usefor-usepro-03 February 2005

1.1.  Basic Concepts

   "Netnews" is a set of protocols for generating, storing and
   retrieving news "articles" (which resemble email messages) and for
   exchanging them amongst a readership which is potentially widely
   distributed. It is organized around "newsgroups", with the
   expectation that each reader will be able to see all articles posted
   to each newsgroup in which he participates. These protocols most
   commonly use a flooding algorithm which propagates copies throughout
   a network of participating servers.  Typically, only one copy is
   stored per server, and each server makes it available on demand to
   readers able to access that server.

   An important characteristic of Netnews is the lack of any requirement
   for a central administration or for the establishment of any
   controlling host to manage the network. A set of hosts within a
   network which, by mutual arrangement, operates some variant (whether
   more or less restrictive) of the Netnews protocols is a "cooperating
   subnet".

   "Usenet" is a particular worldwide publicly accessible network based
   upon the Netnews protocols, with the newsgroups being organized into
   recognized "hierarchies".  Anybody can join (it is simply necessary
   to negotiate an exchange of articles with one or more other
   participating hosts).

   A "policy" is a rule intended to facilitate the smooth operation of a
   network by establishing parameters which restrict behaviour that,
   whilst technically unexceptionable, would nevertheless contravene
   some accepted standard of "Good Netkeeping". Since the ultimate
   beneficiaries of a network are its human readers, who will be less
   tolerant of poorly designed interfaces than mere computers, articles
   in breach of established policy can cause considerable annoyance to
   their recipients.

--- ../usefor-usepro-02/Basic_Concepts.out          December 2004
+++ ../usefor-usepro-03/Basic_Concepts.out          February 2005