Knowledge

Eternal September

Source 📝

1168: 55: 1472: 1484: 1496: 198: 87:
where he referred to the increasing numbers of Delphi users as the "Never-Ending-September". Fischer also replied to a different thread on January 25, 1994, in alt.folklore.computers saying, "It's moot now. September 1993 will go down in net history as the September that never ended." This quote has been suggested to have been the first reference.
74:
The full phrase appears to have evolved over a series of months on two separate alt.folklore newsgroups where a number of threads exist lamenting what they saw as an increase in low-quality posts across various newsgroups. Several members of the newsgroups referenced aspects of the "September" issue,
62:
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Usenet and the Internet were generally the domain of dedicated computer professionals and hobbyists; new users joined slowly, in small numbers, and observed and learned the social conventions of online interaction without having much of an impact on the experienced
86:
unleashed a staggering amount of weirdos on the net?", which garnered a reply from Karl Reinsch "Of course it's perpetually September for Delphi users, isn't it?" The day before, Furr had also posted the same message to alt.folklore.urban, where David Fischer responded with a joke call-to-action
90:
Possibly the first use of the "Eternal September" phrase was a newsgroup post by John William Chambless in February 1994. He posted a rant including some excerpts of low-quality articles he found in one of his newsgroups that day, but titled the post "The Eternal September".
36:
access to many new users. Prior to this, the only sudden changes in the volume of new users of Usenet occurred each September, when cohorts of university students would gain access to it for the first time. The periodic flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for
63:
users. The only exception to this was September of every year, when large numbers of first-year college students gained access to the Internet and Usenet through their universities. These large groups of new users who had not yet learned
45:
began their Usenet gateway service in March 1994, leading to a constant stream of new users. Hence, from the early Usenet hobbyist point of view, the influx of new users that began in September 1993 appeared to be endless.
71:
made affordable Internet access widely available for home users, a continuous influx of new users began, making it feel like it was always "September" to the more experienced users.
496: 244: 306: 259: 1037: 1499: 1379: 318: 277: 1384: 646: 1167: 1527: 1429: 469: 1532: 866: 1542: 976: 570: 1389: 605: 510: 421: 361: 548: 1419: 1557: 713: 1409: 1404: 391: 1394: 1399: 1030: 486: 1414: 1102: 972: 861: 1522: 457:
The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
269: 67:
created a nuisance for the experienced users, who came to dread September every year. Once ISPs like
29: 236: 902: 1547: 1475: 1023: 938: 639: 83: 64: 28:
