I so wanted to post BF 2023 deals here, but I didn't realize that the markdown used here (CommonMark) does not support tables.
Please refer to the post on reddit till I find some kind of workaround.
I get a "No Posts" message on my group. The default sort method is "Active." And mods have no way of modifying group settings to change it to something sensible.
Yet another example of user-hostility in software design with Lemmy. The hit-or-miss nature of syncing across instances is another big irritant.
Even though I called it a "plan B" in my post on r/UsenetTalk, I did qualify it with a "or A, if you wish." I did that because I don't truly believe in the idea of a back up community.
A community either exists, or it doesn't.
This Black Friday, I am thinking of making the primary deals post here, with a link from reddit.
Would you know, by just looking at Google Groups, that it provides access to Usenet discussions? They have done all they can to obfuscate the matter.
accessibility to “normal” people ... we need to have a big-name provider offer free access with no strings attached; no walled garden, no caveats.
This is the point I have been arguing over on the subreddit with a user who is looking at it merely from a technical angle instead of from a regular end-user angle. I have been suggested options like browser extensions.
My answer:
The problem is access + bandwidth. What is easier?
- finding https://news.example.org/g/comp.lang.c/Axxxxxxxxxxx49z on Google/DDG and clicking through
- browser extensions + register for (free) account on Eternal September?
It is ironical that we talk about usenet everywhere but on usenet. Events like the blackout on reddit and the scramble to move to alternate platforms would hardly be necessary if usenet worked clearly as a discussion platform.
While everyone blames spam for the slow death of discussions on usenet, I think there are a couple of other reasons:
- access over http
- searchability
These two reasons are why Google Groups continues to work while discussions on usenet barely do.
Usenet has to evolve to provide solutions to these problems:
- spam: moderated groups are an insufficient solution when compared to moderation tools provided by modern discussion platforms.
- usenet over http: people should be able to carry on discussions using browsers as well as apps. They should be able to share links to these discussions as well.
- search: people should be able to conduct a search across all discussions by using native as well as third-party search engines (Google, Bing, Brave etc).