What Does USENET Mean?

Usenet is a worldwide system for Internet discussion that consists of a set of newsgroups that are organized by subject. Users post articles or messages to these newsgroups. The articles are then broadcast to other computer systems, most of which now connect via the Internet. Usenet was conceived in 1979, making it one of the oldest network communications systems still in use today. It is also the predecessor of many of the forums online today.

Techopedia Explains USENET

Usenet got its name from Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP), a protocol suite for sending data, usually over a dial-up network. Initially, this was the dominant mode of transmission for Usenet, but it has since come to rely on the Internet.