Mastering Online Discussion Groups and Usenet News

1. Learning to Use the Internet & the World Wide Web Chapter 7 By Ernest Ackermann & Karen Hartman Mary Washington College

2. Chapter Seven: Discussion Groups and Usenet Newsgroups Goals/Objectives • Understand the nature of email discussion groups • Know which resources are available through these groups • Learn how to work with email discussion groups • Understand netiquette issues • Understand the nature of and issues related to Usenet News • Know the resources available through Usenet and how to use a specific newsreader

3. Overview and Essential Information About Discussion Groups • Anyone can join or subscribe to a group. • The communication in these groups is two-way, but each member chooses his or her level of participation. • When a message is posted, it can be read by any member of the group. This is called fan-out. • Anyone in the group can respond to the message, either by replying to the group or sending email to the individual who sent the original message. This is called fan-in.

4. Essential Features and Concepts of Email Discussion Groups • You decide how much you want to participate. • A group or list is managed by software. • There are two important addresses: the administrative address and the group address. • Each group has a name. • Your messages are public. • The membership list may be available to everyone in the group

5. Details of Working with a Discussion Group • Steps You’re Likely to Go Through: • Identify or choose a group. • Join the group by sending email to the administrative address. • Communicate with members of the group by sending email to the group address. • Use services available from the list. • Unsubscribe or leave a group.

6. Proper Etiquette and Behavior Within a Group • Spend time getting to know the group. • Don’t embarrass yourself. • Think before you respond. • Write easy-to-read messages. • Treat members with courtesy. • When responding, include pertinent portions of the original message. • Post a summary of responses you get. • Think about whether a response should go to the group or to an individual.

7. Overview of Usenet News • The news is a collection of articles arranged into categories called newsgroups. • Anyone with access to a news server can post an article to a newsgroup and, thus, to Usenet. • Articles are addressed to a newsgroup and anyone with access to a newsreader can read any of the articles.

8. Usenet News Features and Concepts • Each newsgroup has a name that gives the main topic for the articles in the group. • All articles belong to one or more newsgroups. • Articles on the same topic are sometimes arranged into threads. • You may find some discussions offensive. • There is no censorship on Usenet.

9. Using FAQs • FAQ (frequently asked questions) is a collection of common questions with answers. • Most newsgroups have an informative and useful FAQ. • Check the FAQ before you ask questions of a newsgroup.

10. Finding Newsgroups and Discussion Groups • Some Web sites provide facilities for searching for newsgroups and discussion groups : • Google Groups • Harley Hahn’s Master List of Usenet Newsgroups • Tile.Net/News • Publicly Available Mailing Lists (PAML)