The Binary Groups

Though Usenet is basically a text based service, the client software has evolved to the point where large binary files can be posted and/or downloaded by converting the file to text and then encoding the text back to a binary file. 

If the files are too big, they are broken up and posted as a series of messages. You then download the group of messages, combine them and you now have the original binary file. Groups allowing binary posts have the word "binary" or "binaries" in the group name.

While this whole system might sound like a kludge, it's not. It's actually a lot of fun. Although some of the files posted may be illegal copies of music and software, Usenet is a great resource for finding artwork, videos, music, and prose, all produced by users who discover Usenet as a way of distributing their work. You can also download the latest software patches and utilities even quicker then they appear on support web sites.

Next: Navigating the Groups

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