Free Expert Advice on the Web's Forums: Priceless

Consult online communities to get assistance and opinions, fast.

Send your questions and tips to nettips@spanbauer.com. We pay $50 for published items. Scott Spanbauer is a contributing editor for PC World.

The Internet and its endless repositories of useful data have changed our lives, but no amount of Google, wiki, or Web can replicate the wisdom of a roomful of humans. Recently I was stumped by a new technology. None of my friends, family, or colleagues knew much about it; and googling yielded tangential references but no answers. When I posted the question on the geek-oriented Slashdot Web site, however, it generated a days-long discussion among dozens of high-tech professionals. Not only did I get my question answered, I also got to listen in as a bunch of smart, passionate people debated a wide range of alternative theories.

Web-based forums such as Slashdot generally host topical discussions, but some of them also offer news, personal ads, and the ability to upload photos and other files. The Well, currently owned and managed by Salon.com, is arguably the oldest ongoing online community. Dating from the Internet's Pleistocene era (1985), the site covers a wider range of topics than Slashdot's tech-oriented fare. I joined the community soon after it started up. For the first couple of years, I could basically take or leave The Well's banter. And then in 1989 the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay Area. With many phone lines, freeways, and bridges out of commission, The Well provided a lifeline for locals cut off from friends, loved ones, and employers. I became hooked.

Another longtime online community site is the popular Craigslist. Though generally geared toward classified and personal ads, this site showed itself to be a genuine online community when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans last fall (see FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1: Internet communities respond quickly to the needs of their members, as Craigslist contributors showed following Hurricane Katrina.

).

While they can't match the scope of Craigslist, blogs provide a venue for small online communities. If you want to create a discussion forum for a group of friends or coworkers, Google's free Blogger and Blogspot services offer an easy way to get started. Another popular blog site, especially among young folks, is MySpace.

Usenet and other collections of newsgroups are not Web-hosted forums, strictly speaking, but they constitute topic-based online communities. Most ISPs include access to a Usenet server in their monthly fees and will help you get started reading newsgroups.

Community Rules

Most online communities require that you identify yourself, at least by providing a name and e-mail address. Identifying yourself online can be to your benefit if you are offering advice in a professional forum where you have some expertise. For example, a friend of mine recently landed a gig covering the Denver jazz scene when a newspaper editor spotted his screeds on a local music forum.

However, recent news stories have shown that your postings can come back to bite you during job interviews, owing to the power of Google and other search engines. If you know that your online persona tends to be controversial, consider creating a separate online identity to protect your real-life career and reputation. Start with a free e-mail account at Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo, and be careful not to disclose identifying personal information in your posts or community profiles.

If the community's past postings are available, search them before joining in. Bringing up overworked hot-button topics may only label you as a "newbie."

Snapshot of the Web's Community Resources

Though countless Web sites and other digital venues qualify as online communities, here are four excellent places to get your virtual feet wet.

Slashdot: The site is free, but for a $5 yearly subscription you receive 1000 ad-free pages and can read some stories early.

The Well: For $10 a month you get Web access to forums and a premium subscription to Salon.com. For $15 a month you also receive a well.com e-mail address, a Web site of your own, and telnet access to forums.

Craigslist: This free site is organized by geographic location.

MySpace: Popular with young people, the free service makes sharing photos and opinions easy.