refers to a cultural phenomenon during a period beginning around late 1993 and early 1994, when
347: 212: 186:. Named with similar humour is one of the free public Usenet servers, Eternal-September.org. 1296: 455: 332: 291: 1424: 763: 758: 1495: 8: 1253: 968: 917: 743: 461: 175: 1552: 1092: 897: 852: 723: 632: 1483: 1291: 1281: 1248: 465: 324: 314: 283: 273: 167: 54: 518: 429: 369: 158:
outputs the current date, formatted using the Eternal September calendar (September
1286: 1067: 1000: 848: 797: 768: 514: 425: 395: 365: 1562: 1487: 995: 922: 912: 881: 805: 784: 728: 703: 491: 451: 232: 151: 399: 1157: 1142: 1046: 792: 698: 669: 38: 1516: 1371: 1326: 1211: 1132: 1077: 1072: 958: 753: 328: 287: 1537: 1356: 1238: 871: 718: 609: 202: 183: 119: 1434: 1336: 1216: 1137: 1112: 990: 892: 820: 207: 562: 1268: 1122: 614: 540: 1301: 1176: 1107: 733: 708: 681: 79: 584: 1351: 1331: 1184: 1147: 1127: 1087: 838: 833: 828: 748: 738: 263: 1346: 1341: 1321: 1258: 1117: 1097: 1015: 907: 1449: 1316: 1311: 1306: 1152: 1082: 1062: 985: 655: 197: 110: 33: 1439: 1276: 1196: 1054: 967: 1361: 1231: 1206: 1201: 618: 179: 125: 1243: 1226: 1221: 1189: 624: 68: 42: 621:
program that outputs the date of Never Ending September
1514: 58:A 1994 t-shirt commemorating Eternal September 1031: 640: 313:. New York University Press. pp. 31–41. 166:is an unbounded counter for days since that 563:"sdate(1) – Unix First Edition Manual Page" 82:cross-posted asking "Is it just me, or has 41:and the ability to enforce existing norms. 1038: 1024: 647: 633: 503: 541:"Never Ending September Date – df7cb.de" 450: 304: 298: 257: 251: 247:from the original on September 14, 2008. 231: 53: 499:from the original on December 13, 2017. 484: 444: 414: 384: 345: 1515: 551:from the original on February 2, 2009. 478: 354: 1019: 628: 485:Koebler, Jason (September 30, 2015). 346:Koebler, Jason (September 30, 2015). 225: 178:that comes with the First Edition of 170:). This is not the identically named 13: 1045: 573:from the original on May 30, 2014. 307:"The Making of an Underclass: AOL" 14: 1574: 867:rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated 599: 1494: 1482: 1471: 1470: 1166: 260:"The Year September Never Ended" 196: 78:In a thread on January 8, 1994, 577: 555: 533: 241:The Jargon File (version 4.4.7) 75:typically in a joking manner. 339: 1: 218: 422:"longest USENET thread ever" 237:"September that never ended" 7: 585:"www.eternal-september.org" 392:"Run! It's the Delphioids!" 362:"Run! It's the Delphioids!" 305:Grossman, Wendy M. (1997). 258:Grossman, Wendy M. (1997). 189: 10: 1579: 862:news.admin.net-abuse.email 654: 606:TheSeptemberThatNeverEnded 182:, that is used to set the 49: 30:Internet service providers 26:September that never ended 1528:1990s in Internet culture 1466: 1448: 1370: 1267: 1175: 1164: 1053: 951: 931: 880: 847: 819: 777: 691: 662: 589:www.eternal-september.org 487:"It's September, Forever" 348:"It's September, Forever" 270:New York University Press 94: 1533:1993 in Internet culture 1380:Advertising and products 272:. pp. 4–17, 31–41. 