From:
[email protected]
Date: 2019-04-21
Subject: The place of net news in the tilde ecosystem
*Originally posted to yourtilde.general at news.tildeverse.org*
I've been thinking about what place net news has within the tilde
environment. IRC has immediacy, but sharing a 500-word article in
one or more channels will get you a stern talking-to if not a ban
for some length of time. People do share links to blog posts on the
web, gopher, and even pastebins. This works, but it's easy to miss
if you are not joined to the channel or just not paying attention
before it disappears from your buffer. This means that conversa-
tions and ideas don't get the traction they would have within an
appropriately structured environment.
A news server provides such an environment. Conversations are orga-
nized within topic groups and structured as threaded conversations.
News supports long-form writing as in gopher, provides the struc-
ture of email, and has the openness of IRC. It seems to me that
news offers something unique, but I don't know how well it competes
against the status quo.
To change their behavior, people must find value in what is being
offered. Ultimately, the users decide what is useful to them. I
believe, however, that the spectre of Usenet is a stumbling block
on the way to an objective evaluation of net news as a medium. I
believe that distinguishing a tildeverse net news system from the
legacy of Usenet will be a key element in helping users decide
whether net news offers something valuable.
