Inter(net)Acting with Other People by Pam Allen EVERYONE knows the real purpose of the Internet isn't to collect information. It is really about meeting people and chatting to friends. This tutorial is the next best thing to 'a little black book'

AT some point, all of us have wanted to use the power of the internet to find other people with similar interests. There are literally millions of websites out there, covering any conceivable topic.

That's fine if you're just looking for information, but what if you want to actually interact with other people? What if you need information right NOW?

There are a number of different ways to have interactions with real people, taking the form of 'real time' conversations and delayed conversations. Real time conversations involve 'chat', either an instant messaging program or a chat room, populated with many people with similar interests. This piece focuses on delayed conversations.

There are three main types: forums, newsgroups, and clubs. A forum (or bulletin board, as it's sometimes known) is usually an online place where people post a question or observation, which is then answered by other members if they find it interesting.

Good examples are the forums on the Internet Movie DataBase, where people post many 'what in the heck WAS that movie?' questions, the Ebay help forums where users ask for advice on the many facets of Ebay auctions, and general interest forums, like mine at http://www.voy.com/12855, where people get and give suggestions about everything from decorating to sex and health.

Most of these forums have 'regulars' who frequent them often and are always willing to help newcomers. This type of communication is accessed online, though most of them have an option to email you if someone replies to your original post, letting you know to go back and read it.

Newsgroups are usually email based. There are literally thousands of newsgroups, devoted to everything from sex to movie stars, musicians and authors. There are even ones that focus exclusively on one breed of dog, or make of car.

You can find out more about newsgroups, and search for ones that pertain to your interests by visiting http://www.deja.com. If you use Netscape of Outlook Express, you can add your ISPs newsgroup server to your mail settings to have access to your chosen newsgroups.

Basically, you enter the name of your ISPs server (usually news.yourisp.net(or .com), then a list of available newsgroups will be downloaded to your computer (this can take a LONG time, due to the huge amount of groups), then you pick (or 'subscribe') to the ones that interest you.

You specify how many messages you want to download at a time, and your newsreader program will load those messages for you to read. It looks just like your email screen, with the titles of the posts in the subject pane, and the body of the selected post in the message window. To reply to one that interests you, simply choose 'reply', type your message, and click 'post'..

Clubs can be email or web based. Yahoo has many clubs, and you can do a search by keyword to find one that interests you. Go to http://www.yahoo.com and click on the 'clubs' link at the top. Let's say you're interested in Poodles. Type Poodle into the search box, and you'll be rewarded with 32 clubs that are devoted to poodles! Click on one of them and you'll be taken to the club.

Most clubs are open to the general public, but some are accessible only to members. If you see a link on the left that says 'messages'. you can read all the posts and decide if you want to join. If the 'messages' link is missing, you'll have to join the club before you can even read the messages.

There's a link in the upper right corner to 'join this club'. Once you join the club, you can specify how you want to keep track of the messages. You can view on the web, which means you go to the Yahoo club to read and post, or you can select email and email digest. Email will send you a separate email for each message posted, and digest will send you one email that contains an entire days worth of messages. If the club is very popular, you may receive a number of emails a day, each containing 25 messages.

To reply to a message, you just reply like you do with a regular email. I personally prefer to keep track of clubs on Yahoo itself, to keep my inbox from being cluttered. Plus, I can elect to only read the messages that look interesting to me, without having to go through all of them.

Clubs, forums and newsgroups are a wonderful way to meet people who have something in common with you. I've made some great friends by taking advantage of these three types of communties, and I've been able to get information that I've needed, quickly, from people who know what they're talking about.

If you have a hobby or interest and would like to learn more about it, share your own knowledge, or just pass some time talking with like-minded people, give forums, newsgroups, and clubs a shot. You'll be glad you did!

If you're looking for a place to get your feet wet, feel free to come to my forum, BackTalk, at BackTalk. Just post a 'Hi, I'm new' message, and tell everyone that Sheldene and Pam sent you!

Copyright 2000 Pam Allen All Rights Reserved

Pam Allen is a self-taught computer and internet junkie, who also has a decorating site at QuickDecor

	Link to this article
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE EZINE