1543:History of the Internet 939:Cryptography newsgroups 511:"The Eternal September" 519:alt.folklore.computers 430:alt.folklore.computers 370:alt.folklore.computers 213:Tragedy of the commons 59: 1558:September 1993 events 57: 1385:Animation and comics 903:religion.scientology 759:Usenet Death Penalty 462:Simon & Schuster 1254:Padonkaffsky jargon 744:Sock puppet account 174:, one of the sixty 521:. February 8, 1994 432:. January 25, 1994 402:. January 12, 1994 400:alt.folklore.urban 60: 1510: 1509: 1458:Eternal September 1013: 1012: 1009: 1008: 947: 946: 764:Warnock's dilemma 676:Eternal September 372:. January 8, 1994 320:978-0-8147-3103-1 294:on June 26, 2006. 279:978-0-8147-3103-1 148: 147: 144: 22:Eternal September 1570: 1523:1990s neologisms 1498: 1486: 1474: 1473: 1170: 1068:Creepy treehouse 1040: 1033: 1026: 1017: 1016: 965: 964: 878: 877: 769:Web-based Usenet 649: 642: 635: 626: 625: 593: 592: 581: 575: 574: 559: 553: 552: 537: 531: 530: 528: 526: 507: 501: 500: 482: 476: 475: 452:Isaacson, Walter 448: 442: 441: 439: 437: 418: 412: 411: 409: 407: 388: 382: 381: 379: 377: 358: 352: 351: 343: 337: 336: 331:. Archived from 302: 296: 295: 290:. Archived from 255: 249: 248: 229: 203:1990s portal 201: 200: 143: 134:September 11345, 99: 98: 65:online etiquette 1578: 1577: 1573: 1572: 1571: 1569: 1568: 1567: 1513: 1512: 1511: 1506: 1462: 1444: 1366: 1263: 1171: 1162: 1049: 1044: 1014: 1005: 963: 943: 927: 918:suicide.holiday 876: 843: 815: 773: 704:Breidbart Index 687: 658: 653: 602: 597: 596: 583: 582: 578: 561: 560: 556: 539: 538: 534: 524: 522: 509: 508: 504: 483: 479: 472: 464:. p. 401. 449: 445: 435: 433: 420: 419: 415: 405: 403: 390: 389: 385: 375: 373: 360: 359: 355: 344: 340: 335:on May 5, 2011. 321: 303: 299: 280: 256: 252: 230: 226: 221: 195: 192: 154:program called 152:tongue-in-cheek 130: 116: 97: 52: 32:began offering 17: 16:Internet jargon 12: 11: 5: 1576: 1566: 1565: 1560: 1555: 1550: 1548:Internet slang 1545: 1540: 1535: 1530: 1525: 1508: 1507: 1505: 1504: 1492: 1480: 1467: 1464: 1463: 1461: 1460: 1454: 1452: 1446: 1445: 1443: 1442: 1437: 1432: 1427: 1422: 1417: 1412: 1407: 1402: 1397: 1392: 1387: 1382: 1376: 1374: 1368: 1367: 1365: 1364: 1359: 1354: 1349: 1344: 1339: 1334: 1329: 1324: 1319: 1314: 1309: 1304: 1299: 1294: 1289: 1284: 1279: 1273: 1271: 1265: 1264: 1262: 1261: 1256: 1251: 1246: 1241: 1236: 1235: 1234: 1229: 1224: 1219: 1214: 1204: 1199: 1194: 1193: 1192: 1181: 1179: 1173: 1172: 1165: 1163: 1161: 1160: 1155: 1150: 1145: 1143:Shadow banning 1140: 1135: 1130: 1125: 1120: 1115: 1110: 1105: 1100: 1095: 1090: 1085: 1080: 1075: 1070: 1065: 1059: 1057: 1051: 1050: 1047:Internet slang 1043: 1042: 1035: 1028: 1020: 1011: 1010: 1007: 1006: 1004: 1003: 998: 993: 988: 982: 980: 962: 961: 955: 953: 949: 948: 945: 944: 942: 941: 935: 933: 929: 928: 926: 925: 920: 915: 910: 905: 900: 898:binaries.slack 895: 889: 887: 875: 874: 869: 864: 858: 856: 845: 844: 842: 841: 836: 831: 825: 823: 817: 816: 814: 813: 812: 811: 803: 790: 781: 779: 775: 774: 772: 771: 766: 761: 756: 751: 746: 741: 736: 731: 726: 721: 716: 711: 706: 701: 699:Backbone cabal 695: 693: 