The Austin Usenet groups keep trundling on. Austin.general was dominated completely so long by a few blowhards that it got so it didn’t seem attractive even as a time-waster. It’s back on the upswing, now, to some extent, although the same-old same-old topics do recur: Austin traffic is one. And as has ever been the case, political discussion never finds its way to Austin.politics. Mapanari is still inciting; the usual suspects strike back. One of the more active recent threads is about Dell and the latest out-sourcing to India.

Austin.food and Austin.gardening are the same civilized favorites they have always been. Austin.gardening is often as much about birds and butterflies as anything else. At Austin.food there’s a long recent discussion of Texas statutes regarding fish as they may apply to sushi and sashimi. Austin.music stays moderately active. Austin.jobs and Austin.forsale have never been favorites here, although they remain busy despite craigslist Austin.

It’s always a surprise to find that there are Austinites unaware of the fine Austin Usenet tradition. Those who are unfamiliar with or unaccustomed to using a newsreader can always check out Google groups and enter “Austin” or any of the specific Austin Usenet groups if they like to peek in now and then.