The Google search screen has “Groups” above its search bar. It's had that for a long time, and, with it, you could search the old Usenet articles which it obtained in 2001 from Deja.com.
You could, for a long time, search and add articles to the various Usenet groups. (For more information on Usenet, you can go to http://www.ibiblio.org/usenet-i/intro.html.)
In any event, the “Groups” tab is now followed by “New” — and it really is new. Now, people can easily set up their groups, the groups can be public or private, they can be searchable by anyone with a normal Google search, or the searching can be limited to only authorized members of the group.
Here's how Google starts out its 14 pages of FAQs:
“A Google Group is an online discussion group or mailing list that helps groups of people communicate using email and the web. Every group has a Google-hosted homepage where members can start new discussions or reply to existing topics. Every group also has its own email address, which lets members interact with the rest of the group.
“Creating your own Google Group is fast and easy. Just click the ‘Create a new group’ link on the left side of most pages. You can customize your group to suit your needs. For example, a group can be restricted (only group members can read and participate in discussions) or public (anyone can read and search group content). You can also create custom group types. For instance, you might want an announcement-only group, which enables you to send announcements to the group while preventing members from posting their own topics and replies.
“Finally, members can choose how they want to be notified of group activity. Members of time-sensitive groups may choose to receive email every time a posting is sent to the group. Members of less time-sensitive groups might prefer to receive a daily summary email or no notification emails at all.”
There is also a shorter version of the FAQs.
In addition to the FAQs, Google also has a “What's New” article which is only three pages, and, together with other information, it has screen shots of how to create a Group.
You may be worried about getting spam, spam and more spam if you start or join a Group. Here's what Google says about that:
“When your message is posted to a group, Google Groups masks your email address on the web to prevent automated computer programs from harvesting it for spamming purposes. If, however, you send out your post via email or to Usenet, your email address will be visible to anyone who receives it.
"To protect your anonymity, you may want to use a web-based email account for posting to Google Groups. You can find a list of such services by conducting a Google search or by visiting http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/E-mail/Web-Based/”
I haven't tried Groups yet. But it looks fantastic for setting up ways for people to communicate.
Let me know what you think if you have tried it. (My comments will be open until the spammers learn that they can hit the archive for this posting. If I have closed the comments, you can send your comments to me. My e-mail address is under the “About” box on the right side of this blog.)
And for more information, you can go into Google and search on “google groups beta” (without the quotes) and then do the same search in Google News.
Posted by ajlevy at December 10, 2004 11:37 AM