Conducting Electronic Research

Newsgroups and Discussion Forums collect messages from individual members and post them to a central location, a particular Web site for instance. Members then access those messages through software programs called newsgroup readers (often built into a Web browser).

To find out what newsgroup server(s) your college or university hosts, and how to get the proper connection privileges, ask your librarian. He or she will be able to connect you with the computing or networking support group at the school where you are enrolled. Some newsgroup servers are free, such as the ones listed below. Try them to see if you connect.

• misc.writing
• rec.arts.int-fiction
• rec.arts.poems
• rec.arts.sf.composition