Newsgroups are the discussion groups on the Usenet and there are newsgroups for every topic, ranging from politics to the Business. News Group Hierarchies are top-level categories in which newsgroups are organized. There are more than 600 hierarchies, but many of those were created to represent specific geographical regions. In reality, there are only a handful of notable hierarchies. The wide array of newsgroups are categorized into different hierarchies. However, most of the premium Usenet service providers offer unrestricted access to the newsgroups.
What are News Groups Hierarchy?
What Are Newsgroups?
Usenet is a massive online community. Newsgroups are discussion groups on Usenet. Each newsgroup focuses on a specific topic. To engage with that community, you need to navigate newsgroups. There are over 100,000 active newsgroups containing even more articles and binaries. So, what are newsgroups and how do you navigate them? What are News Groups Hierarchy? The Big 8! We explain. Newsgroups are categorized into large subsections called hierarchies. You can Exchange ideas with millions of people on Usenet through a Usenet Provider like UsenetServer.
Newsgroup Naming System
Along with hierarchies, there is also a newsgroup naming system used to categorize newsgroups. All newsgroup names consist of at least two parts, there maybe sometimes there are more than two parts. Periods are used to separate each part of a newsgroup name.
The first part is the hierarchy. The next part is the general newsgroups topic. Sometimes, extra parts are added if the discussion of a topic is more specific than the second part indicates.
Newsgroup Example
An example of a newsgroup is alt.gossip.celebrities. The alt in the first part of the name indicates that this usenet newsgroup belongs to the alt hierarchy. The second and third parts state that the topic of discussion is gossip, specifically celebrity gossip.
As established by the name, alt.gossip.celebrities includes gossip posts about celebrities. If you enjoy celebrity gossip, you know that regular celebrity news coverage is predictable. All tabloid sites and magazines run similar articles. The alt.gossip.celebrities newsgroup is different. What sets it apart is the fact that content in newsgroups is user-generated. Usenet users find weird celebrity gossip news and then provide their own spin on it.
The alt.gossip.celebrities group receives regular updates. This is a crucial. Retention capabilities continue to grow, but servers only host messages for a finite amount of time. So, successful groups need active users who are willing to post and maintain popular articles.
Newsgroup Hierarchies
What are News Groups Hierarchy? Following are the major Newsgroup Hierarchies.
Biz.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
The Biz Newsgroup Hierarchy is the newsgroups dedicated to the businesses, products, and services. These groups come with information about the software products, services, announcements, product reviews and discussions around these products. If you are into business discussions then you can use Biz Newsgroup Hierarchy.
Talk.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
As the name suggests, this Newsgroup Hierarchy is geared toward debates and discussions. In this Newsgroup Hierarchy, you will get the groups geared toward the national, international, religion and other types of discussions. Following are some of the most popular Talk.* Newsgroup Hierarchy.
- Talk.politics.misc – This newsgroup is the best group for those who are into politics.
- Talk.politics.guns – This newsgroup is the best groups for those who want to discuss the gun issues and regulation
- Talk.politics.Mideast – This newsgroup is the best group to discuss the politics and issues in the Middle east
- Talk.religion.misc – This newsgroup is the best group to discuss your thoughts on religion.
Comp.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
This Newsgroup Hierarchy is geared toward Computers. These newsgroups are for discussion about computer science, software source, discussion about the latest hardware and software system. The Comp. Newsgroup Hierarchy also comes with some sub-Hierarchies which are more geared toward sub-fields. Following are some of the sub-hierarchies of Comp.* Newsgroup Hierarchy.
- Comp.compression is the sub-hierarchy of Comp.* Newsgroup Hierarchy and it is geared toward the compression. You will find the information, articles, and discussion related to the compression on this newsgroup.
- Comp.compression.research is part of both Comp.* and comp.compression hierarchy and it provides access to the research in the field of data compression. In this newsgroup, you will find the data scientists and other computer experts discussing the latest data compression techniques.
Rec.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
This Newsgroup Hierarchy is geared toward the arts, hobbies and other recreational activities. In this Newsgroup Hierarchy, you will find the various newsgroups where you can discuss different types of art and recreational activities. Following are some of the most popular Rec.* Newsgroups.
- Rec.sport.football.college – if you are into college football then this newsgroup is perfect for you. Here you will find the discussions related to college football and bowl games.
- Rec.photo.digital – If you are into photography and want to learn from the veteran photographers out there then this newsgroup is best for you.
- Rec.game.pinball – This newsgroup comes with the discussions related to the pinball.
Sci.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
This Newsgroup Hierarchy features the newsgroups about science. Here you will find the discussions on topics such as chemistry, physics, biology, geography and other fields of science. Here are some of the popular newsgroups in this Newsgroup Hierarchy
- Sci.physics – discussions on physics
- Sci.math – discussions on mathematics
- Sci.military.naval – discussion on the tech used by the Navy
- Sci.space.shuttle – discussion on space science.
Soc.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
In this Newsgroup Hierarchy, you will find newsgroups on various social issues. Here you will find the newsgroups related to social issues in different countries, regions and even genders. Following are some popular newsgroups in Soc.* Newsgroup Hierarchy.
- Soc.culture.usa – discusses the culture of the USA
- Soc.culture.british – discusses the culture of the UK
- Soc.men – general discussions about men
- Soc.singles – discuss the issues of singles and how to meet new people
News.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
If you are into the news then News.* is a great option for you. Here you will find the newsgroups related to every type of news. You can join the groups you like and discuss the news with the other members of the group.
Free.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
This Newsgroup Hierarchy is geared toward whatever you want to do. These newsgroups don’t follow any naming convention and you can post whatever you want. This Newsgroup Hierarchy exists to promote the freedom of speech but there are filters to counter the spam, trolls and other abusive behaviors.
Alt.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
It is another Newsgroup Hierarchy which is very similar to the Free.* Newsgroup Hierarchy and it focusses on Alternative topics. In this Newsgroup Hierarchy, there are no rules and you can post whatever you want. Anyone can create the Alt.* group and allow the like-minded people to join you.
Misc.* Newsgroup Hierarchy
This Newsgroup Hierarchy covers everything which is not addressed in the above Newsgroup Hierarchies. The newsgroups in this Newsgroup Hierarchy are the busiest because it allows the users to discuss the wide variety of topics.
Newsgroup Navigation
Administrators moderate some, but not all newsgroups. Many, like those belonging to the alt hierarchy, are unmoderated. Because of this, it is necessary that newbies learn some basic Usenet etiquette. Here are some good habits to practice in newsgroups:
- Only quote posts when necessary
- See if a question has been asked and/or answered before you ask it yourself
- Make sure there is not a more appropriate newsgroup for your message before you post it
- Do not post the same message multiple times
- If you are posting to a moderated group, make sure to brush up on the group’s rules before posting
- Do not post flame bait or engage in a flame war