Usenet certainly isn’t as popular as other internet services, but at one point it was the prevailing discussion system, and its popularity is once again increasing.

Arguably the biggest contributor to Usenet's relative obscurity is its perceived difficulty to use. We've debunked the usability myth, so now let's examine the myth that Usenet is dead.

The creation of the world-wide-web and web-based message boards introduced convenient alternatives to newsgroups which severely impacted the popularity of Usenet. Many people that use the internet today have never heard of Usenet. In recent times, however, Usenet's popularity has been increasing dramatically thanks to the rapid evolution of file sharing.

Unlike more popular methods of file sharing, Usenet is not dependent on a central resource to provide files. Once a file is initially uploaded, it will spread among Usenet servers by design. Usenet servers also tend to provide transfer speeds that dwarf those of other file sharing networks. The extreme reliability and speed provided by Usenet has solidified its present popularity.

It should also be noted that although Usenet isn't as popular for discussions as it was during the pre-Web internet, it is still a robust and vital discussion network. A web-based message board has a limited audience of only those who have discovered that site – there may be other sites related to the same topic but with completely different communities of users. Because Usenet is distributed globally, the potential readership of any newsgroup is tremendous and will include the same users regardless of their Usenet provider.