But these various Usenet alternatives all have problems of their own. Moderated newsgroups often feel stifling and censorious, Web-based discussions can be hard to find, and mailing lists send every message directly to your mailbox, a RAM-clogging experience that can feel like drinking from a firehose. "Usenet is still the place you go for intelligent, in-depth discussion," says software designer Bill Lee.
Hoping to restore some of Usenet's luster (and make a buck in the process), Lee's own company, RemarQ (www.RemarQ.com), provides a graphically appealing newsgroup reader that can be accessed directly through the Web. Come this summer, he hopes to make finding intelligent life on Usenet even easier. "We're working on a filtering system for newsgroups that's a lot like what you see on eBay," Lee says. "It will look at people's past messages and allow you to evaluate them to determine if you want to read their posts." RemarQ's main competitor, Deja News, has even lured Knowles back onto Usenet, mostly because of its keyword-based search function. "I'll type in my own name to see how opinion is running on 'Is Harry liked?' or 'Is Harry hated?'" Knowles chuckles.
But while keyword searches and intelligent spam filters may allow surfers to pluck the wheat from the ever-growing Usenet chaff, expecting the medium to return to its days of genteel innocence is unrealistic. And many of Usenet's supporters wouldn't have it any other way. "At one point or another I've tried them all," says one newsgroup junkie of Usenet's would-be successors, "and, quite frankly, any forum in which moderation is a must and the absolute freedom that comes with the right to make an ass of yourself is limited isn't one for me."
