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.