There's a huge virtual community out there just waiting for you to be a part of it. Thousands of people discuss and debate every topic under the sun and you can jump right in and start sharing your own thoughts on subjects dear to your heart. Are you still trying to find someone who will believe you alien abduction story? Look on further ...

Newsgroups is a bit of a misleading term. While you'll undoubtedly find news in there, Usenet is better described as a collection of thousands of different discussion groups, covering every esoteric subject you can thin of. Within each group, you can read the messages of others and post your own for others to read.

Your message is then displayed within the group for others to read and respond to. It's a fast, fun way to get answers to particular questions, share your own knowledge to help others, or simply to correspond with like-minded individuals about your hobbies and interests.

Usenet came way back in 1979 - long before the Web existed - as a way for academics around the world to exchange information. Over the last couple of decades, Usenet has welled massively in size and has become a fascinating global debating chamber for all to use.

A whole new world

So how do you get involved in these heady discussions and fiery debates? Well, you already have everything you need to access the Newsgroups - namely, the newsreader that comes with your email software, Outlook Express. All you have to do is open up Outlook Express, add the Global Internet news server and you're in. (See the 'Getting connected' guide below).

Usenet has its own sever because it is a completely different entity to the World Wide Web - the two co-exist happily side-by-side on the Internet, but you need a browser to access pages on the Web and a newsreader to access the Newsgroups. It has to do with different protocols and technical wonders - don't worry about it.

You'll often find web addresses included in Newsgroups messages, and you may also find links to Newsgroups on web pages. The beauty of IE4 or IE5 and Outlook Express is that when you click a newsgroup link on the Web, the Outlook Express newsreader should automatically launch and load the messages of that particular newsgroup.

Usenet is organised into hierarchies and sub-hierarchies. This basically translates into folders with sub-folders inside them and it's useful to think of Newsgroups in the same way as you view the contents of your computer's hard drive in Windows Explorer. At the top of Usenet are the big hierarchies such as alt. (alternative, rec. (recreational) and comp. (computers). Within these are sub-hierarchies like rec.arts. and then inside those sub-hierarchies, there are sub-sub hierarchies - for example, rec.arts.movies - and so on. It can seem a little bewildering at first, but it soon starts to make some sense.

As you travel around Usenet, you'll realise that the only limit to the subjects under discussions is your own imagination. There are in-depth discussions about every type of computer; frenetic exchanges about politics; heated arguments about culture vultures; shared advice on brining up babies; lonely hearts looking for on-line companionships; gardening tips; insider info on exotic travel destinations ... You name it, it's in there somewhere. And if you still can't find what you're looking for, try a search of Dejanews to unearth groups where your favourite topic is being discussed.

Behave yourself

When you've found the groups you want to take part in, it's best to spend a while seeing how the group works before you begin sending messages. There's a definite Netiquette to the newsgroups, and you can incur wrath from Usenet regulars if you send messages that ask questions that have already been discussed and are openly observable in the groups, or that have nothing to do with the group's general subject. Be polite. If the newsgroups has a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions ) list, it's wise to have already before getting involved.

As with all things on the Net, there's some jargon you should know. Sending a message to a newsgroup is known as 'posting', and that message is called a 'post'. When there are numerous replies to a particular post in a group, the string of discussion following from that post is known as a thread. So, once you feel ready to start posting to a group, find a thread of interest and post away. You never know, you could start some exciting unravelling ...

Usenet post are rarely moderated, so you will inevitably encounter spam within newsgroups.

Getting Connected

Your account within Outlook Express should already be set up. However, if it isn't ...

1. First you need to open Outlook Express. Select Go and News. The newsreader appears. Go to tools and Accounts and click the News tab on the Internet Account dialog box. Click Add and select News.

2. No you need to prepare Outlook Express for newsgroup access. Complete the relevant details in the Internet Connection Wizard. Enter your name, email address, and when it prompts you to type your Internet News Server Name, type read.news.global.net.uk in the dialog box.

3. Finish off by choosing your type and method of connection (a phone line and Global Internet for dial-up users). Close the Internet Accounts dialog box. The address read.news.global.net.cuk now appears in the left-hand column of Outlook Express underneath your email boxes.

4. When you click on the address, Outlook Express tells you that you're not subscribed to any newsgroups and prompts you to see a complete list of available newsgroups. Click Yes. Outlook then downloads the complete list of newsgroups - this takes a few minutes but you only have to do it once.

5. Now you're presented with a complete list of newsgroups that you can either browse or search. Choose the ones you're interested in by highlighting them and hitting the Subscribe button. You can easily unsubscribe by right-clicking on the newsgroup and selecting the Unsubscribe option.

6. The newsgroups you're subscribe to are stored in the left-hand panel under your email boxes. Click on one of them. The messages from that newsgroup will appear in your newsreader. You can reply to the group by clicking 'Reply to group' or mail a message's author privately by selecting 'Reply to author'.

Spam

This is easily spotted and ignored ('Make Money Fast' - yeah, right), but you might want to follow Usenet protocol and insert a 'NOSPAM' clause in your email address when you post to newsgroups. This clause looks something like 'chris@NOSPAM.globalnet.co.uk'. It stops scrupulous spammers using automated software to collect your email address and then sending spam direct to your email account.

The NOSPAM clause throws a spanner in the works of such email trawlers and keeps your mailbox safer. If you want to email someone with this clause in their mail address, simply remove 'NOSPAM' and, bingo, their address will be as good as new.

Just as in real life, there's some unsavoury content on Usenet - in fact, most of the illegal content on the Net lurks somewhere in the darkest recesses of a little-known newsgroup. However, like taking a walk in a big city, you don't need to stray into such murky backwaters if you don't want to. Do keep an eye on the children, though, if you decide to introduce them to Usenet - it may be a great source for answering those intractable home-work questions, but there are some things you don't want them to learn too soon.

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