2008 was a mixed one for the Usenet community. Many saw their Internet service provider drop free newsgroup access and start limiting or up-charging for bandwidth.
The year also brought enhancements from premium Usenet providers. In general they are offering more for the money. Higher retention rates, block accounts, broadened support and more payment options.
The two likely go together. When the ISP’s decided to no longer provide newsgroups some of the premium newsgroup services seized the opportunity with network upgrades and discounts for new customers.
There were also a number of Usenet providers that developed helpful content for the newsgroup community. While these services will no doubt benefit from new customers we appreciate the efforts to help users of all skill ranges better understand and enjoy newsgroups.
2008 – Say Goodbye to Free Newsgroup Access
Many ISP customers customers in the United States lost free newsgroup access this year. We saw Comcast and Time Warner drop newsgroups all together. AT&T, Verizon dropped the alt hierarchy which covers the binary groups.
Ofcourse along with these cuts came a reduction in ISP cost…. Oh wait no it didn’t. In fact some ISP’s started charging more based on the bandwidth you use and other such practices.
2008 – Retention Rates Go Up, Up, Up
Whether you are interested in binary files or text posts this was a great year for retention gains. Binaries rose to almost 8 months while text retention sprang to over 5.5 years.
Binaries – Giganews continued to lead the pack this year raising the bar to 240 days binary retention. Here are some notable numbers:
Giganews – 240 days
Easynews – 205 days
Newsdemon – 175 days
UseNeXT – 160 days
Ngroups – 160 days
Text – Giganews leads the way here as well with over 2,000 days of text retention. Here are some leaders in text retention rates:
Giganews – 2,010 days
ThunderNews – 1,265 days
NewsgroupDirect – 1,250 days
UseNeXT – 1,000 days
Supernews – 1,000 days
2008 – Providers Give Back to the Newsgroup Community
Here are some helpful newsgroup resources that either got under way or added significant content in 2008:
Usenet University – Giganews offers a nice online tutorial to help those new to Usenet. Learn how to setup your newsreader and subscribe to groups for downloading or posting articles.
Usenet Learning Center – Highwinds started the site in 2008. It is currently lite on content but we hope to see more in the near future. The site is sponsored by Highwinds services including Easynews, NewsHosting and UseNetServer.
Newsgroups Charter Directory – Newsdemon has taken on the task of creating a newsgroup directory to help educate users about the newsgroups available and their intended use.
Newsgroup Reviews – we added quite a bit of content in 2008 including profiles of over 100 Usenet providers, free newsgroup trials and exclusive Usenet specials. The site is offered in multiple languages including English, German and French with several more translations in the works.
2009 – More Retention Gains Already Announced
On January 1st, 2009 a number of providers including NewsHosting and Newsdemon announced plans to increase binary retention. Where is the number headed? Will someone surpass Giganews this year? What other notable changes will come in 2009? I’ll guess we’ll have to wait and see but if its anything like 2008 the year won’t be boring.