uunet ends newsfeed/newsreader in US

Sat Mar 31 03:57:44 UTC 2012

> How many of you realize that JOPES (Joint Operation Planning and
> Execution System), used by the Pentagon for command and control at the
> Joint Chiefs level, uses classified newsgroups for distributing
> operations plans and orders?
> 
> --
> In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
> In practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra
> 
> 

Seems perfectly reasonable to me.  The NNTP protocol can be used for lots of things and not just public newsgroup discussions.  For a company that has a lot of offices distributed around the world there could be many applications for it.  It would also be pretty handy for emergency response for major natural disasters, too, for asynchronous communications between people, departments, etc.  It lends itself easily to the forming of ad hoc teams and there is even access control possibilities with various groups of users having access to various hierarchies. It is a great tool that can be used for a lot of things without having to re-invent the wheel for collaboration, information sharing, etc.

There's nothing obsolete about the NNTP protocol.  Usenet might be obsolete, but NNTP can be quite useful.