I've always struggled to understand how Fidonet (and BBSes) was different to Usenet.
From what I gathered, Usenet was a decentralised network from the start, whereas BBSes were distinct communities and Fidonet was a solution to connect these communities together.
I believe Usenet also runs on TCP/IP, unlike BBSes which you dialed into.
It was kind of similar. But insane phone bills was a major issue at the time. We're talking 1€ or more for a few minutes of connection. Plus, internet service was very expensive and there weren't many advantages to it because the www didn't exist. Instead you had BBSes in your own local area code which were much cheaper to call. From those you got your latest FidoMail and also the latest games. :) Given that it was all volunteer-run and (almost) no money exchanged hands, it worked amazingly well.
From what I gathered, Usenet was a decentralised network from the start, whereas BBSes were distinct communities and Fidonet was a solution to connect these communities together. I believe Usenet also runs on TCP/IP, unlike BBSes which you dialed into.
Can anyone shed some light on the above?