Tell me more ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

I've read about it here but I do not understand.

What is the difference - UseNet group vs Normal group?

share|improve this question
3  
Usenet (not UseNet) groups are normal groups, for many people :) – grawity Sep 18 '09 at 11:33
@grawity For small values of "normal." :) – Richard Hoskins Sep 18 '09 at 11:40

3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Google groups are hosted by Google themselves. Usenet groups on the other hand are hosted by a multitude of news servers. They can be accessed using the NNTP protocol. Usually, your service provider also hosts a mirror of some newsgroups. But independent news servers exist also.

In that sense, Usenet is decentralised, wheras google groups is centralised.

It may also be the case that groups created directly on google groups are not synchronised with the other NNTP servers out there (somebody correct me if I'm wrong). I stand corrected.

share|improve this answer
You're wrong. Posts made to Google groups on Usenet groups propagate only too well to other Usenet servers. – Richard Hoskins Sep 18 '09 at 11:47
Usenet groups on the other hand are hosted by a multitude of news servers. I dont get it. I have not heard of anything like this before. How does this work - hosting on many different servers? What is the problem with hosting on once server?? – Lazer Sep 18 '09 at 12:10
1  
@eSKey To understand, think of email. What a mess if there were only one email server. Usenet has a long history, it started before the web, in 1980. Things were different back then. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on them. ‘Give me five bees for a quarter,’ you’d say. Now where were we? – Richard Hoskins Sep 18 '09 at 12:17
its eSKay!! "Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on the World Wide Web." - from Wikipedia. Now I am even more confused. How can a Newsgroup work without WWW?? – Lazer Sep 18 '09 at 12:32
@eSKay: the WWW and Usenet are totally different things. The former is what you browse with a web browser using the HTTP protocol. The latter you browse with a newsreader using the NNTP protocol. Usenet also existed long before the world wide web. – fretje Sep 18 '09 at 12:52
show 1 more comment
up vote 3 down vote

Once upon a time, there was service called Deja News that used to archive all content of Usenet newsgroups. Deja News was eventually purchased by Google and became Google groups.

share|improve this answer
so, whats the difference? – Lazer Sep 18 '09 at 10:31
2  
It's not a difference, Google Groups is just a way of accessing the Usenet archives. – Bonus Sep 18 '09 at 10:34
okay, i understand. one of the ways to access UseNet groups is through Google Groups. But where are these groups created? I mean like Google Groups are created on the website groups.google.com , likewise where are the UseNEt groups created?? – Lazer Sep 18 '09 at 11:26
"How can I create a Usenet Newsgroup" would be an excellent question. I think I'll ask it. – Richard Hoskins Sep 18 '09 at 11:43
up vote 3 down vote

Usenet is a set of distributed discussion groups started in 1980 and available through a variety of methods and servers.

Google Groups is a web based service, provided by the company Google, which includes the Usenet groups as well as groups created for its own service.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.