The Virtual World
Chapter Index
Introduction
History
Getting Connected
Browsers
Copyright
Search
Engines
HTML
Linking documents
Images
Newsgroups
Usenet
Tables
Forms
Frames
Photoshop
Page and Site Design
Publishing
Javascript
Free Stuff
Styles
DHTML
USENET
Newsgroups are among the most active and viable sources of information available on the Internet. In addition, mailing lists and Web forums provide discussion groups with information that's more timely than any Web-zine or online news site on the Web. When you tap into the right discussion group, you get immediate access to an expert digital community--one that can answer difficult questions and keep up-to-date on almost any subject. There's simply no faster way you can get expert information or news. Here are some great sites for searching USENET, mailing list, and Web forums.
Reference.com is a gateway to more than 150,000 discussion groups. This index includes more than 15,000 newsgroups, 100,000 mailing lists, and 25,000 Web forums on the Internet. Reference.com also provides quick methods for searching and browsing its index. And you can even conduct advanced searches and post to newsgroups from the Web site just by registering with Reference.com. Registration is free and requires basic information like your name, email address, and other demographics. Reference.com is located at
Tile.net is a Web site designed to make listservs and USENET newsgroups easy to find. The Tile.net Web site provides several methods for searching through a database containing thousands of listserv and USENET sources. You can search Tile.net listservs by description, name, popularity, subject, sponsoring organization, or host country. USENET newsgroups are organized by index, description, and newsgroup hierarchy. Tile.net also provides information about FTP sites and computer product vendors. You'll find the Tile.net Web site at
The DejaNews Web site is a database of more than 70Gb of USENET newsgroup postings dating back to March 1995. You can search the DejaNews database for particular USENET articles or review threaded articles on a particular topic. The search engine also allows you to limit results with a query filter. You can search the DejaNews database at
The MIT Newsgroup FAQs Web site has a great resource if you're looking for the FAQ of a specific newsgroup. It's an FTP file site that links you to nearly all the FAQs for newsgroups. Newsgroups on the site are listed alphabetically, so you can quickly scroll down to the group you want and access its FAQ. You can access the MIT Newsgroup FAQs site at