Usenet

Usenet /yoos'net/ or /yooz'net/ n.  [from `Users'
   Network'; the original spelling was USENET, but the mixed-case form
   is now widely preferred] A distributed {bboard} (bulletin board)
   system supported mainly by UNIX machines.  Originally implemented
   in 1979--1980 by Steve Bellovin, Jim Ellis, Tom Truscott, and Steve
   Daniel at Duke University, it has swiftly grown to become
   international in scope and is now probably the largest
   decentralized information utility in existence.  As of early 1993,
   it hosts well over 1200 {newsgroup}s and an average of 40
   megabytes (the equivalent of several thousand paper pages) of new
   technical articles, news, discussion, chatter, and {flamage}
   every day.