Quote:
Originally Posted by mr ploppy
No it isn't, and no it doesn't. It's a text-based global discussion protocol, you post someting on one server and it's mirrored across the world for people to read and reply to. Binary files are only on there via a kludge where they're converted into text and split into hundreds of separate posts.
Not so long ago every ISP in the world had a usenet server, but these days you need a separate subscription to a premium one instead. Corporations have tried to have a few of the bigger name usenet providers closed down (usenet.com was the most recent, I think), but unless they specifically advertise "download lots of pirate stuff here" there's very little that can be done.
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I see. So it's basically like the old newsgroups. I read a case where in Britain some part of Usenet was effectively blocked, so I guess it is possible to block Usenet. I thought newsgroups worked via storing the data on centralized servers and users downloaded it from them. As such, I would have thought they were as vulnerable as file download sites. They can be taken down and / or firewalled.
It seems to me that from a purely technical aspect, piracy can be stopped, but only at the cost of damaging democracy.