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Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web

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  Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web Rootbadger <admin@rootbadger.com> - 2026-06-06 23:40 +0000
    Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web Daniel Cerqueira <dan.list@lispclub.com> - 2026-06-07 07:13 +0100
      Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> - 2026-06-06 23:49 -0700
        Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web gmc@metro.cx (Koen Martens) - 2026-06-07 07:42 +0000
          Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web Juancho <eternal@notreally.com> - 2026-06-07 20:43 +0200
            Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web Root Badger <admin@rootbadger.com> - 2026-06-07 20:40 +0000
              Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web Daniel Cerqueira <dan.list@lispclub.com> - 2026-06-07 22:19 +0100
                Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web Root Badger <admin@rootbadger.com> - 2026-06-08 00:53 +0000
            Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style =?windo "Kurt Weiske" <kurt.weiske@realitycheckbbs.org.remove-air-this> - 2026-06-08 07:08 -0700
      Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web Root Badger <admin@rootbadger.com> - 2026-06-07 18:38 +0000
    Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style socialdiscussion "Phigan" <phigan@mutinybbs.com.remove-54f-this> - 2026-06-18 15:23 -0400

#234932 — Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style social discussion for the modern web

I have been working on a new project called RootBadger:

https://rootbadger.com

The idea is simple: what if Usenet had evolved into a modern social media 
platform instead of being replaced by algorithm-driven feeds?

RootBadger is built around hierarchical groups, similar to classic 
newsgroups.

Examples:

tech.computing
tech.computing.quantum
tech.linux
sports.mma
alt.hackers

The goal is to bring back organized discussion without turning it into 
another Reddit, Facebook, or X clone.

RootBadger is intended to be:

- text-first
- group-based
- searchable
- threaded
- organized by topic
- friendly to long-form discussion
- free from algorithmic feed manipulation

The site is still early, which means this is a good chance to be one of 
the first people posting, starting discussions, creating groups, and 
helping shape the community from the beginning.

If you miss the old Internet — Usenet, forums, mailing lists, IRC, and 
actual topic-based conversations — give it a look.

Post something. Start a group. Reply to a thread. Kick the tires.

And please share it with friends who might be interested in a modern 
Usenet-style social platform.

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#234936

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Rootbadger <admin@rootbadger.com> writes:

> I have been working on a new project called RootBadger:
>
> https://rootbadger.com
>

[...]

> And please share it with friends who might be interested in a modern 
> Usenet-style social platform.


I don't mean to be rude, but why?

We have Usenet, right here, with great software to make use of it.  Why
fragment old and now little Usenet?

It would make more sense to develop software for Usenet (a search
engine?), or spend the time in marketing Usenet; from my humble point of
view.

-- 
The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that
refuse military service. ~ Albert Einstein

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#234937

Daniel Cerqueira <dan.list@lispclub.com> writes:

> Rootbadger <admin@rootbadger.com> writes:
>
>> I have been working on a new project called RootBadger:
>>
>> https://rootbadger.com
>>
>
> [...]
>
>> And please share it with friends who might be interested in a modern 
>> Usenet-style social platform.
>
>
> I don't mean to be rude, but why?
>
> We have Usenet, right here, with great software to make use of it.  Why
> fragment old and now little Usenet?
>
> It would make more sense to develop software for Usenet (a search
> engine?), or spend the time in marketing Usenet; from my humble point of
> view.

I tend to agree. I don't think efforts like this would drive away usenet
posters who have stayed here all along. This tool may drive people who
are searching for a distraction-free and algorithm-free platform to post
on that likely has zero bots. And, maybe, just maybe, people may be
drawn to usenet from this new platform.

I'm only optimistic.

--
Daniel
sysop  | air & wave bbs
finger | info@bbs.airandwave.net

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#234938

Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> wrote:
> Daniel Cerqueira <dan.list@lispclub.com> writes:
>> We have Usenet, right here, with great software to make use of it.  Why
>> fragment old and now little Usenet?
>>
>> It would make more sense to develop software for Usenet (a search
>> engine?), or spend the time in marketing Usenet; from my humble point of
>> view.
> 
> I tend to agree. I don't think efforts like this would drive away usenet
> posters who have stayed here all along. This tool may drive people who
> are searching for a distraction-free and algorithm-free platform to post
> on that likely has zero bots. And, maybe, just maybe, people may be
> drawn to usenet from this new platform.

