A.A.C.F. was indeed a great Usenet group.  Even had a chat setup on IRC.
But the keyword there is USENET.  Being a text group, when WebTV users found
thier way in they couldn't understand why they got flamed for posting 45k of
garbage graphics to send a 5 word reply to another post.  AOL folks too had
problems although a lot of them learned that you have rules in most Usenet
groups and it's good to lurk for a while and learn them.

Then came the message boards.  They dumped thier "users" out into Usenet
without clueing them in.  And were gleeful in disrupting some great groups.
You couldn't explain to these folks to just come to the group direct and
read the posts because most of thier questions had already been posted and
answered.  The same questions over and over.  Or asshats just putting up a
question and demanding that the answer be sent to them via email.

Even during all this a lot of the original regulars stayed and still tried
to help.  But then the message board kiddies decided it was funny to start
flame wars and flood the group with crap.  Ebay ads, porn ads, or the same
post a couple hundred times.  Let's not forget the spammers, or just pissed
off flamers dumping posters email addies into every spamhole they could.

A Usenet group is started with a lot of work and some basic ideas that those
who create it agree on.  As others join over time it grows, but needs to
stay within certain parameters to remain a viable community.  When invaded
by hordes of morons, it simply doesn't work.

I look in from time to time and have been watching the traffic dying down,
hoping it might restart itself.  Maybe that's what's happening now.

I hope so........