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 The Great Renaming was a restructuring of Usenet newsgroups that took place in 1987. B News maintainer and UUNET founder Rick Adams is generally considered to be the initiator of the Renaming. Motivation The primary reason for the Great Renamin ...

for more information.

comp

Computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

-related topics.

news

Matters related to the functioning of Usenet itself. *''

news.admin.net-abuse.email news.admin.net-abuse.email (sometimes abbreviated nanae or n.a.n-a.e, and often incorrectly spelled with a hyphen in "email") is a Usenet newsgroup devoted to discussion of the abuse of email systems, specifically through spam and similar attac ...

'' — discussion of abuse of email by spammers and other parties.

rec

Recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

and entertainment topics. * ''

rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated is a moderated Usenet newsgroup that focuses on the science fiction television series '' Babylon 5'' and the works of writer J. Michael Straczynski. It was spun off from its un-moderated version, rec.arts.sf. ...

''—discussion of '' Babylon 5'' and other projects of

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...

sci

Science-related topics.

talk

Discussion of various topics, especially controversial ones. Includes political topics as well. *''

talk.origins talk.origins (often capitalised to Talk.Origins or abbreviated as t.o.) is a Usenet#Moderated and unmoderated newsgroups, moderated Usenet discussion Internet forum, forum concerning the origins of life, and evolution. It remains a major venue fo ...

'' — evolution-

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

controversy which maintains an extensive FAQ.

The alt hierarchy

This is the most extensive newsgroup hierarchy outside of the Big 8. Examples include: *''

alt.atheism alt.atheism is a Usenet newsgroup within the alt.* hierarchy that discusses atheism. The group was originally created on February 6, 1990 by a member of the alt.pagan newsgroup, to provide an alternative forum for the numerous discussions on ath ...

'' — discusses

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

*'' alt.binaries.slack'' — artwork created by and for the Church of the SubGenius. *'' alt.config'' — creation of new newsgroups in the '' alt.*'' hierarchy''. *'' alt.gothic — first widespread on-line community for the

goth subculture Goth is a music-based subculture that began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. It was developed by fans of Gothic rock, an offshoot of the post-punk music genre. The name ''Goth'' was derived directly from the genre. Notable post-p ...

*''

alt.sex alt.sex is a Usenet newsgroup – a discussion group within the Usenet network – relating to human sexual activity. It was popular in the 1990s. An October 1993 survey by Brian Reid reported an estimated worldwide readership for the newsgroup o ...

'' — the first ''alt.*'' newsgroup for discussion of sexual topics. *''

alt.sex.stories alt.sex.stories is a Usenet newsgroup for erotic stories created on May 7, 1992, by Tim Pierce as an alternative to pre-existing alt erotica newsgroups. The group was initially unmoderated, a feature that was not shared by some of the other Usen ...

'' — text-based erotic stories of all types. *''

alt.suicide.holiday alt.suicide.holiday (a.s.h, ASH or ash) is a Usenet newsgroup. Its original purpose was to discuss the relationship between suicide rates and holiday seasons. However, it has since evolved into a broad discussion forum where suicidal people can op ...

'' — pro-choice discussion of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. *''

alt.tv.simpsons alt.tv.simpsons (called "a.t.s." by regular readers) is a usenet newsgroup dedicated to discussing the American television program ''The Simpsons''. Created in 1990, the newsgroup became a popular community in the early 1990s, and continues to e ...

'' — discusses the TV show '' The Simpsons.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Newsgroups newsgroups