Alt.sex
386148
206343774
2008-04-17T21:48:51Z
WhisperToMe
15708
Not sure if it's the same person
{{lowercase|title=alt.sex}}
'''alt.sex''' is a [[Usenet]] [[newsgroup]]. In the 1990s, the newsgroup was popular. An October 1993 survey by Brian Reid reported an estimated a worldwide readership of 3.3 millions for the newsgroup, that being 8% of the total Usenet readership, with 67% of all Usenet nodes carrying the group and traffic of 2,300 messages per month.<ref name=Shade>{{cite book|title=Cultures of Internet|editor=Rob Shields|chapter=Is there Free Speech on the Net? Censorship in the Global Information Infrastructure|author=Leslie Regan Shade|pages=13–17|date=1996|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=0803988052}}</ref>
The newsgroup was the origin of the [[Melissa virus]], where it was posted with message headers claiming that the post had been written using the [[America On Line]] account of Scott Steinmetz, whose username was "skyroket". Kizza reports that the headers on the post were probably forged by Melissa's author, [[David L. Smith]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Computer Network Security|author=Joseph Migga Kizza|pages=87|date=2005|publisher=Springer|isbn=0387204733}}</ref>
The newsgroup hierarchy below <tt>alt.sex</tt> comprises several newsgroups, including <tt>alt.sex.stories</tt> (which is the biggest newsgroup in the hierarchy after <tt>alt.sex</tt> itself), <tt>alt.sex.pictures</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.blondes</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.bondage</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.bestiality</tt>, and even <tt>alt.sex.rape</tt>. The former four newsgroups generally feature text and images that can be found in adult magazines, such as ''[[Playboy (magazine)|Playboy]]'' or ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]''. The latter three newsgroups exemplify a set of sub-groups that deals in more extreme topics. There are more newsgroups of the latter kind, although they are far lower in traffic than those that deal in mainstream sexual behaviours.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Internet and the First Amendment: Schools and Sexually Explicit Expression|author=Fred H. Cate|pages=17|date=1998|publisher=Phi Delta Kappa International|isbn=0873673980}}</ref>
The [[University of Waterloo]] in 1994 ceased carrying <tt>alt.sex-bondage</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.bestiality</tt>, <tt>alt.sex-stories</tt>, and <tt>alt.sex-stories.d</tt> upon the recommendation of its ethics committee, which had expressed concerns that the content of those newsgroups violated the Criminal Code of Canada.<ref name=Shade />
Other sub-groups include some with intentionally humorous names, such as <tt>alt.sex.aluminum.baseball.bat</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.boredom</tt>, and <tt>alt.sex.bestiality.hamster.duct-tape</tt>. The list goes on to include <tt>alt.sex.fetish.fashion</tt> (whose FAQ has an extensive guide to magazines, products, and shops), <tt>alt.sex.fetish.diapers</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.enemas</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.exhibitionism</tt>, , <tt>alt.sex.fetish.amputee</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.masturbation</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.movies</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.motss</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.services</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.spanking</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.wizards</tt>, <tt>alt.sex.bald.captains</tt>, and <tt>alt.sex.abuse.recovery</tt>.<ref name=Shade />
In a 1993 analysis of the alt.sex.* hierarchy, Maureen Furniss concluded that "sexually oriented boards act as a kind of support group for people who post notices to them, especially individuals whose sexual orientations are very marginalized (those who practice sadomasochism or bestiality, for example)" <ref name=Shade />
The creation (c. [[1988]]) of the newsgroup is probably due to the Usenet [[backbone cabal]].{{Fact|date=January 2008}} Originally due and voted to be assigned rec.sex, it was the cabal's insistence that got it titled alt.sex.{{Fact|date=January 2008}}
As of [[2005-03-22]] the alt.sex hierarchy contained over 1,600 groups.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} There has been little activity, other than spam, in most of those groups for some time.{{Or|date=January 2008}} A notable exception is the [[alt.sex.stories]] hierarchy.{{Fact|date=January 2008}}
<tt>alt.sex.cancel</tt> is a [[Usenet]] [[newsgroup]] set up specifically to help combat [[newsgroup spam|spam]] [[crossposting|cross-posted]] to the entire alt.sex hierarchy. The newsgroup is a simple [[spam trap]], and according to its [[newsgroup charter|charter]], any message posted there may be cancelled automatically.
== References ==
{{Refimprove|article|date=January 2008}}
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite paper|author=Brian Reid|date=1993|title=Usenet readership summary report|location=Palo Alto CA|publisher=Network Measurement Project at the DEC Western Research Laboratory}}
* {{cite journal|author=Maureen Furniss|date=1993|title=Sex with a hard (disk) on: computer bulletin boards and pornography|journal=Wide Angle|volume=15|issue=2|pages=19–37}}
== External links==
*[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/alt/alt.sex.html alt.sex Newsgroup FAQs]
[[Category:Newsgroups]]
[[Category:Newsgroup hierarchies]]
[[Category:Sexuality and computers]]