Netnews, sometimes called Usenet,1 was arguably the first social
network. That is, it was a network useful for both work and non-
work purposes, one in which most people could have may different
types of discussions with others across long distances: technical
queries and solutions, discussions of child-rearing, debates about
politics, and more. Quarterman describes it as “one of the oldest
cooperative networks”. It was in principle a fully
decentralized network, but in practice—and by intent at the
beginning—was more a series of linked star networks. But why
did it take the shape that it did? Some decisions were forced
by the technology of the time, some others were arbitrary, and
some were due to the relative ignorance of its creators: none of
us were specialists in networking, computer-human interaction,
cryptography, and more.