USENET newsgroups constitute an immense worldwide forum for discussion. These newsgroups actually pre-date the existence of the World Wide Web.

Simply put, newsgroups are a group of people who exchange information in a way that is very similar to email, although these groups seldom actually contain "news" in the way you might expect.

To better understand them, it may be easier to think of them as "discussion groups".

The participants send email messages to the group and reply to other such messages that have been posted by others who share their area of interest.

There are groups covering just about every topic imaginable, from wicca to classical music to marijuana laws.

These groups are organised in larger groups. A few examples:

Groups that begin with:

alt. are "alternative culture" groups
rec. are "recreational" groups
comp. stands for "computers"
and "uk." means the group is UK based.

You can participate in newsgroups through your browser (Internet Explorer - choose "read news" from GO menu. Netscape Navigator - choose "Netscape News" from the window menu). Or you can use a programme that's designed purely for reading newsgroups, like Free Agent (free to download here ). You might also be able to read newsgroups through your regular email programme, although not all programmes support this. One of the best is Outlook Express, which is a part of the Internet Explorer package, but can be used as a stand alone email and news reader.

As with email, you can read, reply to (author or group) or forward messages in newsgroups.

To join a newsgroup, you will need to connect to a news server. Most major ISP's have a news server, with varying numbers of groups, usually somewhere around 20-30,000.

You will first need to access the server and download the list of available groups, which you can then browse at leisure, whilst choosing which groups you wish to subscribe to. Once subscribed, you can then log in again to download the headers in the appropriate groups. By downloading only headers, you save time and space, and can then choose which messages you are interesting in reading. Marked messages will then be downloaded in their entirety next time you log into the server.

A few points to remember:

• Use unformatted text when writing to a group. Not all Usenet clients support HTML formatted text.
• If you quote somebody, be sure to keep it short and correct.
• Don't send attachments with your messages unless the group specifies that these are accepted.
• One drawback is that, because they are public, they often attract unsavoury characters who post irrelevant messages and/or advertising (spam). These are usually for get-rich-quick scams or adult sites. In some groups, you may find that these messages consist of 50 percent of the total.

However, newsgroups can be a very useful way of communicating with others who share your interest, or for gaining knowledge of a particular subject.

- ~ * ~ - . . - ~ * ~ - . . - ~ * ~ - . . - ~ * ~ - Sharon Jacobsen is editor/owner of WeWomen.co.uk, a portal and community for women in the UK, offering a web directory, articles, ecards, discussion, jokes, poetry, and lots more. - ~ * ~ - . . - ~ * ~ - . . - ~ * ~ - . . - ~ * ~ -