It is an honor to present the 2009 NGR Spirit of Usenet Award to NewsDemon. The award is presented in recognition of the many enhancements made to NewsDemon’s newsgroup services along with their continued efforts to promote the growth of Usenet in 2009.
First let’s take a look at some of the enhancements NewsDemon made to their Usenet service over the last year:
Increased binary retention from 175 days to over 515 days
– NewsDemon nearly tripled binary retention. In January 2009 they were at 175 days. Now they are over 515 days retention and continuing to grow daily.
Added a wide array of block accounts
– NewsDemon added a wide array of account offerings including block accounts. For those not familiar with block accounts they allow you to purchase a set amount of downloads rather than pay a monthly fee for Usenet access. NewsDemon offers several block accounts ranging from 10 GB up to 1 TB of downloads.
Black Friday / Cyber Monday special
– we partnered with NewsDemon to bring NGR visitors an opportunity to enjoy their Unlimited Plus plan for only $9.95 a month for life. The special ran from Black Friday through Cyber Monday 2009.
50% Off NewsDemon
– NewsDemon is currently offering NGR visitors 50% off your first two months of Unlimited Plus access. That means instead of paying $22.99 you pay $11.50 for the first two months.
Increase to support 107,000 newsgroups
– this year NewsDemon increased the number of newsgroups they support from 85,000 up to 107,000.
Usenet tester tool
– last summer NewsDemon released a Usenet tester which allows you to test and verify connectivity to news servers. This is especially useful in troubleshooting issues.
Launched a new website design
– in July NewsDemon launched a new site design. Then in December they rolled out a nice looking holiday skin for the site.
In 2009 NewsDemon took a number of steps to promote Usenet awareness and the positive benefits of newsgroups. The list of those contributions includes:
Free Usenet access for university staff, charities and media members
– NewsDemon does a lot of help promote Usenet including free NewsDemon accounts for university staff, charities and media members. They also offer free accounts for bloggers.
Discount offered to college students
– College students and educators are eligible for a 25% discount.
Usenet 30th anniversary celebration
– NewsDemon celebrated the 30th anniversary of Usenet in November with a $1 Usenet special, interviews with Tom Truscott and Brad Templeton, and by publishing the original Usenet announcement.
Interviews with Tom Truscott and Brad Templeton
– As part of the Usenet anniversary celebration NewsDemon interviewed Tom Truscott and Brad Templeton. Tom Truscott helped found Usenet with Jim Elliss and others at Duke and UNC in 1979. Brad Templeton created and moderated the very popular rec.humor.funny newsgroup. In the years since Mr. Templeton founded ClariNet Communications and is chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
Original Usenet announcement
– NewsDemon gained access to the original press release announcing Usenet. This is the first time the Usenet memo by Tom Truscott has been posted on the Internet.
History of Usenet content added to site
– Earlier in the year NewsDemon added information covering the history of Usenet to help users learn more about how newsgroups got their start.
Newsgroup charter directory
– NewsDemon took on the effort of creating a charter directory to educate and inform users about specific newsgroups and their purpose
Frequent blog posts
– Find up to date events and their connections to Usenet in the NewsDemon blog. They also do spotlight articles on specific topics of interest and their related newsgroups.
We congratulate NewsDemon on their accomplishments and look forward to their continued efforts in the years to come. To learn more about the Usenet service read our NewsDemon review or visit newsdemon.com.
