The first newsgroups and discussion groups appeared in the early years of the Internet, around 1980, and the bulletin board system allowed topic-related discussion groups from 1990 on.

FORBES: The Entangled Revolution Has Begun

The smacking ban was the first topic on the agenda of the new system of member-led debates.

BBC: Debate by an Individual Member

Replying for the government, Baroness Hanham reminded peers the system had "a history going back generations" but pledged to raise the topic with other ministers.

BBC: Calls for UK laws to be made easier to understand