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Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

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netnews <strong>and</strong> newsgroups 333In the long run a balance will likely be struck betweenproviders’ need to control traffic to maintain efficiency <strong>and</strong>quality <strong>of</strong> service (QoS) <strong>and</strong> the rights <strong>of</strong> users to exchangeinformation <strong>and</strong> resources freely.Further Reading“Crackdown: Comcast Blocks Peer-to-Peer Web Traffic.” Portfolio.com,October 19, 2007. Available online. URL: http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2007/10/19/crackdown-comcast-blocks-peer-to-peer-web-traffic.Accessed October 21, 2007Gilroy, Angela A. Net Neutrality: Background <strong>and</strong> Issues. CongressionalResearch Service, May 16, 2006. Available online.URL: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22444.pdf. AccessedOctober 25, 2007.Leonard, Thomas M., <strong>and</strong> R<strong>and</strong>olph J. May, eds. Net Neutrality orNet Neutering: Should Broadb<strong>and</strong> Internet Services Be Regulated?New York: Springer, 2006.“Network Neutrality in the United States.” Wikipedia. Availableonline. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality_in_the_US. Accessed October 21, 2007.Nuechterlein, Jonathan E., <strong>and</strong> Philip J. Weiser. Digital Crossroads:American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age. Cambridge,Mass.: MIT Press, 2007.netnews <strong>and</strong> newsgroupsOriginally called Usenet <strong>and</strong> originating in the UNIX usercommunity in the late 1970s, netnews is distributed todayover the Internet in the form <strong>of</strong> thous<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong> newsgroupsdevoted to just about every imaginable topic.DevelopmentBy the late 1970s, researchers at many major universitieswere using the UNIX operating system (see UNIX). In 1979,a suite <strong>of</strong> utilities called UUCP was distributed with thewidely used UNIX Version 7. These utilities could be usedto transfer files between UNIX computers that were linkedby some form <strong>of</strong> telephone or network connection.Two Duke University graduate students, Tom Truscott<strong>and</strong> Jim Ellis, decided to set up a way in which users on differentcomputers could share a collection <strong>of</strong> files containingtext messages on various topics. They wrote a simple set <strong>of</strong>shell scripts that could be used for distributing <strong>and</strong> viewingthese message files. The first version <strong>of</strong> the news networklinked computers at Duke <strong>and</strong> at the University <strong>of</strong> NorthCarolina. Soon these programs were revised <strong>and</strong> rewrittenin the C language <strong>and</strong> distributed to other UNIX users asthe “A” release <strong>of</strong> the News s<strong>of</strong>tware.During the 1980s, the news system was exp<strong>and</strong>ed <strong>and</strong>features such as moderated newsgroups were added. As theInternet <strong>and</strong> its TCP/IP protocol (see tcp/ip) became amore widespread st<strong>and</strong>ard for connecting computers, a version<strong>of</strong> News using the NNTP (Network News TransmissionProtocol) over the Internet was released in 1986. Netnewsis a mature system today, with news reading s<strong>of</strong>tware availablefor virtually every type <strong>of</strong> computer.Structure <strong>and</strong> FeaturesNetnews postings are simply text files that begin with a set<strong>of</strong> st<strong>and</strong>ard headers, similar to those used in e-mail. (Likee-mail, news postings can have binary graphics or programfiles attached, using a st<strong>and</strong>ard called MIME, for MultipurposeInternet Mail Extensions.)The files are stored on news servers—machines thathave the spare capacity to h<strong>and</strong>le the hundreds <strong>of</strong> gigabytes<strong>of</strong> messages now posted each week. The files are stored ina typical hierarchical UNIX fashion, grouped into approximately75,000 different newsgroups.As shown in the following table, the newsgroups are brokendown into 10 major categories. The names <strong>of</strong> individualgroups begin with the major category <strong>and</strong> then specify subdivisions.For example, the newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.pcdeals with IBM PC-compatible personal computers, whilecomp.os.linux deals with the Linux operating system.Categoryaltbizcomphumanitiesmisc.newsrecscisoctalkMAIN DIVISIONS OFNETNEWS NEWSGROUPSCoverageAn alternative system with its own completeselection <strong>of</strong> topics.Business-related discussion, products, etc.<strong>Computer</strong> hardware, s<strong>of</strong>tware <strong>and</strong> operatingsystems.Arts <strong>and</strong> literature, philosophy, etc.Various topics that don’t fit in anothercategory.Announcements <strong>and</strong> information relating tothe news system itself.Sports, games, <strong>and</strong> hobbies.The sciences.Social <strong>and</strong> cultural issues.Current controversies <strong>and</strong> debates.Distribution <strong>and</strong> ReadingThe servers are linked into a branching distribution system.Messages being posted by users are forwarded to the nearestmajor regional “node” site, which in turn distributesthem to other major nodes. In turn, when messages arriveat a major node from another region, they are distributedto all the smaller sites that share the newsfeed. Due to thevolume <strong>of</strong> groups <strong>and</strong> messages, many sites now choose toreceive only a subset <strong>of</strong> the total newsfeed. Sites also determinewhen messages will expire (<strong>and</strong> thus be removed fromthe site).There are dozens <strong>of</strong> different news reading programsthat can be used to view the available newsgroups <strong>and</strong>postings. On UNIX systems, programs such as elm <strong>and</strong> tinare popular, while other newsreaders cater to Windows,Macintosh, <strong>and</strong> other systems. Major Web browsers such asNetscape <strong>and</strong> Internet Explorer <strong>of</strong>fer simplified news readingfeatures. To use these news readers, the user accessesa newsfeed at an address provided by the Internet ServiceProvider (ISP). There are also services that let users simplynavigate through the news system by following the linkson a Web page. The former service called DejaNews, now

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