Alt.* hierarchy: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Subclass of Usenet newsgroups}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE|:''alt.*'' hierarchy}}

[[File:Usenet-total-storage.jpg|thumb|300px|October 2020 screenshot showing 60 PB of usenet group data.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.binsearch.info/groupinfo.php |title=Usenet storage is more than 60 petabytes (60000 terabytes) |publisher=binsearch.info |access-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200521133653/https://www.binsearch.info/groupinfo.php |archive-date=2020-05-21 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

The '''''alt.*'' hierarchy''' is a major class of [[newsgroup]]s in [[Usenet]], containing all newsgroups whose name begins with "''alt.''", organized hierarchically. The ''alt.*'' hierarchy is not confined to newsgroups of any specific subject or type, although in practice more formally organized groups tend not to occur in ''alt.*''. The ''alt.*'' hierarchy was created by [[John Gilmore (activist)|John Gilmore]] and [[Brian Reid (computer scientist)|Brian Reid]].

Unlike most of the other hierarchies, there is no centralized control of the hierarchy and anyone who is technically capable of creating a newsgroup can do so. In practice, however, most newsgroups follow an informal procedure involving a public discussion in ''alt.config'' before being created. This procedure is designed to help the potential creator better understand what factors contribute to a newsgroup's success.

It is up to each individual [[Usenet newsgroup#Types|news administrator]] whether to add a new newsgroup, and some will not do so if the group has not been discussed in ''alt.config''. As a result, groups that do not follow this procedure are usually not well-propagated. News group removal in theory occurs in much the same way as newsgroup creation, however as a matter of practice most news administrators do not remove newsgroups.

==Origin==

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=httphttps://wwwgrahammitchell.faqs.orgcom/faqs/alt-creation-guideusenet/newalt.html|title=So You Want to Create an Alt Newsgroup |author=Graham accessdateMitchell |access-date=20072019-0507-27|date=July 12, 200815}}</ref>

Alt has since become home for a wide variety of things that did not fit elsewhere. In particular, there are many ''alt.fan'' newsgroups, mostly devoted to discussions of the work and life of famous people: writers, musicians, actors and [[Sportsperson|athletes]] have ''alt.fan'' groups. This sub-hierarchy has also been used for self-promotion by otherwise unknown people. During the notorious [[trial (law)|trial]] of [[Karla Homolka]], ''alt.fan.karla-homolka'' was created to get around the Canadian news blackout on the case.

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==Censorship==

In June 2008, it was announced that [[Sprint NextelCorporation|Sprint]] and [[Verizon Communications|Verizon]] would be cutting off access to the ''alt.*'' hierarchy to their subscribers, citing [[child pornography]] as the number oneonly 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] – Politics and Law – |work=[[CNET News]] (|date=June 10, 2008 12:09|author=Declan PM PDT)Posted byMcCullagh |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] – (Technology) |publisher=[[Reuters]] – Tue |date=June 10, 2008 8:04pm BST (Reporting by |author1=Christopher Kaufman and |author2=Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Louise Heavens and Braden Reddall)}}</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 11:37|author=Declan AMMcCullagh PDT|author-link=Declan PostedMcCullagh by}}</ref> DeclanVerizon McCullaghhas (Thenot Iconoclastblocked –''alt.*'' politics,from lawusers, andbut technology)has –simply CNETstopped Newsmaintaining the ''alt.com</ref>*'' hierarchy on their own servers. Verizon subscribers can still access the ''alt.*'' hierarchy through a third-party Usenet service.

Verizon has not blocked ''alt.*'' from users, they have 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-basedStates–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==

* [[List of newsgroups]]

== References ==

{{reflistReflist}}

==External links==

* [http://nylon.net/alt/index.htm How to create an ALT newsgroup]

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[[Category:Usenet alt.* hierarchy]]

[[Category:1987Internet introductionsproperties established in 1987]]