"Notes and Queries" was first published in 1849 as a weekly periodical edited by W. J. Thoms. It was founded as an academic correspondence magazine, in which scholars and interested amateurs could exchange knowledge on folklore, literature and history. The format consisted of "Notes" (miscellaneous findings of correspondents that they and the editors considered of interest to the readership), and "Queries" (and responses to queries), which formed the bulk of the publication. The magazine has been likened to a nineteenth-century version of a moderated Internet newsgroup.