Big 8 (Usenet)
Encyclopedia
The Big 8 are a group of newsgroup
hierarchies established after the Great Renaming
, a restructuring of Usenet
that took place in 1987. These hierarchies are managed by the Big 8 Management Board. Groups are added through a process of nomination, discussion, and voting.
newsgroups), though they were subject to a few general rules governing their naming and distribution.
alt.* was not part of the original seven, but created separately as a place with more freedom and fewer rules than the Big 7.
In the mid-1990s, when Usenet traffic grew significantly, humanities.* was introduced, and with the seven hierarchies created by the Renaming, comprises today's so-called "Big 8".
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...
hierarchies established after the Great Renaming
Great Renaming
The Great Renaming was a restructuring of Usenet newsgroups that took place in 1987. B News maintainer and UUNET founder Rick Adams is generally considered to be the initiator of the Renaming.-Motivation:...
, a restructuring of Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
that took place in 1987. These hierarchies are managed by the Big 8 Management Board. Groups are added through a process of nomination, discussion, and voting.
History
The original seven hierarchies were comp.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, and talk.*. They were open and free for anyone to participate in (except for the moderatedModeration
Moderation is the process of eliminating or lessening extremes. It is used to ensure normality throughout the medium on which it is being conducted...
newsgroups), though they were subject to a few general rules governing their naming and distribution.
alt.* was not part of the original seven, but created separately as a place with more freedom and fewer rules than the Big 7.
In the mid-1990s, when Usenet traffic grew significantly, humanities.* was introduced, and with the seven hierarchies created by the Renaming, comprises today's so-called "Big 8".
Hierarchies
| Hierarchy | Description | Examples |
| comp.* | Computer Computer A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem... -related discussions |
comp.software, comp.sys.amiga |
| humanities.* | Humanities topics | humanities.music.composers.wagner |
| misc.* | Miscellaneous topics | misc.education, misc.forsale, misc.kids |
| news.* | Newsgroup-related matters. This hierarchy was not originally intended for reporting news News News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :... events. It was meant to deal with matters of Usenet in particular |
news.groups, news.admin |
| rec.* | Recreation Recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"... and entertainment Entertainment Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation... |
rec.music, rec.arts.movies |
| sci.* | Science Science Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe... -related discussions |
sci.physics, sci.research |
| soc.* | Social Society A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations... discussions |
soc.college.org, soc.culture.African |
| talk.* | Talk about various controversial Controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn... topics and discussions with no obvious categorization |
talk.religion, talk.politics, talk.bizarre |