[This followup was posted to alt.amateur-comp and a copy
was sent to the cited author.]

This is my first day on Usenet after several years. I
first got on Usenet on January 10, 1992 from the Cleveland
Freenet. I have had many special experiences on Usenet in
the past and I am glad to see that there are those who
have continued to support Usenet and that there is an
effort to revive the good experiences Usenet made
possible. Usenet for me was part of the "Welcome to the
Wonderful World of the Net" that marked the 1990s and the
Internet. I hope ways can be found to learn from the best
of the Net and to support its continuation.

Ronda

In article <MPG.3b80ee463d95136a989680@144.76.35.252>,
ronda.netizens@gmail.com says...
>
> This is my first day on Usenet after several years. I
> first got on Usenet on January 10, 1992 from the Cleveland
> Freenet. I have had many special experiences on Usenet in
> the past and I am glad to see that there are those who
> have continued to support Usenet and that there is an
> effort to revive the good experiences Usenet made
> possible. Usenet for me was part of the "Welcome to the
> Wonderful World of the Net" that marked the 1990s and the
> Internet. I hope ways can be found to learn from the best
> of the Net and to support its continuation.

Welcome back, Ronda!

I only got online in the late 90s, but soon discovered Usenet and have
been around off and on ever since. I've had lots of great conversations
and made some friends along the way. It's a bit quieter these days, but
I still feel like Usenet has value as a place to talk without a
corporation trying to steer you towards whatever content they think will
keep you coming back to look at more ads.

I also hope we can learn from the way the Net has grown and developed
over the years, and find ways to continue building the cooperative
grassroots communities that have always been its biggest strength.

R

[This followup was posted to alt.fan.usenet and a copy was
sent to the cited author.]

In article <MPG.3b821c64b5092904989693@news.eternal-
september.org>, usenet202101@magic-
cookie.co.ukNOSPAMPLEASE says...
>
> In article <MPG.3b80ee463d95136a989680@144.76.35.252>,
> ronda.netizens@gmail.com says...
> >
> > This is my first day on Usenet after several years. I
> > first got on Usenet on January 10, 1992 from the Cleveland
> > Freenet. I have had many special experiences on Usenet in
> > the past and I am glad to see that there are those who
> > have continued to support Usenet and that there is an
> > effort to revive the good experiences Usenet made
> > possible. Usenet for me was part of the "Welcome to the
> > Wonderful World of the Net" that marked the 1990s and the
> > Internet. I hope ways can be found to learn from the best
> > of the Net and to support its continuation.
>
> Welcome back, Ronda!
>
> I only got online in the late 90s, but soon discovered Usenet and have
> been around off and on ever since. I've had lots of great conversations
> and made some friends along the way. It's a bit quieter these days, but
> I still feel like Usenet has value as a place to talk without a
> corporation trying to steer you towards whatever content they think will
> keep you coming back to look at more ads.
>
> I also hope we can learn from the way the Net has grown and developed
> over the years, and find ways to continue building the cooperative
> grassroots communities that have always been its biggest strength.
>
> R

Thanks Rayner !

For me it is a bit amazing to be able to be back on Usenet
with a post and as part of a conversation.

I find it encouraging that there are those making efforts
to support and to spread Usenet despite all the hurdles.

Thanks for the help you have given Jay and me to be able
to connect to Usenet. That is a sign of what was some of
the best of Usenet in the past and what made it possible
for Usenet to develop and flourish. And it is a sign of
the continuation of Usenet.

Also Tristan's talk and the discussion that followed
documented the cooperative spirit that made it possible
for Usenet to thrive.

Its important to find ways to continue and support such
efforts

Ronda

In article <MPG.3b834116a6f9090a989681@144.76.35.252>,
ronda.netizens@gmail.com says...
>
> Thanks for the help you have given Jay and me to be able
> to connect to Usenet. That is a sign of what was some of
> the best of Usenet in the past and what made it possible
> for Usenet to develop and flourish. And it is a sign of
> the continuation of Usenet.

You're very welcome! And yes, I believe Usenet will last for as long as
there are people willing to put in a little effort to make it work. It
doesn't even have to be running a server or moderating a group, just
starting an interesting thread or posting a helpful reply from time to
time to keep communities thriving.