I'm also not sure what a walled garden that is inspired by usenet
would add to the table. It's still a walled garden, whereas usenet
is an open, decentralised and federated space. It scales better and
isn't dependant on a single entity controlling what can and cannot
be posted.

It also seems these new alternative 'social networks' pop up by the
dozen these days, no doubt the majority of them are vibe coded
disasters. Not saying this one is, I haven't checked.

Cheers,

Koen

-- 
Software architecture & engineering: https://www.sonologic.se/
Sci-fi: https://www.koenmartens.nl/
Retrocomputing videos: https://retroscandinavian.eu/

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#234946

Koen Martens wrote:
> Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> wrote:
>
>>I tend to agree. I don't think efforts like this would drive away usenet
>>posters who have stayed here all along.
> 
> I'm also not sure what a walled garden that is inspired by usenet
> would add to the table. It's still a walled garden, whereas usenet
> is an open, decentralised and federated space.

It adds nothing to the table. The proposal to replace USENET with a
privately owned, all-topic-emcompasing, web forum is ludicrous.

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#234950

On 2026-06-07, Juancho <eternal@notreally.com> wrote:
> Koen Martens wrote:
>> Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> wrote:
>>
>>>I tend to agree. I don't think efforts like this would drive away usenet
>>>posters who have stayed here all along.
>> 
>> I'm also not sure what a walled garden that is inspired by usenet
>> would add to the table. It's still a walled garden, whereas usenet
>> is an open, decentralised and federated space.
>
> It adds nothing to the table. The proposal to replace USENET with a
> privately owned, all-topic-emcompasing, web forum is ludicrous.

NO one said anything about replacing usenet, calm down, son.

Nothing will ever replace usnet ffs, it is just a new social media
platform coming soon and will also be decentralized eventually.

lol God damn!

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#234952

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Root Badger <admin@rootbadger.com> writes:

> On 2026-06-07, Juancho <eternal@notreally.com> wrote:
>> Koen Martens wrote:
>>> Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>I tend to agree. I don't think efforts like this would drive away usenet
>>>>posters who have stayed here all along.
>>> 
>>> I'm also not sure what a walled garden that is inspired by usenet
>>> would add to the table. It's still a walled garden, whereas usenet
>>> is an open, decentralised and federated space.
>>
>> It adds nothing to the table. The proposal to replace USENET with a
>> privately owned, all-topic-emcompasing, web forum is ludicrous.
>
> NO one said anything about replacing usenet, calm down, son.
>
> Nothing will ever replace usnet ffs, it is just a new social media
> platform coming soon and will also be decentralized eventually.
>
> lol God damn!

The gist is not the "replacing" wording, it is the rest of those words
that should be taken more into account.

Don't count me in, and I doubt you have a way to stop trolling if it
reaches rootbadger.

Peace,

-- 
A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes
all the difference. ~ Alan Alexander Milne

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#234962

On 2026-06-07, Daniel Cerqueira <dan.list@lispclub.com> wrote:
> --=-=-=
> Content-Type: text/plain
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
> Root Badger <admin@rootbadger.com> writes:
>
>> On 2026-06-07, Juancho <eternal@notreally.com> wrote:
>>> Koen Martens wrote:
>>>> Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>I tend to agree. I don't think efforts like this would drive away usenet
>>>>>posters who have stayed here all along.
>>>>=20
>>>> I'm also not sure what a walled garden that is inspired by usenet
>>>> would add to the table. It's still a walled garden, whereas usenet
>>>> is an open, decentralised and federated space.
>>>
>>> It adds nothing to the table. The proposal to replace USENET with a
>>> privately owned, all-topic-emcompasing, web forum is ludicrous.
>>
>> NO one said anything about replacing usenet, calm down, son.
>>
>> Nothing will ever replace usnet ffs, it is just a new social media
>> platform coming soon and will also be decentralized eventually.
>>
>> lol God damn!
>
> The gist is not the "replacing" wording, it is the rest of those words
> that should be taken more into account.
>
> Don't count me in, and I doubt you have a way to stop trolling if it
> reaches rootbadger.

