MASH FAQ: Episode Guide

Usenet is something that has largely fallen by the wayside.

In the early days of connecting to the net, say about 1993, Usenet was one of the most useful places to share information. The text-only protocol played nice with 1200 baud modems, and there was a gentlemanly air about the place. Newbies were expected to learn the protocol of posting messages before doing so. Email addresses were freely posted. Spam was unheard of.

Alas, the end was near, so close the the beginning. In April of 1994, two Phoenix lawyers named Canter and Siegel put the term spam on the map. They put an advertising message on every single newsgroup (message board) on Usenet. There were several thousand such newsgroups, and each one got the ad.

Things changed instantly. Soon, such crap messages became commonplace. Usenet became known as a mess of ads for porn, prescription drugs, and of course lawyers advertising their services.

Usenet never went away, though. In fact, after checking out today's FamilyFirst site, you may want to download yourself a freeware Usenet reader and check it out again. One of my favorite groups is alt.shenanigans, which spells out hilarious harmless practical jokes.

Today's pick is the MASH FAQ Episode Guide. It's posted on a web page courtesy of alt.tv.mash. It's pure text, but loaded with plot summaries of every episode of the venerable comedy.

So enjoy the site, and get yourself a news reader and find more! You'll have to pick through some spammed garbage, but it's worth it. There are some very knowledgeable folks out there.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tv/mash/guide/

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