The interesting thing to notice here is that the response by Name-1 includes the text of the message the prompted the posting. The text of the previous message has in the s tart of each line the character ">". Notice some of the lines begin with ">>", and that is because Name-1 responded to Name-2, who responded to Name-3! This is one of the points that justifies the talk about the Internet creating a community, fostering relationships, and taking us beyond the limitations of email.

Another interesting group is the one dedicated to the discussion of the political views of Noam Chomsky: alt.fan.noam-chomsky. Prof. Chomsky, a prolific writer with strong views, not surprisingly generates a lot of heated discussion. Here is representative recent sample:

From: Subject: conspiracy in the media? NOT! Date: 19 May 1994 08:48:15 GMT

While his evidence is overwhelming, I draw a different conclusion; If in fact there is a group of individuals who are conspiring to keep the masses ignorant, then they have done a masterful job, and they have done it in such a way as to not require any direct conspiracy inside the news media. Our whole society is designed to bring us up from the time we are...

Not surprisingly there were many responses, and one of them read:

From: Subject: Re: conspiracy in the media? NOT! Date: 20 May 1994 11:50:58 +0100
In article writes:

I hate to be one of those who `say what Chomsky says' (why can't he post here - he has an account at MIT?) but I don't think, from all the interviews I've seen with him and the books I've read, that he claims there is some sort of `organized conspiracy controlled directly'. What he does suggest is t hat the social forces at work in the media, through job selection, peer pressure, commercial pressure from the business owners and advertisers, work together to create a `consensus' that consists of:

This `consensus' could easily look to an alien as 'though it is the result of organized propaganda work, but the US and Western media have reached a far greater level of sophistication than that of Goebbels or Stalin; they no longer need to appear directly oppressive in suppressing alternate views and many of the people who work in the media may themselves believe they are part of a healthy, functioning informative society. The pressure is insidious and subtle, but it is there.

That's why, at the end of the day, we are getting the same `received wisdom' and `analysis' from CNN, CBS, etc, etc, etc a d nauseam. ...

As far as we know Prof. Chomsky does not participate in these conversations, if he does he does not do so very often. The purpose of including these excerpts was to entice you to taste these groups, or if you are not yet connected to get connected soon! But the above groups are not the only ones.

There is a tremendous variety of groups and a good start would be (including the above) to subscribe to the following:

What is political, and what is not, it is at times difficult to specify. Being interested in politics should not mean though that you stay away from an informed position about issue s concerning technology, and culture. A good start in that direction are the following groups:

The last group is dedicated in the discussion of articles and subjects in the Wired magazine. Wired, a monthly magazine, focuses on the Internet, and new technology and their impact on society.

We could go on for some time talking about the USENET groups, but pretty much you have a flavor of what goes on in them. It is time for you to make your stand and experiment by subscribing to at least some of them. The dozen groups recommended above are but a start. With time and experience you will find the groups that are close to your interests. Happy surfing!