What exactly is the appeal of Usenet when almost everything is available through torrents for free? I also never really understood trusting giving out your payment information.

Do people use Usenet as forums besides the ability to share files?

The main feature is that you’ll never have problem with too few or no seeders again.

But if the uploader stops hosting the file everyone loses the ability to download?

No, if the server you use stops hosting the file, then you can’t download it. Other people might still be able to, if their server still has the file. Most servers seem to do at least 3000 days retention, and others I’ve seen do 5000 days, so anything recent is probably gonna be there.

Its the same with torrents though, with the exception that hardly any torrent still has seeders after 5000 days. Usenet is more reliable in that regard, because you dont have to worry that older files won’t have enough seeders for you to grab the whole thing.