Re: Netnews: The Origin Story

From	D <nospam@example.net>
Newsgroups	comp.misc
Subject	Re: Netnews: The Origin Story
Date	2024-11-08 16:16 +0100
Organization	i2pn2 (i2pn.org)
Message-ID	<cc965781-8cae-051f-e547-931bc4027339@example.net> (permalink)
References	(7 earlier) <7ae3666d-26fb-3a94-9c79-13ca15dc0fb7@example.net> <672d23c2@news.ausics.net> <vgj9uf$2qcb7$1@dont-email.me> <91478226-bb94-bb85-d76e-bef5262212f1@example.net> <vgjgq2$2re8i$1@dont-email.me>

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On Thu, 7 Nov 2024, Rich wrote:

> D <nospam@example.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 7 Nov 2024, Rich wrote:
>>
>>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote:
>>>> D <nospam@example.net> wrote:
>>>>> On Thu, 7 Nov 2024, Sn!pe wrote:
>>>>>> I think D is more concerned about anonymity than other considerations,
>>>>>> then about 'eavesdropping'.  I'm sure he'll tell us RSN.
>>>>>
>>>>> This is the correct interpretation. I our times of polarization and
>>>>> net-hating, having a modicum of anonymity and privacy is very nice.
>>>>
>>>> That's not about Usenet being unencrypted then. Your identity is
>>>> equally compromised whether you post here via NNTP or NNTPS. But
>>>> you might still not be individually identifiable if you take other
>>>> measures to protect it.
>>>
>>> Anonymity on Usenet is facilitated (in today's world) by the fact that
>>> most every poster is using a "commercial" service [1] that does not
>>> enforce strict naming requirements on the From: line contents.  By
>>> having the freedom to post as "From: D <nospam@example.net>" in the
>>> From: line, D has more anonymity than they would have had back in the
>>> mid 90's when their Usenet access would likely have been via $job or
>>> college, and both $job and college would most likely have enforced use
>>> of a "real name and real email address" in the From: line.
>>
>> That's a very good point and a very interesting historical
>> perspective.  Thank you very much for sharing.
>
> It was very much reality.  Mid 90's, most internet users only had
> access via either their employer or their college, as the very idea of
> an ISP and/or "dialup internet" had not yet hit the general population
> mindset.
>
> And 'internet' access in those days was, more often than not, via a
> shared shell account Unix workstation to which one would connect (via
> one or more of VT100 style serial terminal or dialup modem to a Unix
> terminal server).  One had one's choice of what software to run on
> one's shell account (tin, rn, slrn, etc.) but the Usenet server to
> which these all communicated on that Unix workstation/server was
> controlled by the workstation sysadmin, and in almost all cases, it
> enforced that your 'From:' line name in your Usenet posts was your
> real, actual, identification on that server.
>
> Which also meant if you posted something that someone took great
> offense to, from your @mit.edu account, that the "offended" would
> contact the mit.edu sysadmins, and the "offending" user would be "taken
> behind the woodshed" as it may be.
>
> Granted, "offended" individuals still can contact whatever usenet host
> someone uses to access usenet and bitch up a storm (the necessary
> headers are in every article).  But that same host, being in the
> 'business' of usenet access, is much less likely to care about "From:
> Q@nowhere"'s offensive post than the @mit.edu folks would have been
> back in the day.
>
> And, of course, joe random stalker has a much harder time tracking down
> "Q@nowhere"'s real life identity and location than he does in tracking
> down the same for john.smith.iii@mit.edu.

Makes a lot of sense. I also think that a lot of (well some) amateur 
usenet providers have a strong sense of freedom of speech, so it would 
take a lot for them to even bother.

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Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-05 18:27 +0000
  Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Wolfgang Agnes <wagnes@jemoni.to> - 2024-11-05 15:55 -0300
    Re: Netnews: The Origin Story snipeco.2@gmail.com (Sn!pe) - 2024-11-06 11:42 +0000
      Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Wolfgang Agnes <wagnes@jemoni.to> - 2024-11-06 11:17 -0300
        Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-06 16:54 +0100
          Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-06 16:29 +0000
            Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-06 21:37 +0100
              Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-06 21:48 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-07 10:03 +0100
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-07 11:04 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Wolfgang Agnes <wagnes@jemoni.to> - 2024-11-07 13:12 -0300
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-07 16:19 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Wolfgang Agnes <wagnes@jemoni.to> - 2024-11-07 18:28 -0300
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-07 23:04 +0100
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Wolfgang Agnes <wagnes@jemoni.to> - 2024-11-07 19:41 -0300
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-08 16:14 +0100
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-07 22:59 +0100
              Re: Netnews: The Origin Story kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2024-11-08 01:23 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-08 16:18 +0100
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-08 15:40 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-08 22:02 +0100
            Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Wolfgang Agnes <wagnes@jemoni.to> - 2024-11-06 22:51 -0300
              Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-07 10:07 +0100
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Wolfgang Agnes <wagnes@jemoni.to> - 2024-11-07 13:14 -0300
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-07 23:00 +0100
          Re: Netnews: The Origin Story not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2024-11-07 06:15 +1000
            Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-06 20:26 +0000
              Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-06 21:42 +0100
            Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-06 21:39 +0100
            Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Wolfgang Agnes <wagnes@jemoni.to> - 2024-11-06 23:16 -0300
      Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-06 16:52 +0100
        Re: Netnews: The Origin Story snipeco.2@gmail.com (Sn!pe) - 2024-11-06 17:17 +0000
          Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2024-11-06 18:56 +0000
            Re: Netnews: The Origin Story not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2024-11-07 06:20 +1000
          Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-06 21:37 +0100
            Re: Netnews: The Origin Story snipeco.2@gmail.com (Sn!pe) - 2024-11-06 22:45 +0000
              Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> - 2024-11-07 10:10 +1000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story snipeco.2@gmail.com (Sn!pe) - 2024-11-07 00:34 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-07 10:06 +0100
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2024-11-08 06:32 +1000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-07 21:03 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-07 23:03 +0100
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-07 23:00 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-08 16:16 +0100
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2024-11-08 15:48 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2024-11-08 01:29 +0000
                Re: Netnews: The Origin Story Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2024-11-07 03:20 +0000
              Re: Netnews: The Origin Story D <nospam@example.net> - 2024-11-07 10:04 +0100

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