What changed was the user profile. Late 80s/early 90s internet was used almost exclusively by academics and engineers. Mid-90s onwards it was open to everyone, and Usenet access was a free feature of most dial-up accounts.
Usenet was ground zero for that change, because university and corporate admins had to deal with a lot of new groups - including those devoted to binaries, and especially porn.
There was a lot of gatekeeping, but the useful groups either migrated or disappeared under spam, and the conversations moved elsewhere.
HN is probably the closest thing to the original culture, but HN's single page design means you don't get the intense focus and conversational momentum of Usenet's professional groups.
Comments
Usenet was never thrown away. It's still there if you want it, but you'll have to pay to use it.
https://www.usenet.com/
What changed was the user profile. Late 80s/early 90s internet was used almost exclusively by academics and engineers. Mid-90s onwards it was open to everyone, and Usenet access was a free feature of most dial-up accounts.
Usenet was ground zero for that change, because university and corporate admins had to deal with a lot of new groups - including those devoted to binaries, and especially porn.
There was a lot of gatekeeping, but the useful groups either migrated or disappeared under spam, and the conversations moved elsewhere.
HN is probably the closest thing to the original culture, but HN's single page design means you don't get the intense focus and conversational momentum of Usenet's professional groups.