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Aucbvax.5048 fa.unix-wizards utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!unix-wizards Mon Nov 9 22:53:26 1981 new name for USENET >From cbosgd!mark@Berkeley Mon Nov 9 22:16:52 1981 The release of version B of the network news software is looming near, and a problem has become apparent: an amazing number of people think that USENET and UUCP net are the same thing. This seems to be because USENET was originally chosen as a pun on USENIX, with the intent that the two would somehow become affiliated. As it has turned out, the net does not need to be limited to UNIX machines, and has little to do with USENIX. With this in mind, it seems like it's time to choose a new name for USENET. (For those of you who don't know, USENET is a logical net of sites running netnews, which is a network bboard. It seems to be used for many of the same kinds of things that arpanet mailing lists are, and in fact many arpanet mailing lists, including unix-wizards, are fed into USENET. Uses include queries [does anyone have a driver for a framus 9000?], announcements [we have a new version of x that anyone who wants can get], flames and discussions as are typical of digests, special interest groups (there is a vwrabbit group, for example), and news (for example, one newsgroup posts updates on the Space Shuttle hot off the AP newswire).

Suggestions for new names have included NEWSNET, IDNET (information distribution), as well as humorous ones such as Lola and ARACHNET. At Lauren's suggestion, I'd like to get some input from this list for name suggestions, since whatever it's called will probably affect most of you within a few months once it's released. Please do not respond to the unix-wizards list (unless the list really wants to see responses) but rather directly to me as well as to csvax.netnews@berkeley, which will be fed into the net.news newsgroup.

Mark Horton mark@berkeley

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