> Its important to find ways to continue and support such
> efforts

We're certainly trying our best, and always appreciate feedback!

R

ronda hauben <ronda.netizens@gmail.com> wrote in
news:MPG.3b80ee463d95136a989680@144.76.35.252:

> [This followup was posted to alt.amateur-comp and a copy
> was sent to the cited author.]
>
> This is my first day on Usenet after several years. I
> first got on Usenet on January 10, 1992 from the Cleveland
> Freenet. I have had many special experiences on Usenet in
> the past and I am glad to see that there are those who
> have continued to support Usenet and that there is an
> effort to revive the good experiences Usenet made
> possible. Usenet for me was part of the "Welcome to the
> Wonderful World of the Net" that marked the 1990s and the
> Internet. I hope ways can be found to learn from the best
> of the Net and to support its continuation.
>
> Ronda
>

Does anyone know of any Freenets that still exist or are in use?

The Seattle Community Network still seems to exist:
http://www.scn.org/

Chebucto Community Net in Halifax still exists:
https://www.chebucto.ns.ca/

Toronto Free-Net:
http://torfree.net/

Anyone know of any others?

In article <XnsADA18CBC57D0Cquag7@144.76.35.252>, crisisweasel@gmail.com
says...
>
> Does anyone know of any Freenets that still exist or are in use?
>
> The Seattle Community Network still seems to exist:
> http://www.scn.org/
>
>
> Chebucto Community Net in Halifax still exists:
> https://www.chebucto.ns.ca/

Mention of Chebucto brought back memories of Norman De Forest, who was a
tireless volunteer on the Chebucto userhelp team as well as a generous
and thoughtful contributor to Usenet. Google Groups is flaky these days,
but if the link works, this thread contains a wonderful tribute:
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.virus/c/abDxPPICLtI/m/l7dfyg3Nly4J

As for other freenets, NCF in Ottawa certainly seems to be going strong
after 29 years: https://www.ncf.ca/

[This followup was posted to alt.amateur-comp and a copy was sent to the
cited author.]

rticle <XnsADA18CBC57D0Cquag7@144.76.35.252>, crisisweasel@gmail.com
says...
>
> ronda hauben <ronda.netizens@gmail.com> wrote in
> news:MPG.3b80ee463d95136a989680@144.76.35.252:
>
> > [This followup was posted to alt.amateur-comp and a copy
> > was sent to the cited author.]
> >
> > This is my first day on Usenet after several years. I
> > first got on Usenet on January 10, 1992 from the Cleveland
> > Freenet. I have had many special experiences on Usenet in
> > the past and I am glad to see that there are those who
> > have continued to support Usenet and that there is an
> > effort to revive the good experiences Usenet made
> > possible. Usenet for me was part of the "Welcome to the
> > Wonderful World of the Net" that marked the 1990s and the
> > Internet. I hope ways can be found to learn from the best
> > of the Net and to support its continuation.
> >
For those interested in the Freenets, here is a link to a "Brief History
of Cleveland Free-Net"

http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn7-1.a09.html

> > Ronda
> >
>
> Does anyone know of any Freenets that still exist or are in use?
>
> The Seattle Community Network still seems to exist:
> http://www.scn.org/
>
>
> Chebucto Community Net in Halifax still exists:
> https://www.chebucto.ns.ca/
>
>
> Toronto Free-Net:
> http://torfree.net/
>
>
> Anyone know of any others?

[This followup was posted to alt.amateur-comp and a copy
was sent to the cited author.]

In article <MPG.3bab6a9d99522b7b989696@news.eternal-
september.org>, usenet202101@magic-
cookie.co.ukNOSPAMPLEASE says...
>
> In article <XnsADA18CBC57D0Cquag7@144.76.35.252>, crisisweasel@gmail.com
> says...
> >
> > Does anyone know of any Freenets that still exist or are in use?
> >
> > The Seattle Community Network still seems to exist:
> > http://www.scn.org/
> >
> >
> > Chebucto Community Net in Halifax still exists:
> > https://www.chebucto.ns.ca/
>
> Mention of Chebucto brought back memories of Norman De Forest, who was a
> tireless volunteer on the Chebucto userhelp team as well as a generous
> and thoughtful contributor to Usenet. Google Groups is flaky these days,
> but if the link works, this thread contains a wonderful tribute:
> https://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.virus/c/abDxPPICLtI/m/l7dfyg3Nly4J
>
> As for other freenets, NCF in Ottawa certainly seems to be going strong
> after 29 years: https://www.ncf.ca/

