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Alt.nerd.obsessive was born May 20, 1997 nearly two years after the airing of episode 3 of season 9 of the Simpsons. In this episode, Comic Book Guy, proprietor of Springfield's favorite comic book shop, The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, logged on to the then mythical newsgroup to chat about the "Itchy and Scratchy Movie".


The newsgroup transcended into the real world when Usenet user "Polar Bear" created the group and was subsequently populated by Usenet nerds and Simpsons fans, all gathering to discuss pretty much anything nerd-related. According to the alt.nerd.obsessive charter:

"For the purposes of the newsgroup, nerd is defined loosely as any person who enjoys or participates in hobbies or other activities traditionally identified by society as nerdy or geeky. These activities include, but are not limited to: computer programming, video gaming, chess, comic book collecting, role-playing, or any of a number of other activities that are generally identified as nerd-like. This definition is intentionally vague, and is open to the interpretation of any individual who wishes to self-identify as a nerd."

You can find lots of historical information about the group including its charter, pictures of some members, and the newsgroup's FAQ at ano.nerdland.net.

Birthplace of the World Wide Web

On August 6, 1991 at 3:37pm, Tim Berners-Lee posted a short overview of his World Wide Web Project in the alt.hypertext newsgroup. It is speculated that alt.hypertext was the first place that Berners-Lee spoke publicly about the World Wide Web project, which would make sense considering the important of hypertext to his plans.


Berners-Lee described his vision, saying, "The WWW world consists of documents, and links. Indexes are special documents which, rather than being read, may be searched. The result of such a search is another ("virtual") document containing links to the documents found. A simple protocol ("HTTP") is used to allow a browser program to request a keyword search by a remote information server."

Alt.hypertext, present day, is not quite the hopping place that it was in 1991. That being said, the discussions that you find within the newsgroup are typically quite detailed and interesting to those interested in hypertext technology. alt.hypertext contributor, gennbd, started a recent post with, "This newsgroup is still waiting for a hypertext revival :) Though there's very little traffic here, I hope that a handful of hardcore hypertextologists keep an eye on it. To them I appeal." And, indeed, gennbd's ruminations about the difference between hypertext and hypertexts were commented on by several other knowledgeable "hypertextologists".

If you've got an interest in hypertext or the exciting history of the group, use your Power Usenet account to visit alt.hypertext and participate in a revival of the birthplace of the world wide web!

Power Usenet will occasionally feature certain interesting newsgroups on our blog. Our first featured newsgroup is rec.food.cooking.

From topics about what do to with split peas other than make soup, to gourmet recipe swapping, the newsgroup rec.food.cooking has something for food and cooking enthusiasts at any skill level.


Foodies, gourmands, professionals, home cooks, and college students just moving beyond the microwave all gather within rec.food.cooking to share experiences and recipes, offer and seek advice, dish about their favorite cooking show, and even gossip about the hottest celebrities' eating habits and haunts.

As an example of the diversity of posts in rec.food.cooking, contributor Nexis started a thread to find out what fellow visitors had made for dinner that night. Some responses: turkey and dressing, Thanksgiving in July style; "…good fattening Southern comfort food," and salad with homemade dressing.

Other threads offer hints for scrambling eggs, finding cheap wine, short on time cooking, choosing steak cuts, bread making technique, grilling, and much more.

Whether you are a new cook or an expert chef, rec.food.cooking is a great resource and a friendly Usenet community. If you're already a Power Usenet member, point your newsreader to rec.food.cooking to jump into the conversation. If you're not a member, sign up now. Remember, Power Usenet has 180 days of retention in text newsgroups and 105 days retention in binary newsgroups!

As I'm sure you've seen, over the past few months Power Usenet has been very busy improving our service. We have launched encrypted access, special intro offers, and even a free trial account for new customers.

If you've been using Power Usenet for a while we'd like to encourage you to write a review about Power Usenet. Post a comment on this blog, send us an email, or post your review on your own web page and send us a link.

Customer feedback is important to us and your review of Power Usenet is an important part of this feedback.

If there's anything in particular you like or dislike about the service please let us know. We'll use your feedback as we continue to work on improving our service.

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