USENET, also called Netnews, is the world's largest discussion forum, encompassing the worldwide Internet and many other sites that aren't formally connected to any network. USENET provides a forum for asking and answering technical questions, arguing politics, religion, and society, or discussing most scientific, artistic, or humanistic disciplines. It's also a forum for distributing free software, as well as digitized pictures and sound. This book unlocks USENET for you. It's not just a technical book, although it includes tutorials on the most popular newsreaders for UNIX and Windows (tin, nn, GNUS, and Trumpet). It also explains what goes on on the Net: where to look for information and what to do with it once you get it. And, it gives you an introduction into the culture: Net etiquette, the private language, and some of the history...including some of the more notable practical jokes.