Small web projects keep rediscovering the same thing Usenet already knew: putting discussion into named places helps people find the right audience.

I have been helping test RootBadger:

https://www.rootbadger.com

It is a web forum with a Usenet-inspired layout. Not a Usenet replacement, and not pretending to be one. The interesting bit is that it keeps a hierarchy model
instead of a single algorithmic feed. Groups live under rb.* so the names stay clear: rb.comp for computer topics, rb.rec for hobbies and entertainment, rb.sci
for science, rb.soc and rb.talk for social/political discussion, rb.alt for the weirder stuff, plus regional and language groups.

There are also some more specific groups already there: Linux, programming, computer security, privacy, radio, books, science fiction, music, world news, technology news, cryptids, and a RootBadger operations group for feedback on the
site itself.

The site has a posting-etiquette idea called BurrowCraft. It is mostly old good sense: write a real subject line, pick the right group, keep replies tied to the
thread, trim quotes, proofread, and make the post useful enough that somebody can answer it.

That feels like something worth preserving from the older net. If anyone here likes watching forum designs evolve, I would be curious what you think of the hierarchy and whether the rb.* names are clear enough.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2026-06-21, Mara Vale wrote:

Small web projects keep rediscovering the same thing Usenet already knew: putting discussion into named places helps people find the right audience.

I have been helping test RootBadger:

[...]

The site has a posting-etiquette idea called BurrowCraft. It is mostly old good
sense: write a real subject line, pick the right group, keep replies tied to the
thread, trim quotes, proofread, and make the post useful enough that somebody can answer it.

It may make sense to include there "check for similar subjects in the
past few days/weeks" in order to avoid repeating something, and to try
to keep things in a single thread :-P

(cf. <news://news.blueworldhosting.com/1102b55$3h691$1@paganini.bofh.team>)

Does it refer to RFC 1855, BTW?

--
Nuno Silva

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Mara Vale wrote:

Small web projects keep rediscovering the same thing Usenet already knew: putting discussion into named places helps people find the right audience.

Community spaces have certainly been shrinking, and boiling down into
sections of current social media sites, Reddit is by far one of the only
ones that seems to actually cultivate some smaller communities that
don't always get sucked into algorithms - but everyone knows they have a reputation for a reason...

It is a web forum with a Usenet-inspired layout. Not a Usenet replacement, and
not pretending to be one. The interesting bit is that it keeps a hierarchy model
instead of a single algorithmic feed. Groups live under rb.* so the names stay
clear: rb.comp for computer topics, rb.rec for hobbies and entertainment, rb.sci
for science, rb.soc and rb.talk for social/political discussion, rb.alt for the
weirder stuff, plus regional and language groups
That feels like something worth preserving from the older net. If anyone here likes watching forum designs evolve, I would be curious what you think of the hierarchy and whether the rb.* names are clear enough.

Honestly one of the major things that I've noticed the most with using Newsgroups and Usenet as a whole is how utterly human it feels, the
excitement of seeing a new post in your favourite group, reading through replies, and seeing actual informational content! Seeing a variety - or
just seeing the topics you want to see! It's beautiful, I'd never think
that I'd actually have so much fun reading through pure text.

We're never going to bring back the old net, much to alot of people's
dismay, but I think we can carry the spirit that it once had - the communtities, the user content, a break from the algorithm and the never-ending slop that thrives off of selling your data.

I'm glad to see more projects like this cropping up, I'll definitely
have to check it out!

--
- Mokka

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)