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Grease is a musical and comedy movie released in 1978 that continues to be popular today. The movie had many fans, whether they were in love with John Travolta, or loved the movie’s soundtrack. It was re-released 20 years after its original release and became the second best-selling movie on that weekend after “Titanic” (Golden Globes, 2022.) 46 years later, and the film is still being watched and commented on.
Usenet shows just how much people loved the movie after its release. There are various discussions on the film’s songs, actors, and set. The program is used to have many different discussions, and each of these conversations may have an overall theme. Each of them has a way of self-regulating conversation. For example, in a Grease-themed chatbox, a user named Rudis recounted how much he disliked the movie. He stated “What’s the big deal about grease? i think it sucks” This was unheard of on the discussion posts. In the conversations, users were likely to praise the film, not hate on it. When people began to read this, a couple of interlopers came to the rescue. Another user named News2Me responded quickly, saying “I’m sure alot of people consider a lot of the movies that you DO like to be stupid or that they “suck” as well. Let us people who happen to like this movie enjoy it. Take your complaints to those that will care.” In the discussion board on grease, Usenet users would have nothing to say about people disparaging their favorite movie. This brought back the conversation to what it was supposed to be: a bunch of fans meeting to talk about their object of fanaticism. Other fans added similar comments, talking to Rudis about the film’s popularity and why it was so warranted. He never responded again, showing just how self-regulated the discussion is.
After reading this conversion, it is clear that one of the major restrictions that the group places on the chats is that they must be fan comments. It has to be looking at the movie Grease in a positive light. If someone writes a negative comment, then other users, such as News2Me, will regulate the conversation and make sure only people add to a positive discourse. This is more of an informal way to regulate the conversation. It is a way of telling the entire Usenet group that this type of behavior is not allowed and steering everyone away from it. This is not directly citing the rules for conversation, but telling people who want to post hate that it is not allowed.
This Usenet group serves fans of the movie Grease. It is a place for them all to unite and talk about their favorite aspects of the films and where to get information on new movies. Discussions like these make fan events and the spread of information possible. With them, a group of people with a very specific thing in common would have met. These communities are beneficial overall. It is how people find friends who have common factors. Having people to talk to about movies, songs, or even actors can make people feel less alone and add something positive to the community.
Cultural History of the Internet 