689: 688: 686: 685: 679: 673: 670:Great Renaming 666: 664: 660: 659: 652: 651: 644: 637: 629: 623: 622: 612: 601: 600:External links 598: 595: 594: 576: 554: 532: 502: 477: 471:978-1476708690 470: 443: 413: 383: 353: 338: 319: 297: 278: 250: 223: 222: 220: 217: 216: 215: 210: 205: 191: 188: 162:, 1993, where 146: 145: 142: 141: 136: 129: 128: 123: 115: 114: 104: 103: 96: 93: 51: 48: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1575: 1564: 1561: 1559: 1556: 1554: 1551: 1549: 1546: 1544: 1541: 1539: 1536: 1534: 1531: 1529: 1526: 1524: 1521: 1520: 1518: 1503: 1502: 1497: 1493: 1491: 1490: 1485: 1481: 1479: 1478: 1469: 1468: 1465: 1459: 1456: 1455: 1453: 1451: 1447: 1441: 1438: 1436: 1433: 1431: 1430:Miscellaneous 1428: 1426: 1423: 1421: 1418: 1416: 1413: 1411: 1408: 1406: 1403: 1401: 1398: 1396: 1393: 1391: 1388: 1386: 1383: 1381: 1378: 1377: 1375: 1373: 1369: 1363: 1360: 1358: 1355: 1353: 1350: 1348: 1345: 1343: 1340: 1338: 1335: 1333: 1330: 1328: 1325: 1323: 1320: 1318: 1315: 1313: 1310: 1308: 1305: 1303: 1300: 1298: 1295: 1293: 1290: 1288: 1285: 1283: 1280: 1278: 1275: 1274: 1272: 1270: 1266: 1260: 1257: 1255: 1252: 1250: 1247: 1245: 1242: 1240: 1237: 1233: 1230: 1228: 1225: 1223: 1220: 1218: 1215: 1213: 1210: 1209: 1208: 1205: 1203: 1200: 1198: 1195: 1191: 1188: 1187: 1186: 1183: 1182: 1180: 1178: 1174: 1169: 1159: 1156: 1154: 1151: 1149: 1146: 1144: 1141: 1139: 1136: 1134: 1133:Script kiddie 1131: 1129: 1126: 1124: 1121: 1119: 1116: 1114: 1111: 1109: 1106: 1104: 1101: 1099: 1096: 1094: 1091: 1089: 1086: 1084: 1081: 1079: 1078:Cyberstalking 1076: 1074: 1073:Cyberbullying 1071: 1069: 1066: 1064: 1061: 1060: 1058: 1056: 1052: 1048: 1041: 1036: 1034: 1029: 1027: 1022: 1021: 1018: 1002: 999: 997: 994: 992: 989: 987: 984: 983: 981: 978: 974: 970: 966: 960: 959:Google Groups 957: 956: 954: 950: 940: 937: 936: 934: 930: 924: 921: 919: 916: 914: 911: 909: 906: 904: 901: 899: 896: 894: 891: 890: 888: 886: 884: 879: 873: 870: 868: 865: 863: 860: 859: 857: 854: 850: 846: 840: 837: 835: 832: 830: 827: 826: 824: 822: 818: 810: 808: 804: 802: 800: 796: 795: 794: 791: 789: 787: 783: 782: 780: 776: 770: 767: 765: 762: 760: 757: 755: 752: 750: 747: 745: 742: 740: 737: 735: 732: 730: 727: 725: 722: 720: 717: 715: 712: 710: 707: 705: 702: 700: 697: 696: 694: 690: 683: 680: 677: 674: 671: 668: 667: 665: 661: 657: 650: 645: 643: 638: 636: 631: 630: 627: 620: 616: 613: 611: 607: 604: 603: 590: 586: 580: 572: 568: 564: 558: 550: 546: 542: 536: 520: 516: 512: 506: 498: 494: 493: 488: 481: 473: 467: 463: 459: 458: 453: 447: 431: 427: 423: 417: 401: 397: 393: 387: 371: 367: 363: 357: 349: 342: 334: 330: 326: 322: 316: 312: 308: 301: 293: 289: 285: 281: 275: 271: 267: 266: 261: 254: 246: 242: 238: 234: 228: 224: 214: 211: 209: 206: 204: 199: 194: 193: 187: 185: 181: 177: 173: 169: 165: 161: 157: 153: 140: 137: 135: 132: 131: 127: 124: 121: 118: 117: 113: 112: 108: 107: 106: 105: 101: 100: 92: 88: 85: 81: 76: 72: 70: 66: 56: 47: 44: 40: 39:online forums 35: 31: 27: 23: 19: 1500: 1488: 1476: 1457: 882: 872:talk.origins 806: 798: 785: 