FAQ: Welcome to Usenet UK
Charles Lindsey
Until the UK Usenet hierarchy got too big, a regular 'Welcome to
Usenet' message was routinely posted to all groups in uk.*
With the decline of Usenet, and the increase in the number of
people accessing Usenet via Google Groups, it was felt that this
informational posting should be re-instated.
The article should not be seen more than twice a year in any one
group but, if you do not wish to see it, most newsreaders will
enable you to filter out the message.
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Welcome to Usenet-UK
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Welcome to Usenet - probably the oldest form of social networking on
the Internet!
This message is posted on behalf of the UK Usenet Committee. It is
posted in rotation to newsgroups within the uk.* hierarchy, such that
every group should see it at least once a year.
Usenet groups are similar to mailing lists where topics of common
interest are discussed.
Usenet is organised in hierarchies and the uk.* hierarchy contains
groups for people who live, work or have an interest in the UK.
However the hierarchy is internationally propagated so has readers all
over the world.
Contrary to what some people may think, Usenet is not in any way
connected with Google Groups. Google, along with other providers, does
offer a web-based interface to Usenet. However, the majority of people
prefer to access Usenet via dedicated newsreader software installed on
their own computer and connected to a news server. Many ISPs provide a
news server for their customers to use, and for those that don't there
are a variety of third-party providers available.
For more details on what Usenet is (and is not) see
<http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part1/>, or alternatively, for
a good account of "netiquette, <http://www.dickgaughan.co.uk/usenet/guide>.
For a full list of newsgroups in the uk.* hierarchy see
<http://www.usenet.org.uk/newsgroups.html>
uk.net.news.announce
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This carries announcements of proposed new groups in uk.*. Make sure
you know what is going on by subscribing to this group. It is low
volume, and in addition to announcements concerning New Groups it
carries regular information about how uk.* is managed. There are two
Companion Groups, 'uk.net.news.config', where you can follow the
progress of any new group proposal of interest and
'uk.net.news.management' for discussion of issues concerning the
management of the hierarchy.
SO HOW IS UK.* MANAGED?
Well, ultimately by the administrators of the machines that carry it.
But, to keep some sort of order (particularly as to what newsgroups
actually comprise uk.*), there are some Guidelines and a Committee
to oversee their operation.
And the Committee is elected by YOU, the users of the UK news
hierarchy.
So, if you follow 'uk.net.news.announce', you will see the Guidelines
and other documents published on a regular basis and, once a year in
September, you will see a Call For Nominations for the Committee
followed, in October, by an invitation to Vote in the election.
WHERE CAN I FIND THESE DOCUMENTS?
1. Wait for the them to come around on 'uk.net.news.announce', or
read them again from that newsgroup (they should still be around
on your news server).
2. Look at <http://www.usenet.org.uk>
where you will find them all, plus much other useful information
about Usenet, both in the UK and Worldwide.
NOTE that Followups have been set to uk.net.news.management.