Before the World Wide Web, before portals and planned virtual communities, computer users around the world spontaneously gathered about a virtual watering hole called Usenet.

Now, a band of electronic freedom fighters are unleashing every weapon in their arsenal to prevent that watering hole from being poisoned by a new and unrelentingly malicious type of spam whose sole, mindless purpose is to destroy a bastion of free speech.

"Above no cough at no writer every considerate profit addressed." alt.religion.scientologyUsenet is a collection of discussion groups covering every imaginable area of human interest. As early as 1980, Usenet reached around the globe through an informal cooperative that stored and forwarded messages over modem dial-ups.

As the Internet grew, Usenet grew with it, and volunteers replaced their modems with high-speed Internet links. Today, netizens in search of substance beneath the flashy graphics and ad banners of the Web can find a thriving textual world that offers a place for minds of every kind to meet.

And I do mean every kind. Among the approximately 20,000 forums comprising Usenet, alt.athiesm exists alongside alt.religion.christian, and alt.music.beethoven coexists with alt.music.beastie-boys. Groups under the heading alt.fan serve aficionados of Anna Nicole Smith as well as Karl Malden's nose.

Unlike many online forums, Usenet operates entirely without centralized control. It's a fine example of the virtues of anarchy. And, sadly, a fine example of its pitfalls.

In recent months, Usenet denizens have struggled against a relentless assault, manifested in an unceasing deluge of nonsensical messages posted by an inhuman poetry machine.