Posted: 26th Jan, 2005 By: MarkJ
ISP AOL UK has dropped Usenet (Newsgroup) access from its service due to lack of use by customers. The following notice can be read when attempting to access them:
From early 2005, AOL members will no longer be able to use the Newsgroup service through AOL. You will however be able to access Usenet newsgroups via Internet Explorer, or Google at http://groups.google.com/. For AOL alternatives, go to AOL Keyword: Community.Many in the industry view both Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and Newsgroups (Usenet) as both risky (largely unmediated) and dated technologies.
Having said that, many still find such services to be useful, yet the modern generation of surfers are unlikely to be as familiar with them. The growth of Instant Messaging certainly hasnt helped.