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{{short description|Subclass of Usenet newsgroups}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''alt.*'' hierarchy}}
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The birth of the ''alt.*'' hierarchy is tied to a drastic transformation of the Usenet, the [[Great Renaming]] of 1987. The "backbone carriers", or the [[backbone cabal]] as they have been referred to by some users of the [[Usenet]], were vital hubs in the distribution chain of most of the newsgroup postings. Their effort to change the way newsgroups are organized led to objections from some vocal Usenet users.
In particular, the creation of the ''talk.*'' hierarchy for discussions of controversial or sensitive issues by the renaming did not go well. The ''alt.*'' hierarchy was suggested as an alternative to ''talk.*'' by Brian Reid.<ref>[http://www.livinginternet.com/u/ui_alt.htm Alt Hierarchy History – Brian Reid, Usenet Newsgroups, Backbone Administrators<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It would be a [[digital network|network]] without the backbones, thereby free from backbones' influences on creating or not creating a new newsgroup. The first newsgroup on the ''alt.*'' hierarchy was his ''alt.gourmand''.
The prefix "alt" refers to the fact that it is a "hierarchy that is 'alternative' to the 'mainstream' (comp, misc, news, rec, soc, sci and talk) hierarchies". The "So You Want to Create an Alt Newsgroup" FAQ repeats a common joke that the name "alt" is an acronym for "Anarchists, Lunatics, and Terrorists".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://grahammitchell.com/usenet/newalt.html|title=So You Want to Create an Alt Newsgroup |author=Graham Mitchell |access-date=2019-07-15}}</ref>
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==Censorship==
In June 2008, it was announced that [[Sprint Corporation|Sprint]] and [[Verizon Communications|Verizon]] would be cutting off access to the ''alt.*'' hierarchy to their subscribers, citing [[child pornography]] as the only reason. [[Attorney General of New York|New York State Attorney General]] [[Andrew Cuomo]] claimed his office found child porn in 88 of the 100,000 groups that exist on ''alt.*''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-9964895-38.html |title=N.Y. attorney general forces ISPs to curb Usenet access |work=[[CNET News]] |date=June 10, 2008 |author=Declan McCullagh |author-link=Declan McCullagh }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0930574820080611 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226205017/http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0930574820080611 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |title=Internet companies to block child porn sites |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=June 10, 2008 |author1=Christopher Kaufman |author2=Yinka Adegoke }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-9967119-38.html |title=Verizon offers details of Usenet deletion: alt.* groups, others gone |work=[[CNET News]] |date=June 12, 2008 |author=Declan McCullagh |author-link=Declan McCullagh }}</ref> Verizon has not blocked ''alt.*'' from users, but has simply stopped maintaining the ''alt.*'' hierarchy on their own servers. Verizon subscribers can still access the ''alt.*'' hierarchy through a third-party Usenet service.
In the same time frame, [[AT&T]]'s United States–based consumer dial internet service provider decommissioned their [[NNTP]] servers entirely, citing a combination of the above concerns and a putative decline in traffic volume which had accelerated beyond a statistical point of no return.
==See also==
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