What does "alt" mean in alt.home.repair?

Hi Dean,

Alt is short for alternative. When Usenet started, there were the "Big 8" hierarchies including rec, sci, comp, etc, which still exist. Alt was an alternative hierarchy to those in existence in the earlier days of Usenet and was thought to be out of the "norm" in terms of subject matter and posting guidelines. The Alt herarchy has obviously grown radically over the years and now contains thousands of newsgroups.

Cin

Acronym for "alternative", in newsgroups

Yeah I was wondering if there was a 'regular' home repair group, you know, one with regular people posting all the time. Not that I mind being called alternative, though.

I ran it through Google translation and it means "stop" in several languages. Who the hell would want to stop homes from being repaired?! I can only surmise that there were a lot of negative people who founded these newsgroups. ;)

wonder no more:

"Calvin Henry-Cotnam" wrote in message news:gjCRe.231$hW.51@tor-nn1... : Cindy ( snipped-for-privacy@newsguy.com) said... : >

: >Alt is short for alternative. When Usenet started, there were the "Big 8" : >hierarchies including rec, sci, comp, etc, which still exist. Alt was an : >alternative hierarchy to those in existence in the earlier days of Usenet and : >was thought to be out of the "norm" in terms of subject matter and posting : >guidelines. : : As I recall, the "alt" groups could be created by almost anyone. Many of : the "Big 8" had strict rules. For instance, I followed "alt.tv.simpsons" : about 12 years ago and recall a FAQ item about why they were in the "alt" : group and not in, I believe, "rec.tv....". The answer had said that the : "rec.tv" groups required that a television show to have been on the air : for at least five years before a group could be chartered, so a group was : created under "alt". : : -- : Calvin Henry-Cotnam : "Never ascribe to malice what can equally be explained by incompetence." : - Napoleon : ------------------------------------------------------------------------- : NOTE: if replying by email, remove "remove." and ".invalid" : They're also not moderated, which is essentially what you're saying here.

As I recall, the "alt" groups could be created by almost anyone. Many of the "Big 8" had strict rules. For instance, I followed "alt.tv.simpsons" about 12 years ago and recall a FAQ item about why they were in the "alt" group and not in, I believe, "rec.tv....". The answer had said that the "rec.tv" groups required that a television show to have been on the air for at least five years before a group could be chartered, so a group was created under "alt".