Finding Fun Newsgroups Using Hierarchies
Newsgroup hierarchies make it easy to make sense out of all the different options on Usenet. They allow you to narrow down the subject of the newsgroup to the extent that it’s generally pretty obvious what posts would be relevant to the topic at hand and which would not. There are more laid-back places on Usenet, however, and they tend to be found within a few hierarchies. If you want some lighter conversation and you want to have it in a newsgroup where tangents are welcomed, you may want to take a look at the rec and talk hierarchies.
Rec is specifically about recreation. As you can imagine, the discussions are pretty relaxed. While people do make an effort to remain on topic, you won’t get the kind of resistance you’ll see in other newsgroups if you post something slightly off topic in these newsgroups. There are very specific recreational newsgroups, however, so it still pays to take the time to see if there’s one that’s very specific to the activities you want to discuss. You’ll certainly find all the popular sports in the world represented. You’ll also find subjects such as arts and crafts, movies and much more available in these newsgroups.
The talk hierarchy is another good one for casual conversation. Talk, however, tends to center on more controversial subjects and some of the debates are quite spirited. There are some conversations within the talk newsgroups that are positively obscure, but there are few places where people with these interests can go to have meaningful conversations about ideologies, politics, economics and other subjects that offer the quality that is found in the talk hierarchy. Compared to most Internet forms, the level of discourse on these newsgroups is incredibly advanced and sophisticated.
If you’re interested in more serious topics as a hobby, don’t be afraid to ask in the science and computer hierarchies, or in any others that seem to apply. Remember that it’s important to be on topic, but that it’s not necessary that you be an advanced expert in the subject of the newsgroup you’re posting in. You could go to a particle physics newsgroup, for instance, and ask a very beginner-level question. You generally wont’ get hassled for it and, on the contrary, most people will be happy to have another participant who asks questions relevant to the topic being discussed. Staying on the topic is much appreciated.
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