Just found an interesting post on the RSD (rec.sport.disc, mainly discussing ultimate) newsgroup. It asks if the glory days of the newsgroup are over since many of the characters in the community have begun to blog. Which leads to a few questions:
- Will newsgroups whither away?
- Will they only be an area to ask newbie type questions?
- What happens to soapbox one is given by posting to a newsgroup? (By this I mean that if I post to RSD, I know that a few hundred people (interested in my post) will read my post. How can I now direct a question or comment to this same community if the newsgroup dissolves?)
- Will aggregators become the new newsgroup? (Perhaps answering my question above) There is already one for ultimate. But the barrier to entry (and having an audience) is a lot higher than just posting to a newsgroup...