729:Godwin's law 719:Crossposting 675: 610:MeatballWiki 588: 579: 566: 557: 544: 535: 523:. Retrieved 505: 490: 480: 456: 446: 434:. Retrieved 416: 404:. Retrieved 386: 374:. Retrieved 356: 341: 333:the original 310: 300: 292:the original 264: 253: 240: 233:Eric Raymond 227: 184:system clock 171: 163: 159: 155: 149: 138: 133: 120:September 22 109: 89: 77: 73: 61: 25: 21: 20: 18: 1337:Rickrolling 1138:Shitposting 1113:Little Pink 991:NewsBin Pro 969:Newsreaders 923:tv.simpsons 913:sex.stories 821:News server 778:Hierarchies 692:Terminology 684:(1996–1998) 525:January 10, 208:July effect 1517:Categories 1501:Wiktionary 1390:Challenges 1269:Imageboard 1123:Sealioning 977:Comparison 849:Newsgroups 436:January 9, 406:January 9, 376:January 9, 219:References 1553:September 1302:goatse.cx 1282:Anonymous 1177:Chatspeak 1108:Keylogger 734:Kill file 714:Cleanfeed 709:Cancelbot 682:Meow Wars 567:cat-v.org 515:Newsgroup 426:Newsgroup 396:Newsgroup 366:Newsgroup 80:Joel Furr 1477:Category 1420:Politics 1352:Tripcode 1332:Pedobear 1185:Emoticon 1148:Spamming 1128:Phishing 1088:Edgelord 932:By topic 839:Giganews 834:Easynews 829:Astraweb 749:Sporgery 739:Otherkin 571:Archived 549:Archived 545:df7cb.de 497:Archived 454:(2014). 329:37451759 311:Net.wars 288:37451759 265:Net.wars 245:Archived 190:See also 176:commands 1357:Weeaboo 1347:Rule 63 1342:Rule 34 1259:Sexting 1118:Malware 1098:Griefer 1093:Flaming 952:Clients 893:atheism 724:Flaming 663:History 517::  428::  398::  368::  50:History 24:or the 1563:Usenet 1489:Portal 1450:Usenet 1425:Videos 1410:Images 1405:Gaming 1322:O RLY? 1317:Newbie 1307:Lolcat 1153:Tankie 1103:Hacker 1083:Doxing 1063:Baizuo 986:GrabIt 678:(1993) 672:(1987) 656:Usenet 468:  327:  317:  286:  276:  111:Sunday 95:Legacy 84:Delphi 34:Usenet 1440:TL;DR 1415:Music 1395:Email 1372:Memes 1287:-chan 1277:4chan 1212:Owned 1197:Emoji 1158:Troll 1055:Abuse 793:Big 8 754:Troll 615:sdate 172:sdate 168:epoch 156:sdate 102:Today 1435:Doge 1400:Film 1362:Yiff 1312:Lurk 1297:Clop 1249:NSFW 1232:w00t 1217:Pr0n 1207:Leet 1202:Hodl 973:List 853:List 799:comp 619:Unix 617:, a 527:2022 492:Vice 466:ISBN 438:2022 408:2022 378:2022 325:OCLC 315:ISBN 284:OCLC 274:ISBN 180:Unix 139:1993 126:2024 1538:AOL 1244:LOL 1239:Fap 1227:Teh 1222:Pwn 1190:uwu 1001:tin 908:sex 883:alt 807:sci 786:alt 608:at 69:AOL 43:AOL 1519:: 1327:OP 1292:CP 996:rn 975:, 885:.* 809:.* 801:.* 788:.* 587:. 569:. 565:. 547:. 543:. 513:. 495:. 489:. 460:. 424:. 394:. 364:. 323:. 309:. 282:. 268:. 262:. 243:. 239:. 235:. 150:A 1039:e 1032:t 1025:v 979:) 971:( 855:) 851:( 648:e 641:t 634:v 591:. 529:. 474:. 440:. 410:. 380:. 350:. 164:X 160:X 122:,

Index

Internet service providers
Usenet
online forums
AOL

online etiquette
AOL
Joel Furr
Delphi
Sunday
September 22
2024
September 11345,
1993
tongue-in-cheek
epoch
commands
Unix
system clock
icon
1990s portal
July effect
Tragedy of the commons
Eric Raymond
"September that never ended"
Archived
"The Year September Never Ended"
Net.wars
New York University Press
ISBN

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.