RootBadger would be pro-free speech, but not pro-spam or pro-harassment.

People should be able to argue, criticize, disagree, joke, offend, and have
strong opinions without admins jumping in every five seconds.

But free speech does not mean flooding groups, harassing users, doxxing
people, impersonating others, posting malicious links, running fake-account
spam, or wrecking every discussion on purpose.

That is where the tools come in: email verification, new-user posting limits,
rate limits, link scanning, spam scoring, disposable email checks, duplicate
post detection, moderation queues, and admin controls for banning accounts,
email domains, IPs, IP ranges, and spam domains.

So the idea is simple: protect open discussion, but keep out the garbage that
makes open discussion impossible.

--
Rootbadger

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#234967 — Re: Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style =?windo

  To: Juancho
-=> Juancho wrote to alt.folklore.computers <=-

 Ju> It adds nothing to the table. The proposal to replace USENET with a
 Ju> privately owned, all-topic-emcompasing, web forum is ludicrous.

 I've seen a couple of "dark forest" implementations, citing concerns
 over exposure of creative works to the Greater Internet. Feels like a
 walled garden, which might have its uses in some implementations (like
 a group collective working towards a specific set of goals) but would
 still feel like AOL/Compuserve if meant to be a hangout.

          kurt weiske | kweiske at realitycheckbbs dot org
                     | http://realitycheckbbs.org
                     | 1:218/700@fidonet




 
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
--- Synchronet 3.21f-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
 *  realitycheckBBS - Aptos, CA - telnet://realitycheckbbs.org

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#234945

On 2026-06-07, Daniel Cerqueira <dan.list@lispclub.com> wrote:
> --=-=-=
> Content-Type: text/plain
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
> Rootbadger <admin@rootbadger.com> writes:
>
>> I have been working on a new project called RootBadger:
>>
>> https://rootbadger.com
>>
>
> [...]
>
>> And please share it with friends who might be interested in a modern=20
>> Usenet-style social platform.
>
>
> I don't mean to be rude, but why?
>
> We have Usenet, right here, with great software to make use of it.  Why
> fragment old and now little Usenet?
>
> It would make more sense to develop software for Usenet (a search
> engine?), or spend the time in marketing Usenet; from my humble point of
> view.
>
>=2D-=20
> The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that
> refuse military service. ~ Albert Einstein
>
> --=-=-=
> Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc"
>
> --=-=-=--

Simply put, I created RootBadger because modern social media is a
mess, and Usenet, while still interesting, has become troll heaven for
a lot of people.

I wanted to build something with the spirit of Usenet, but without all
the garbage that drove people away. A place with topic-based groups,
threaded discussions, and a more old-school Internet feel, but
presented as a modern social platform.

The goal is to make RootBadger into what some of us wish Usenet had
become: organized, searchable, decentralized, and useful, without being
overrun by trolls and noise.

Not many people are flocking to traditional Usenet anymore, and good
news servers usually cost money. If RootBadger helps open the door to a
better version of that style of discussion, then great.

Nobody has to like it, join it, or think it is needed. That choice is
theirs. I built it because I wanted to see if this kind of platform
could still have a place.

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#235105 — Introducing RootBadger — Usenet-style socialdiscussion

  To: Rootbadger
  Re: Introducing RootBadger =?UTF-8?B?4oCU?= Usenet-style socialdiscussion 
  By: Rootbadger to alt.folklore.computers on Sat Jun 06 2026 23:40:21

 > I have been working on a new project called RootBadger:

I'm on a C64 right now. Sometimes I'm on an Atari 800XL. Can I still use
RootBadger?

I can telnet and SSH in a VT100/ANSI compliant terminal.
--- Synchronet 3.16c-Win32 NewsLink 1.103
MutinyBBS - telnet : mutinybbs.com:2332 - ssh : mutinybbs.com:2232

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