Live data from Hacker News

Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

wired.com

31–40 of 54 posts

Re: Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

#31
A bit off-topic, but I just read the features list for mosaic (http://groups.google.com/group/alt.hypertext/msg/7fde2f6d4d5...) and was really surprised how close it is to browsers nowadays. The only serious improvements that current firefox has over that mosaic are: tabs, JS and blocking stuff. (I'm not counting stuff that's just a simple improvement - like rendering new html+css, ability to use icons for favourite pages, etc.)

It's a bit sad :(

Re: Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

#32
post #4

I used to participate in Usenet a lot, back in the mid 90s. Rather stupidly, I set the no archive header ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-No-Archive ) on all my posts. Now I can only find myself quoted in replies. Shame, really.

Well, I didn't set the X-No-Archive header. And now there's no chance that I'll ever get elected to be President of the United States.

The privacy apocalypse is coming. People will stop caring, even more than they already have, and if someone can be elected* after repeatedly breaking campaign promises, then surely past behavior only matters as an excuse, rather than a reason.

* I don't have anyone specific in mind, here; politicians, all of 'em.

Re: Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

#33
Uh,

The Google books settlement gives Google something like a monopoly on "orphaned" titles, titles that would otherwise be entirely unavailable. Whether that's justified or not is debatable.

But unless there's something I don't know, Google Groups is just one archive of usenet and anyone with enough space could create another - in fact, I seem encounter other such archives regularly in my ... Google searches.

Re: Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

#34
post #4

I used to participate in Usenet a lot, back in the mid 90s. Rather stupidly, I set the no archive header ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-No-Archive ) on all my posts. Now I can only find myself quoted in replies. Shame, really.

Well, I didn't set the X-No-Archive header. And now there's no chance that I'll ever get elected to be President of the United States.

There was this griefer mythomaniac in the Swedish groups, who sent cancels on others' messages all the time when he couldn't answer (I assume with constructed headers so it wouldn't be removed on your local server).

He also did things like send cancels on people quoting his insulting stuff long afterwards, so they wouldn't show up with his name in Google.

I had read the rfc:s, but couldn't even imagine anyone would be so unserious at the time. Ah, innocence.

I don't know if Google still remove messages when cancels show up on Usenet, but you could try...

Edit: OK, I can't complain about the downvotes; it was a joke but it is arguably immoral to remove information.

Re: Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

#37
post #4

I used to participate in Usenet a lot, back in the mid 90s. Rather stupidly, I set the no archive header ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-No-Archive ) on all my posts. Now I can only find myself quoted in replies. Shame, really.

Well, I didn't set the X-No-Archive header. And now there's no chance that I'll ever get elected to be President of the United States.

Indeed: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?GhostOfUsenetPostingsPast

Re: Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

#38
post #34
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I didn't set the X-No-Archive header. And now there's no chance that I'll ever get elected to be President of the United States.

There was this griefer mythomaniac in the Swedish groups, who sent cancels on others' messages all the time when he couldn't answer (I assume with constructed headers so it wouldn't be removed on your local server). He also did things like send cancels on people quoting his insulting stuff long afterwards, so they wouldn't show up with his name in Google. I had read the rfc:s, but couldn't even imagine anyone would b…

Sorry! - Downvote was iPhone fatfingered mistake.

(For a group so enthusiastic about version control with a leader who pushed for etherpad's timeline document history, this one vote then lockin feels a bit out of character)

Re: Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

#39
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was this griefer mythomaniac in the Swedish groups, who sent cancels on others' messages all the time when he couldn't answer (I assume with constructed headers so it wouldn't be removed on your local server). He also did things like send cancels on people quoting his insulting stuff long afterwards, so they wouldn't show up with his name in Google. I had read the rfc:s, but couldn't even imagine anyone would b…

Sorry! - Downvote was iPhone fatfingered mistake. (For a group so enthusiastic about version control with a leader who pushed for etherpad's timeline document history, this one vote then lockin feels a bit out of character)

I upvoted to compensate. Good on you for explaining what happened.

Re: Google’s Abandoned Library of 700 Million Titles: Usenet

#40
post #7

In the end, then, the rusting shell of Google Groups is a reminder that Google is an advertising company — not a modern-day Library of Alexandria.

Well, Wired is no NGO either... and yet its article prompted Google to do something about it, as reported by nebula [http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/10/usenet_fix/]. A nice example of two "evil" companies benefiting the public good...

I must confess to being a brainwashed Googlevangelist, but anyway... if it wasn't for Google's (lucrative) actions, maybe non-profit projects such as the Internet Archive might not have saved those magtapes in time.

Post reply on HN