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Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.*

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Deleting groups does not address the actual reasons why
Usenet declined in the first place.

Activity alone has never been the sole measure of a group's
value. Some groups exist because they represent a specific
subject, culture, language, or community, even if traffic is
low. Removing them may simplify the group list, but it also
makes Usenet narrower and less diverse.

And once groups are removed, recreating them later is far
more difficult than simply leaving them alone. The cost of
keeping a quiet group is minimal. The cost of permanently
removing a legitimate group can be much higher.

I am also not convinced that pruning groups will attract new
users. Most new users today discover communities through
search engines, recommendations, or archives, not by
manually browsing long active newsgroup lists like people
did in the 1980s.


>>>>> "Engelbert" == Engelbert Buxbaum <engelbert_buxbaum@hotmail.com> writes:

    Engelbert> In article <MPG.4470e6e2c65d62b8989e95
    Engelbert> @news.eternal-september.org>,
    Engelbert> thetruemelissa@gmail.com says...
    >> 
    >> People log on and check a few groups they
    Engelbert> used to
    >> like, find them empty, and decide Usenet's already
    >> dead. Pruning
    Engelbert> dead
    >> groups helps the whole Usenet survive.

    Engelbert> That is exactly my reaction. I keep Usenet
    Engelbert> for a few active groups like comp.text.tex
    Engelbert> and occasionally check on other groups that
    Engelbert> used to interest me. But they are dead...
    >> 
    >> Now that the spam problem is under control, Usenet is
    >> blessedly free from corporatism. If it becomes more
    >> popular, corporations will turn
    Engelbert> up
    >> soon enough.

    Engelbert> I have never understood why people feed the
    Engelbert> coffers of Meta and other companies if they
    Engelbert> could have the same thing on Usenet without
    Engelbert> all their data being sucked off by Big
    Engelbert> Business.
    >> 
    >> > Anyway, if it's dead groups we're combining, then
    >> what is the > harm? The worst that can happen is that
    >> instead of ten dead > groups you now have one dead
    >> group.
    >> 
    >> Exactly. The recombined groups won't magically spring
    >> back to life,
    Engelbert> but
    >> potential new users will see the groups with traffic
    >> instead of
    Engelbert> having
    >> to hunt around and do web searches for "active Usenet
    >> groups."

    Engelbert> I see it the same way. Either we do something
    Engelbert> now and hope for the best, or we just stand
    Engelbert> by and watch Usenet go completely down the
    Engelbert> sink.

    Engelbert> And yes, whatever you do (not) do, somebody
    Engelbert> will be angry because they have to change how
    Engelbert> they were doing things. But - in a dead
    Engelbert> group, the number of these people will be, by
    Engelbert> definition, small.  - well, that's
    Engelbert> democracy. Some people see that things
    Engelbert> happen; others, that they don't happen. Many
    Engelbert> watch how things happen, but the vast
    Engelbert> majority has no idea what the h*** is
    Engelbert> happening. Democracy is the worst goverment
    Engelbert> system possible -- except all the others.

    Engelbert> The one thing valuable and worth saving in
    Engelbert> many groups is their FAQ. That often
    Engelbert> contained valuable info especially for
    Engelbert> newbies. If groups are combined, their FAQs
    Engelbert> should be, too. And, yes, I am willing to do
    Engelbert> that for a group that interests me, like
    Engelbert> comp.lang.pascal.*

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RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Julien ÉLIE <iulius@nom-de-mon-site.com.invalid> - 2026-01-07 20:59 -0500
  Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Rink <rink.hof.haalditmaarweg@planet.nl> - 2026-02-06 12:02 -0500
  Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* David Chmelik <dchmelik@gmail.com> - 2026-03-02 16:38 -0500
  Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-03-17 10:03 -0400
    Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Marco Moock <mm@dorfdsl.de> - 2026-03-17 15:38 -0400
      Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-03-18 07:28 -0400
        Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Marco Moock <mm@dorfdsl.de> - 2026-03-18 15:46 -0400
          Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-03-19 05:43 -0400
        Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Julien ÉLIE <iulius@nom-de-mon-site.com.invalid> - 2026-03-19 05:20 -0400
          Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-03-19 15:01 -0400
            Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* gmc@metro.cx (Koen Martens) - 2026-05-10 13:20 -0400
              Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Michael Bäuerle <michael.baeuerle@gmx.net> - 2026-05-11 07:28 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 08:13 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-05-18 02:31 -0400
              Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* noel <deletethis@invalid.lan> - 2026-05-11 07:29 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-05-18 02:31 -0400
              Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Steve Bonine <spb@pobox.com> - 2026-05-14 15:35 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-14 23:12 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* gmc@metro.cx (Koen Martens) - 2026-05-15 04:39 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* noel <deletethis@invalid.lan> - 2026-05-15 11:21 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-15 11:22 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Dr Engelbert Buxbaum <engelbert_buxbaum@hotmail.com> - 2026-05-16 05:41 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-05-18 02:31 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Steve Bonine <spb@pobox.com> - 2026-05-18 02:32 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-05-18 02:31 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-18 07:10 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-05-19 06:01 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-19 07:33 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* D Finnigan <dog_cow@macgui.com> - 2026-05-19 14:40 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-05-20 05:15 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Marco Moock <mm@dorfdsl.de> - 2026-05-19 14:25 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Steve Bonine <spb@pobox.com> - 2026-05-18 02:31 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Julien ÉLIE <iulius@nom-de-mon-site.com.invalid> - 2026-06-03 17:41 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Marco Moock <mm@dorfdsl.de> - 2026-06-04 02:26 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Julien ÉLIE <iulius@nom-de-mon-site.com.invalid> - 2026-06-04 16:43 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Thomas Hochstein <thh@thh.name> - 2026-06-05 02:09 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-06-17 02:08 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Thomas Hochstein <thh@thh.name> - 2026-06-04 12:08 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Julien ÉLIE <iulius@nom-de-mon-site.com.invalid> - 2026-06-04 16:25 -0400
                Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* vintageapplemac@gmail.com (scole) - 2026-06-11 13:01 -0400
              Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Marco Moock <mm@dorfdsl.de> - 2026-05-16 05:47 -0400
              Re: RfD: Rationalization of talk.* Moses <moses.mason@gmail.com> - 2026-05-18 02:31 -0400

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