Usenet is unmoderated. Once you post it, it sticks forever. We could probably get one of the independent providers to give free access to a new newsgroup. Anyone have any thoughts?
I’ve used Usenet for my content needs for years because it’s so fast and risk free. I think we could also use it for our community discussions.
Usenet is fine for downloading but getting providers these days involve paying for it, which gates of a lot of folks. Torrenting and federated social media does not.
Is torrenting really free though? VPNs and seedboxes are not and torrenting without any of those is a bad idea in many countries. Usenet is quite cheap. I use both but I prefer the usenet tbh.
You do not need a seedbox nor a VPN. It is advised to use some VPN if your ISP is hostile to pirating, but in a lot of countries that's not the case. Seedboxes are only necessary if you're on a private tracker with strict demands, but even then content has a way with leaking out of those communities onto public trackers.
I'm in one of the counties where it's impossible without a VPN because there's a big industry making money by suing people for copyright violations. But you're right, in many countries nobody really cares.
Usenet was the original federated social media. Back when it was actually used for discussions, you'd post to your ISP's server, which would be federated with the other Usenet servers.