Here is a explanation of what is what in the raw data base files. To get
the database of what information is available for the group send a message
to "usenet-b@clark.net" with a subject line of "See: Newsgroup".  For
example to see what's there in news.answers you would send a line with a
subject "See: news.answers".  Upon receiving the request the server will
mail you the raw database file for that group.

SD:
  A short description of the group as it appears in "Alternative Newsgroup
  Hierarchies" and "List of Active Newsgroups" posted in news.lists.
LD:
  A long description of the group from multiple sources.  This is where I
  could use the most help.  Please see the FAQ for more info. The FAQ can
  be found at ftp.clark.net:/pub/usenet-b/info/bible-faq, by fingering
  usenet-b@clark.net, or by sending mail to usenet-b@clark.net
  with a subject line of help.
MD:
  The Moderator or Coordinator of the group as it appears in "List of
  Moderators for Usenet" posted to news.lists.
RQ:
  The address where requests, comments, etc. should go to as it appears in
  "List of Moderators for Usenet" posted to news.lists.
SB:
  The address where submissions should go to as it appears in "List of
  Moderators for Usenet" posted to news.lists.
FAQ:
  A list of the periodic postings known at this time as it appears in
  "List of Periodic Informational Postings" posted to news.lists.  Each
  posting is listed in an entry that includes who posts the article, which
  newsgroup(s) it appears in, what Subject is used, and how often the
  article is posted.  The list is sorted by Newsgroups and Subject
  information.  The character '*' is used as a wildcard, e.g. "v*INF1"
  matches "v01INF1", "v02INF1", etc.
  
  The Date in a posting's entry indicates, where given, when the
  posting last appeared.  However, it may be inaccurate if (a) the
  maintainer of the posting has changed the Subject line, or (b) the most
  recent version has not reached my site, or (c) the entry actually
  corresponds to multiple postings because of wildcarding.
  
  The Archive-name, where present, indicates the archive name that
  appeared in the posting when it was last posted.  Note that if one entry
  matches multiple postings because of wildcarding, then only one archive
  name will appear.  Similarly, the Summary indicates the summary that
  appeared.
ML:
  The mailing list the newsgroup is gatewayed to as it appears in "Mailing
  Lists Available in Usenet" posted to news.lists.  Any letter after the
  address inductees the states of the group and they mean the following:
    < one way gateway from the maillist to the newsgroup
    M moderated newsgroup
    D both the maillist and the newsgroup appear in digest form
    * possibly broken gateway
ST:
  The latest statistics for the group as it appears in "USENET Readership
  report for *" posted to news.lists.  The figures mean the following (for
  example):
     +-- Estimated total number of people who read the group, worldwide.
     |     +-- Actual number of readers in sampled population
     |     |     +-- Propagation: how many sites receive this group at all
     |     |     |      +-- Recent traffic (messages per month)
     |     |     |      |      +-- Recent traffic (megabytes per month)
     |     |     |      |      |       +-- Crossposting percentage
     |     |     |      |      |       |    +-- Cost ratio: $US/month/rdr
     |     |     |      |      |       |    |      + Share: % of newsrders
     |     |     |      |      |       |    |      |  who read this group.
     V     V     V      V      V       V    V      V
  140000  1359   76%   114     0.6     6%  0.00  2.7%
  
For more info on any of these areas please see the corresponding posts to
news.lists.


