<messaging> One of {Usenet}'s huge collection of topic groups
	or {fora}.  {Usenet} groups can be "unmoderated" (anyone can
	post) or "moderated" (submissions are automatically directed
	to a {moderator}, who edits or filters and then posts the
	results).  Some newsgroups have parallel {mailing lists} for
	{Internet} people with no netnews access, with postings to the
	group automatically propagated to the list and vice versa.
	Some moderated groups (especially those which are actually
	gatewayed {Internet} {mailing lists}) are distributed as
	"{digests}", with groups of postings periodically collected
	into a single large posting with an index.

	Among the best-known are comp.lang.c (the {C}-language forum),
	comp.arch (on computer architectures), comp.Unix.wizards (for
	{Unix wizards}), rec.arts.sf-lovers (for science-fiction
	fans), and talk.politics.misc (miscellaneous political
	discussions and {flamage}).

	Barry Shein <bzs@world.std.com> is alleged to have said,
	"Remember the good old days when you could read all the group
	names in one day?"  This gives a good idea of the growth and
	size of {Usenet}.

	See also {netiquette}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1994-12-13)