Participating in Newsgroups

A newsgroup (also known as a forum) is an online discussion group focused on a specific topic. Thousands of newsgroups exist, covering such diverse topics as software programs, technologies, medical conditions, parenting, dieting, and personal service referrals. Some newsgroups are publicly available to anyone wanting to participate, and others are private. Most are moderated on some level to ensure that people don't post inappropriate content, or if they do, that it doesn't remain available for long.

To participate in a newsgroup, you need a newsreader, a program that interfaces with the news server hosting the newsgroup. Outlook doesn't provide its own newsreader technology. Instead, it uses the newsreader built into Windows Mail (or if your computer is running Windows XP, Outlook Express). You can subscribe to a newsgroup directly from Windows Mail, or if you prefer, you can connect to the newsreader from within Outlook. To do so, you need to add the News command to the Go menu.

To add the News command to the Go menu:

1. On the Standard toolbar, click the Toolbar Options button, point to Add or Remove Buttons, and then click Customize.

2. On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, in the Categories list, click Go.

3. Drag the News command from the Commands list to the Go menu.

4. Close the Customize dialog box.

To start the newsreader, click News on the Go menu. The first time you start the newsreader, Windows Mail leads you through the process of subscribing to a newsgroup.

See Also For more information about Windows Mail, refer to Windows Vista Step by Step (ISBN 0-7356-2269-8) by Joan Preppernau and Joyce Cox (Microsoft Press, 2007). For information about Outlook Express, refer to Microsoft Windows XP Step by Step, 2nd ed. (ISBN 0-7356-2114-1) by Online Training Solutions, Inc. (Microsoft Press, 2004).

After you subscribe to a newsgroup, you can read messages posted to the newsgroup, respond to existing messages either through the newsgroup or directly to the person who posted the message, and post new messages, by clicking the buttons at the top of the newsgroup window.

To connect to additional newsgroups, click Accounts on the Tools menu, and in the Internet Accounts dialog box , click the News heading. Click the Add button, click News, and then complete the steps in the wizard to set up a new Newsgroup Account.