By Robin R. Nobles
One of the more popular online activities is to enter into
discussions with others on topics of mutual interest. Discussion
boards, also known as online bulletin boards or forums, are
places where folks gather and post messages back and forth.
Bulletin boards aren't the same as chat rooms, however. With
bulletin boards, you post a message, then leave. Someone else
stops by the bulletin board and posts a response, then leaves.
You stop by later and read the response, and so forth.
So, how do you go about finding discussion boards? A good place
to begin is Google Groups, which offers a way of accessing the
Usenet Newsgroups.
Usenet Newsgroups is a separate area of the Internet that is
composed of literally thousands of discussion forums in virtually
every topic imaginable. For example, let's say that one of your
favorite recreational activities is riding bikes. You'll find at
least 7 different forums that discuss bicycles in a variety of
ways, including rec.bicycles.racing, rec.bicycles.off-road, and
rec.bicycles.marketplace. Interested in antiques? Ham radios?
Would you enjoy entering into a discussion on politics? Religion?
Does someone in your family have a particular health issue? At
Google Groups, you can access posts from Usenet Newsgroups,
respond to those posts, or start new discussion topics yourself.
http://groups.google.com
Another way of accessing Usenet discussion forums is through a
special software program like Free Agent. With Free Agent, you
can download Usenet messages and respond to them, or set up
discussion topics of your choice. The software is free for
academic and non-profit use, and it's simple to use.
http://cws.internet.com/news-fagent.html
Yahoo! has a special area called Yahoo! Clubs, which also offers
a wide assortment of forums. You'll find clubs in topics such as
regional interests, music, travel, education, and genealogy. You
have to join to participate, but there's no cost involved. With
Yahoo! Clubs, you can even set up your own club if one that
you're interested in doesn't exist. http://clubs.yahoo.com/
Specific interest groups often have related online forums. For
example, Teen Forums offer topics of interest to teens like
music, movies, and jobs. The site is sponsored by The Student
Center, a Web community for college and high school students and
teens. http://teenforums.studentcenter.org/
For medical issues, visit GMN Medical Forums. After choosing a
major topic area such as Plastic Surgery, Pediatrics, or
Cardiology, you're presented with several choices, including
email networks, online forums, and mailing lists.
http://www.globalmednet.com/forums.htm
Finally, if you're a sports fans, be sure to stop by the Addict
Sports Forums. http://www.forum.addictsports.com/
This article was written by Robin Nobles, a professional
freelance writer and the Director of Training at the Academy of
Web Specialists (http://www.academywebspecialists.com). Over the
past few years, she has trained several thousand people in her online
and onsite courses in search engine positioning strategies and
has written three books that can be ordered through Amazon. Visit
the Academy's training Web site to learn more about their online
courses: http://www.onlinewebtraining.com. Or, visit Robin's
personal Web site at http://www.robinsnest.com.