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Creating a Newsgroup At UC Berkeley

This document describes or gives pointers for creating newsgroups in:

  • the ucb.* hierarchy (local to Berkeley)
  • traditional Usenet newsgroups (comp.*,misc.*,sci.*,etal)
  • the Alternative Newsgroups (alt.*).

Creating a Newsgroup in the ucb.* Hierarchy

The ucb.* Usenet hierarchy is a set of newsgroups for the discussion and announcements relating to the University of California at Berkeley Community. This can cover a spectrum of things from activities, politics, classes, leisure and forsale/wanted. A newsgroup can be targeted at the campus at large, or be used as just a discussion group for a research group in a department.

Three things are needed to set up a ucb group:

  • a reason
  • a name
  • demand
A reason can be pretty much anything non-frivolous. As long as it somehow relates to UCB, be it an organization, activity, or current event, it could get a newsgroup.

In selecting a name there are a couple of good rules to follow: it should be hierarchical, fitting in the current hierarchy of ucb.* groups. The name should also be descriptive, that is the user should be able to tell the subject matter of the group just from its name. Avoid non-obvious acronyms. As examples: organizations such as campus groups, unions, clubs, should go under the ucb.org.* hierarchy.

As far as demand or the need for a newsgroup is concerned, we'll generally take your word on it.

Send this information to usenet@agate.berkeley.edu and, though possibly subject to a few possible suggestions, the group will be created.

If an Instructor wants a ucb.class.* newsgroup, send mail to usenet@agate.berkeley.edu, with the following information:

  • The NAME of the class (e.g. Engineering 77)
  • YOUR relationship to the class (class newsgroups can be created by the appointed instructor for the class, or a GSI, provided the instructor consents to the creation of the group
  • The INSTRUCTOR'S NAME (if you are not the instructor) and EMAIL address
The naming scheme is ucb.class.<classnumber>, ie ucb.class.lis259 or ucb.class.arch134b.

Some things to consider:

  • There is a tendency when thinking about creating newsgroups to overspecialize or overestimate demand. In general the more general a newsgroup is the more it is used. Creating a newsgroup called ucb.hobbies.stamps is probably a better idea than ucb.hobbies.stamps.russia, ucb.hobbies.stamps.usa and ucb.hobbies.stamps.mexico. If usage on a generalized newsgroup ramps up, it can always be split into more specialize ones later.
  • Creating a discussion group for an organization that isn't or is barely on line can be pointless.
  • If interest isn't already out there in the community, the creation of a newsgroup won't generate interest. Creating ucb.hobbies.stamps.new-guinea isn't going to make anyone more interested in the subject. Having a newsgroup does help focus existing interests.
  • Demand is always either underestimated or overestimated. It's hard to get it right.

Creating a Traditional (Big Eight) Usenet Newsgroup

The creation of a traditional Usenet Newsgroup (ie the comp, news, sci, misc, soc, talk, rec hierarchies) is outlined in a posting, entitled Guidelines for Big Eight Newsgroup Creation, regularly posted every two months in news.announce.newusers and news.announce.newgroups as well as on the web. Creation of such groups can be done without any local intervention.

Creating a Alternative Usenet Newsgroup

The creation of an Alternative Usenet Group is pretty unencumbered.
Some guidance can be found from the alt.* creation guide.
Read the posting Creating a new "alt" group -- guidelines posted every month to alt.config, news.groups and news.answers. After posting to alt.config and getting a consensus for the group.
Send usenet@agate.berkeley.edu mail, and the group will get created.

If you simply would like to see a pre-existing alt.* group carried by agate, send email to usenet@agate.berkeley.edu with the group name and a short description of the group (for the newsgroups file). alt.* group request are almost always honored (except in the rare case that the group is known to be bogus).

Send comments to usenet@agate.berkeley.edu.

Last revised: August 07, 2003
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