Das Usenet ist eine der frühesten Varianten von computervermittelter Kommunikation und lange vor dem eigentlichen Internet entstanden. Es handelt sich quasi um international vernetzte 'Schwarze Bretter', die mittlerweile zu jedem denkbaren und nicht denkbaren Thema vorliegen. Ihnatko (1997: "Usenet") liefert eine suggestive Beschreibung:

Usenet consists of thousands of individual newsgroups distributed all over the world, discussing thousands of different topics. ... Usenet can specialize on just about every technical, recreational and social area of discourse imaginable. If you're a mathematician interested in discussing the n6 characteristics of Rolf's Progression with fellow methematicians (whee!), you can find a "newsgroup" for just such a discussion on Usenet. ... Usenet is very much an untamed frontier, and so message topics as well as messages themselves can get pretty insane. As in "just the names of some of the raunchier newsgroups can cause your jawbone to fuse to your sternum."