[1] The group was originally created on February 6, 1990,[2] by a member of the alt.pagan newsgroup, to provide an alternative forum for the numerous discussions on atheism that were overwhelming the pagan group.
[3] Nash writes that "atheist and freethought newsgroups" including alt.atheism have "done much to remove the sense of isolation felt by many with antireligious opinions".
[4] According to the alt.atheism FAQ,[5] the purpose of the group is to discuss atheism and atheist topics such as the following: Ricker calls out another common discussion topic, the proper definition of atheism, as being "the thread that never dies on alt.atheism".
[6] The popularization of the "weak and strong atheism" terminology for different definitions of atheism has been credited to discussions on the alt.atheism newsgroup.
This article related to atheism is a stub.