What role does Google Groups play? It seems to me to just be a place
where UseNet stuff gets archived. Is it anything more than that? Is it
the only way some people access UseNet? (I get Usenet via
"news.eternal-september", but I suspect there are other ways).

On 12/15/23 6:12 PM, Mike Fontenot wrote:
>
> What role does Google Groups play?  It seems to me to just be a place
> where UseNet stuff gets archived.  Is it anything more than that?

Yes. My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
useful, nay essential to our business.

Tom Roberts

On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 10:23:09 PM UTC-5, Tom Roberts wrote:
> On 12/15/23 6:12 PM, Mike Fontenot wrote:
> >
> > What role does Google Groups play? It seems to me to just be a place
> > where UseNet stuff gets archived. Is it anything more than that?
> Yes. My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
> useful, nay essential to our business.
>
> Tom Roberts
1/137
1/137 –[George Hammond MS Physics]
1/137 –[Cape Cod Massachusetts USA]
..
Screw Google Groups – I'm going with "NEWSHOSTING"
for $15/mo and get full USENET with 15 years of
archived storage !
..
And I can block that deluge of Asian Online Betting
Spam.
..
George
..

On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 10:23:09 PM UTC-5, Tom Roberts wrote:
> On 12/15/23 6:12 PM, Mike Fontenot wrote:
> >
> > What role does Google Groups play? It seems to me to just be a place
> > where UseNet stuff gets archived. Is it anything more than that?
> Yes. My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
> useful, nay essential to our business.

Perhaps you could ask your admins to consider creating and continuing spr.
And advantage is that it can be moderated!

On 12/15/23 8:22 PM, Tom Roberts wrote:

> Yes. My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
> useful, nay essential to our business.
>

Can you talk about your company a little? The last time I talked to you
about your employment, you were working for Fermi Labs, near Chicago.
(And before that, you worked for Bell Labs at Indian Hill north of
Chicago, and I worked for Bell Labs Denver then). I stayed with Bell
Labs until I retired in 1998 when I turned 55 years old, after Bell Labs
(actually its children) had deteriorated so badly. Bell Labs HAS
survived to some extent as Nokia, based in Finland but also with some of
the U.S. locations.

On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 8:32:53 AM UTC-6, Mike Fontenot wrote:
> On 12/15/23 8:22 PM, Tom Roberts wrote:
>
> > Yes. My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
> > useful, nay essential to our business.
> >
> Can you talk about your company a little? The last time I talked to you
> about your employment, you were working for Fermi Labs, near Chicago.
> (And before that, you worked for Bell Labs at Indian Hill north of
> Chicago, and I worked for Bell Labs Denver then). I stayed with Bell
> Labs until I retired in 1998 when I turned 55 years old, after Bell Labs
> (actually its children) had deteriorated so badly. Bell Labs HAS
> survived to some extent as Nokia, based in Finland but also with some of
> the U.S. locations.

See
https://muonsinc.com/Website1/tiki-index.php?page=Muons,-Inc.-Home-Page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://muonsinc.com/Website1/tiki-index.php?page=Muons,-Inc.-Home-Page
It's been several years since I last visited the site.
They've expanded their offerings considerably over
the last several years. One of their projects looks
quite exciting to me:
https://muonsinc.com/Website1/tiki-index.php?page=Mu*STAR

Tom Roberts <tjoberts137@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> On 12/15/23 6:12 PM, Mike Fontenot wrote:
> >
> > What role does Google Groups play? It seems to me to just be a place
> > where UseNet stuff gets archived. Is it anything more than that?
>
> Yes. My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
> useful, nay essential to our business.

No real problem, just set up your own NNTP server.
(preferably on a dedicated machine)
Software and knowledge is readily available.

Probaby what you should have done to begin with,
instead of relying on Google.
Why trust Google with anything at all?

Jan

On 12/18/23 4:10 AM, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> Tom Roberts <tjoberts137@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
>> useful, nay essential to our business.
>
> No real problem, just set up your own NNTP server.

Why would I bother do that???? Google Groups will continue to support
all of our groups. We have received no notice that this support will be
ending.

> Why trust Google with anything at all?

Because they provide our email and other services.

Tom Roberts

Tom Roberts wrote:
>
> On 12/18/23 4:10 AM, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> > Tom Roberts <tjoberts137@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >> My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
> >> useful, nay essential to our business.
> >
> > No real problem, just set up your own NNTP server.
>
> Why would I bother do that???? Google Groups will continue to support
> all of our groups. We have received no notice that this support will be
> ending.
>

It isn't ending for 'non-Usenet content on Google Groups'.

--
The Starmaker -- To question the unquestionable, ask the unaskable,
to think the unthinkable, mention the unmentionable, say the unsayable,
and challenge the unchallengeable.

Tom Roberts <tjoberts137@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> On 12/18/23 4:10 AM, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> > Tom Roberts <tjoberts137@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >> My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
> >> useful, nay essential to our business.
> >
> > No real problem, just set up your own NNTP server.
>
> Why would I bother do that???? Google Groups will continue to support
> all of our groups. We have received no notice that this support will be
> ending.

You are an optimist.
If they were essential to my business I would want to have full control.

> > Why trust Google with anything at all?
>
> Because they provide our email and other services.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst,

Jan

On December 18, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> Why trust Google with anything at all?

Concur.
I have an Android phone, purchased for the $$ advantage.
Now I understand why people buy Apple.

Google is creepy. I look up a business address in Chrome, switch
to Gmaps for location, and it instantly highlights that address.
Then I open the phone keyboard, and their number instantly appears.

They think it's 'helpful', but it's creepy -

PS Do you know their corporate motto?

--
Rich

On 12/19/2023 5:18 PM, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> Tom Roberts <tjoberts137@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> On 12/18/23 4:10 AM, J. J. Lodder wrote:
>>> Tom Roberts <tjoberts137@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>> My company has about a dozen private Google Groups. They are VERY
>>>> useful, nay essential to our business.
>>>
>>> No real problem, just set up your own NNTP server.
>>
>> Why would I bother do that???? Google Groups will continue to support
>> all of our groups. We have received no notice that this support will be
>> ending.
>
> You are an optimist.
> If they were essential to my business I would want to have full control.
>
>>> Why trust Google with anything at all?
>>
>> Because they provide our email and other services.
>
> Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst,
>
These days, companies outsource everything. Payroll, email, video
conferencing, and their servers with all their beloved data / secrets
are all in colocation sites.

I don't know what will come from all of this, but it won't be pretty.