If you’ve spent time scrolling through Reddit’s seemingly endless subreddits, you might get a faint sense of déjà vu, especially if you were around during the early days of the internet. Reddit, with its vast array of communities, passionate discussions, and sometimes messy threads, at least to me bears an uncanny resemblance to Usenet. For those who weren't there already at that time, Usenet was quite a special place and truly a legacy system.
A Brief History: What is/was Usenet?
Usenet, short for "User Network," was one of the earliest systems for online communication and discussion, predating the modern web. It was created in 1980 by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis at Duke University, initially as a way for people to post messages and share files across a decentralized network of computers.
Usenet wasn't like modern websites or forums; it operated more like a distributed bulletin board system. There was no central server—rather, Usenet relied on a network of servers that passed messages back and forth between each other. Users could post messages to "newsgroups", which were the equivalent of forums or discussion threads.
I remember signing up for different newsgroups on my own Outlook client and see the new messages flooding in. I remember there were multiple clients but having your own email client able to download a manage messages was great and it quickly became engrained in my daily routine.
The array of content available was also pretty amazing. From purely text based messaging to binary files for all types of stuff [...]. It was so broad in scope and topics that you could quickly find something truly interesting to you. Eventually you would end up engaging consistently with certain communities and becoming part of them. I guess the reason why I also got so deep into it was the lack of any significant alternative - I never really enjoyed any other type of forums, even though the logic would have been the same.
While Usenet has largely faded from mainstream awareness, it hasn't completely disappeared. Many private Usenet providers still exist, catering mostly to niche users, particularly those interested in file sharing.
The combination of social media, the rise of web2.0, spam, abuse and decline in moderation, not to mention providers charging even small amount of money for it, sort of killed it for good. It is still available, but most of those communities died and it is used to exchange larger files for the most part.
The Power of Communities (or Newsgroups)
On Usenet, conversations were organized into “newsgroups.” These were the digital neighborhoods where discussions happened, and they were often specific to a topic or interest. Sounds familiar, right? Reddit’s subreddits are essentially the same thing—a place for like-minded individuals to share information, opinions, memes, and, yes, even heated arguments.
Just like Usenet’s newsgroups, Reddit’s subreddits are user-driven and self-moderated. Communities decide their own rules, and participation shapes the experience. Whether you’re diving into r/technology for the latest gadgets or r/CatGifs for, well, endless cat gifs, there’s a sense of belonging that echoes Usenet’s early communities.
Decentralized Discussions, Global Reach and Censorship
Usenet wasn’t owned by any one entity—it was decentralized. This structure allowed anyone, anywhere, to access and post to newsgroups as long as they had a newsreader and an internet connection. While Reddit is centrally controlled, its decentralized feel stems from the autonomy of its subreddits. Each community is governed by its own moderators, rules, and culture, creating a space that feels independent, even within the larger Reddit ecosystem.
This sense of "everyone's welcome" is something both platforms share. You don’t need to be a tech wizard to participate—both Usenet and Reddit have made global discussion possible in a relatively open and accessible way.
But this is where the dystopian bit comes in. Usenet was a early days internet legacy, built on the notion that infrastructure had to be independently managed and had no business ties with any specific company. This prevent conflict of interests to the benefit of the communities. While they had to actively police themselves to comply with basic standards, there wasn't a centralized organization needing to steer content to one or another way.
Reddit, on the other hand, has a rich history of censorship. Reddit has faced several controversial cases of censorship over the years. Key incidents include the banning of r/FatPeopleHate and r/The_Donald, which were seen as attacks on free speech, and the r/WallStreetBets restrictions during the GameStop surge, sparking accusations of financial censorship. Reddit also took action against COVID-19 misinformation by banning subreddits like r/NoNewNormal. Allegations of censorship related to Chinese influence emerged after Tencent’s investment, and users often accuse Reddit of suppressing discussions about its own moderation practices.
3. Anonymity and Pseudonyms Rule
If you’ve ever spent time on Reddit, you’ll know that anonymity is supposed to be a key feature. Until not long ago, you could just join without even using an email address. Now you're essentially forced to provide it. And yes, most users post under pseudonyms or random usernames, rarely revealing their real identities, but you can tell that the product is evolving into leveraging content and specific user identities so that users can actively promote their own content (think of all the /selfie posters who pretend to genuinely share random pictures while actually trying to redirect users to their OF pages).
Usenet was a bare-bone services, so you didn't have much to express yourself besides your own username. This anonymity fosters a sense of freedom (and, sometimes, chaos). People feel liberated to share their opinions, expertise, or rants—just like they did on Usenet. Of course, both platforms have struggled with the dark side of anonymity, like trolls, flame wars, and less-than-savory content, but the open dialogue it enables is part of what made/makes both platforms so popular.
4. Content Is King, But Threads Are Messy
One of the defining features of Usenet was the threaded discussion format. Replies were often buried deep within threads, creating a layered, sometimes chaotic conversation flow. Reddit continues this tradition. While it has a more polished design, Reddit threads can become just as sprawling and disorganized as Usenet's. Dive into a hot debate on r/politics or a long-winded argument on r/gaming, and you’ll feel that old-school Usenet vibe of trying to follow a multi-threaded conversation that spans hundreds of comments.
Both platforms prioritize the content of the discussion itself over slick presentation. Usenet was about the message, not the medium—and Reddit, with its text-heavy posts and long threads, follows the same principle.
5. Niche Interests Thrive
One of the things that made Usenet special was its ability to cater to the most obscure of interests. You could find a newsgroup dedicated to anything—whether it was astrophysics or Japanese anime. Reddit is no different. There are subreddits for topics so niche you didn’t even know they existed, from r/showerthoughts (random thoughts you have in the shower) to r/illegallysmolcats (for cats that are “too small”).
This ability to cater to micro-interests makes Reddit feel like the spiritual successor to Usenet. No matter how obscure your passion or curiosity, you can bet there’s a subreddit or two (or a hundred) devoted to it.
6. Both Platforms Love Their Gatekeepers
Usenet and Reddit share one other commonality: they’re both fiercely protective of their cultures. Just like Usenet had its die-hard users who maintained the “right way” to post and discuss, Reddit has its own gatekeepers. These are the moderators and long-time users who enforce the unwritten rules of their communities, making sure things run smoothly (or, at least, according to their version of smooth).
On both platforms, there’s an element of "in-group" behavior. To really thrive, you need to understand how the platform works, the etiquette of each group, and the subtle social cues. It can feel a little intimidating to newcomers, but it’s also part of the charm.
So, Is Reddit the New Usenet?
In many ways, yes. Reddit has succeeded in recreating much of what made Usenet great—wide-ranging, decentralized discussions, the ability to cater to niche communities, and the freedom (and risk) of anonymous speech. It’s a little cleaner, a little more accessible, but deep down, Reddit is just the modern-day version of those early Usenet newsgroups.
Both platforms have been places where internet culture is born and shaped, where communities thrive, and where, despite the messiness of it all, people keep coming back to participate in the conversation. So, next time you’re browsing through your favorite subreddit, remember—you're just continuing a tradition that started decades ago, when the internet was a simpler, text-only space, and Usenet ruled the digital landscape.
To me, this is just another way the hyper commercialization of the internet. If I think of my own browsing habits, I tend to jump around between Facebook, Reddit and maybe Hackernews, always looking for the latest think that would trigger even a slight dopamine release. I tend to indulge in nostalgia quite a bit, but the amazement of discovery in content is completely lost, we're so much trapped into our feeds that it is hardly anything new and or relevant to enjoy. Not sure if Usenet was truly that, but it certainly was a huge part of that experience.