NCF Just celebrated its 29th Anniversary on September 29.
It was registered on September 29, 1992. It recently
posted a "Happy Birthday to us" on twitter @ncfottawa
At their web site there was an interesting publication of
how they got started.
http://web.ncf.ca/fn352/InTheirOwnWords.pdf

I wonder if anyone knows if any of the existing FreeNets
offer Usenet?

BTW the Cleveland FreeNet ended on Oct 1 1999. That was a
big loss as it was an important pioneer of making the Net
in general and especially Usenet available in a way that
was accessible.

Ronda

Hey, Ronda! Haven't seen you in a.f.c for a while.

--
Rich Alderson news@alderson.users.panix.com
Audendum est, et veritas investiganda; quam etiamsi non assequamur,
omnino tamen proprius, quam nunc sumus, ad eam perveniemus.
--Galen

On 10/4/21 4:14 PM, ronda hauben wrote:

[...]

>>> Does anyone know of any Freenets that still exist or are in use?

Some links below might be useful to you.

[...]

> I wonder if anyone knows if any of the existing FreeNets
> offer Usenet?

Link to the Tildeverse below has more information on a open NNTP server.
There's also https://news.aioe.org and
https://www.eternal-september.org. Some long-running cypherpunk NNTP
servers are intentionally run as open access but don't advertise that
fact. We can find each other's goodies by scanning ports ;)

[...]

I hope this isn't too much information. I'm really holding back a bit ;)
Many links await toward the bottom of this message.

Following your train of thought about the good 'ol days has me feeling
effusive and ready to go full-on grandiloquent of oratory. I too was
disconnected from the wire for quite a long spell, so long in fact I
almost forgot any of it existed.

I know of some old public access systems still in business, lots of
BBSes still running, and a horde of newer generation public access and
nano-niche communities with old-timey netizen nostalgia. Even Fidonet is
still chugging along.

Good news is some of these freenets are slowly growing! A new freenet,
Tildeverse, popped up and something like a thousand people jumped
onboard in no time.

Some of the freenet sites haven't updated the style or UX of their web
pages in decades. This links to a great example of an old site with
freenets listings:

http://www.afn.org/~alplatt/freenets.html.

This web page is like a present-day Pennsyltucky / Georgiabama
boondocker with a 80s-style mullet and a wife-beater T-shirt, clueless
that he appears anachronistic. Change goes in his pocket, not on his
fashion. Times may change, yet Bubba doesn't.

I love it that these old communities are still around. Nothing says olde
tyme like logging on to a BBS that's been running for 30+ years to chat
with the SysOp about retro terminal fonts or ASCII graphics or learn a
modem from the 80s _still works_ and is still walking Fido on a copper
leash.

The Super Dimension Fortress
SDF Public Access UNIX System .. Est. 1987
Everything from shells to gopher sites to dialup to irc
https://sdf.org/

Nyx - The Spirit of the Night
World's oldest ISP, still in existence
Free Public Internet Access
https://www.nyx.net/

Tildeverse (much newer community)
They also provide Usenet access, link on their page
https://tilde.club

FidoNet (still many BBS setups, esp. w/ synchronet)
https://www.fidonet.org/

PolarHome
Lots of servers for shell accounts, forums, email.
http://polarhome.com/

Many Newer Public Access Communities
(some of the current generation 'grok' ye olde schoole)
https://tilde.club/~pfhawkins/othertildes.html

A walk down nerd memory lane, explaining the formation of the Tildeverse
https://medium.com/message/tilde-club-i-had-a-couple-drinks-and-woke-up-with-1-000-nerds-a8904f0a2ebf

Poking around the googlesphere for 'free shell accounts' one can sift
out some old communities still hiding out. God only knows what fun and
mischievous things lurk in these spaces.

--
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