The Big 8 (previously the Big 7) are a group of
newsgroup
A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are discussion groups and are not devoted to publishing news. Newsgroups are technically disti ...
hierarchies
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
established after the
Great Renaming
The Great Renaming was a restructuring of Usenet newsgroups that took place in 1987. B News maintainer and UUNET founder Rick Adams is generally considered to be the initiator of the Renaming.
Motivation
The primary reason for the Great Renamin ...
, a restructuring of
Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it wa ...
that took place in 1987. These hierarchies are managed by the Big 8 Management Board. Groups are added through a process of nomination, discussion and voting.
History
The original seven hierarchies were
comp.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*,
sci.*, soc.*, and talk.*. They were open and free for anyone to participate in (except for the
moderated
Moderation is the process of eliminating or lessening extremes. It is used to ensure normality throughout the medium on which it is being conducted. Common uses of moderation include:
*Ensuring consistency and accuracy in the marking of stud ...
newsgroups), though they were subject to a few general rules governing their naming and distribution.
alt.* was not part of the original seven but created separately as a place with more freedom and fewer rules than the Big 7.
In April 1995, when Usenet traffic grew significantly, humanities.* was introduced and it and the seven hierarchies created by the Renaming make up today's so-called "Big 8".
Hierarchies
The Big 8 Management Board
The Big 8 Management Board was originally created in 2005 from former moderators of the news.announce.newgroups. The board's mission is to:
* creates well-named, well-used newsgroups in the Big-8 Usenet hierarchies;
* makes necessary adjustments to existing groups;
* removes groups that are not well-used; and
* assists and encourages the support of a canonical Big-8 newsgroup list by Usenet sites.
See also
*
alt.* hierarchy
*
Great Renaming
The Great Renaming was a restructuring of Usenet newsgroups that took place in 1987. B News maintainer and UUNET founder Rick Adams is generally considered to be the initiator of the Renaming.
Motivation
The primary reason for the Great Renamin ...
References
External links
The Big-8 Management Board{{Usenetnav
Computer-related introductions in 1987