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A Teacher's Guide To USENET

Newsgroup Categories

Seven broad classifications of newsgroups are generally circulating around the entire USENET. Each of these broad categories is further organized into groups and subgroups according to topics. The seven major categories are the following:

comp	These groups discuss topics in computer science, software sources, information on hardware and software systems, and other topics of interest to both computer professionals and hobbyists. Included in this category are groups like comp.protocols.tcp-ip, which deals with Internet protocols, and comp.infosystems.wais, which discusses the Wide Area Information Server.
misc	These groups address hard-to-classify topics. Here is where groups that feature themes on multiple categories. The newsgroup misc.fitness (fitness), misc.job.offered (job-hunting), misc.legal (law), and misc.invest.real-estate (investments) belong in this category.
news	These groups are discussions about news network, group maintenance, and accompanying software. New users can get helpful hints from the group news.newusers.questions.
rec	This category includes groups discussing arts, hobbies, and recreational activities such as sports. The group rec.art.theatre discusses all aspects of stage work while the group rec.sport.golf talks about all aspects of golf.
sci	The focus of these groups are discussions that relate to research in or applications of the established sciences.
soc	These groups are concerned with social issues and socializing. Some discussions in these groups relate to world cultures. The soc.culture.brazil discusses the people of Brazil, while soc.women discusses issues relating to women.
talk	Here is the category where on-going debates and open-ended discussions on many inflammatory topics such as politics (talk.politics.drugs) or controversial topics (talk.abortion) could be found.

Aside from the seven official categories, USENET may distribute many other Internet newsgroups that may be of local or regional interest. Here are some of the nontraditional groups: 

alt	This category comprises of alternative newsgroups that focus on a wide variety of topics.
bionet	Topics found in this category are generally aimed for biologists.
bit	The Bitnet LISTSERV mailing lists are redistributed through these newsgroups.
biz	These newsgroups are concerned with business and computer products or services.
ClariNet	These newsgroups are obtained from commercial news services and other official sources. A site must pay a license fee in order to receive this category.
ieee	The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers distributes these newsgroups to any site that wants to carry them.
inet/ddn	This is another alternative or miscellaneous category which consists of Internet discussion lists.

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