20 October 2016), rec.food.cooking FAQ and conversion file, sec. 9.1
- "Brad Templeton's Rec.Humor.Funny". Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- Auerbach, David (August 20, 2014). "The First Gay Space on the Internet". Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- Mutz, John (2010). Fundraising For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-7645-9847-0.
- Cravens, Jayne. "A Brief Review of the Early History of Nonprofits and the Internet (before 1996)". Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- Bickerton, Pauline (2007). Cybermarketing. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0 7506 4704 3.