[ This seems to be straying from LSTOWN's purview, so I'll keep ]
[ it short.                                                     ]
 
>There are LOTS of hosts that don't offer NetNews [...] If you
>could offer a service that would let individuals subscribe (send
>and receive) to SPECIFIC news groups [...]
 
If this were to ever become reality, I would IMMEDIATELY dispatch
an official demand that my domain NEVER be served.  If the company
refused, I would install mailer filters to bit-bucket that company's
mailings.  I suspect that you'd run into similar requests from any-
one who already has Usenet.
 
>You might also think of running an "automated" clipping service.  Let
>people define a set of keywords (with appropriate boolean logic, i.e.,
>macintosh or powermac and not "flame on" for example) to receive messages
>from all lists or a defined subset (comp.sys.* for example).
 
While this has potential, it's a tough proposition.  Our Usenet host,
carrying a fairly complete selection of newsgroups, pulls in anywhere
from 90 to 110 Mbytes *per day*.  That's an awful lot of stuff to
query/archive...
 
--Wes