Usenet (USEr NETwork) is a global, decentralized, distributed Internet discussion system that evolved from a general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name. It was conceived by Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis in 1979. Users read and post e-mail-like messages (called "articles" or "posts") to one or more of a number of categories, called newsgroups. Usenet resembles bulletin board systems (BBS) in most respects, and is the precursor to the various Internet forums which are widely used today.
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/net'n[y]ooz/ 1. The software that makes Usenet run. 2. The content of Usenet. "I read netnews right after my mail most mornings." [Jargon File] (1994-12-14)