Discussion / Thread

A series of Usenet articles, consisting of an initial post and all of the follow-ups to the post. Different clients may display these conversations differently, but in most cases they are organized to show responses in a nested style with consistent timestamps.

Emoticon

A method of displaying faces and other pictures with standard text characters. :-) is an emoticon for a smiling face. Emoticons were first proposed on Usenet to help convey the tone of a message. For example, a sarcastic comment could be seen as serious and rude, but with an emoticon, the intended meaning is better expressed. Emoticons are now common in every current digital text-based communication medium.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions. Documents that attempt to answer the most common questions posted in a newsgroup, either about the subject of the newsgroup or regarding the group itself. For example, the FAQ for a newsgroup such as sci.astronomy may include answers to basic astronomy questions, as well as the accepted netiquette rules of the group.

Flame

Attacking other Usenet participants with derisive comments. A heated discussion that devolves into personal attacks can be considered a ""flame war."" Users who primarily flame other users are often considered trolls.

Follow-up / Reply

An article that is posted in response to an original article subject.

Handle

The chosen username or alias of a Usenet participant. A user's handle is not necessarily derived from their real name, email address, or other obvious detail. Frequently, a handle is a personally chosen nickname. In this sense, it is exactly the same as a 'handle' in CB radio culture. Military callsigns are a similar concept.