Probably the same reason that "slack == irc" and anti-systemd comments get heavily downvoted. Younger generations want badly to believe that they've invented something completely novel and unique.

This absolutely is usenet + crypto.

The reason those comments get downvoted is because they are wrong. Anyone writing off slack as an IRC clone exhibits a very poor understanding of either system. Slack is similar to IRC in that they deliver text-based communication, but that's about it. The underlying protocols, features, and so forth are radically different.

Most anti-systemd comments are similarly poorly thought out and articulated.

This might be superficially usenet+crypto, but oftentimes things are more than the sum of their conceptual parents.

Indeed, that's what I find exciting about the idea. I'm not keen on the implementation, which is built on npm & JavaScript, nor the protocol, which is built on JSON, but those might be worth it if we can restore some of the glory which was mid-90s Usenet, with security, privacy and accountability.

Especially since the implementation details are not set in stone. Once the lower-level protocols start to stabilize, more efficient implementations will probably emerge.

Agreed. The resemblance to Usenet and email are what I find especially intriguing.