XPost: news.groups, rec.arts.comics.dc.universe, rec.arts.sf.tv   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv   
   From: kalelfan@yanospamhoo.com   
      
   "Whiskers"  wrote in message   
   news:slrnihml8v.cfi.catwheezel@ID-107770.user.individual.net...   
      
   > Binaries account for the vast majority of newsgroup posts.   
      
   Yes, checking the WIki article on Usenet, and a link in one of   
   their references, it's apparent that's true.  It's not just bandwidth,   
   it's numbers of posts too.  And it further fuels the cesspool   
   rep.  The fact that "The Web" generally has porn and the like   
   is not a relevant comparison.   
      
   > A better indication of Google's share of usenet posters, is by   
   > analysing 'user agents'....   
      
   Better information would be if one of the sites posting Usenet   
   stats could get #s of users subscribed to the group rec.arts.tv,   
   or any particular group.  If, say, the top 10 providers constitute   
   an estimated 50% of the market, then we could double their   
   total to get the number of available readers of rec.arts.tv.   
      
   Getting back to the thread title, it looks like text posting to   
   Usenet is probably down by at least 75% or probably more   
   off the peak in 1998 or so.  Factor in signal to noise declining   
   and it's worse.  As Usenet has burned the last 12 years, the   
   growth in the market for discussion forums and the like on   
   the web has exploded.  Much bigger market, but basically   
   Usenet hasn't gotten any of it it's just lost.   
      
   It's an open and shut case at this point, on both the decline   
   and root cause.  I'd already researched postings on this issue   
   and participated in discussions about this, and there's very   
   broad consensus on not just the decline (which is a fact) but   
   that the cesspool factor or signal to noise or however it's been   
   characterized in different ways or by other names, is the main   
   root cause.  There's just too much pointing to that and much   
   of it was raised by others in this thread.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)