How To Find Information on the Internet 3: Group Discussion Sites

As mentioned earlier, a group discussion site contains content, typically about a specific topic, that has been submitted by the members of the site. This makes such sites invaluable if you are looking for information on that particular subject, because the members of the site who contribute the content are likely to be either enthusiastic or knowledgeable about the subject.

These sites could be blogs, where the submitted content is in the form of blog posts and comments, or they could be bulletin boards where the content is in the form of threads of posts submitted by the members of the site.


Usually, the information that is on a group discussion site can be found using search engines - and search engines are a great way to find out about such sites. However, it’s a good idea to register as a member of the site if you want to get the most out of it.

This is because it is possible that you may not find the information you are looking for on the site, and so the only way to get the information is to submit a post to the site asking for the information. Since many group discussion sites require that you be a member of the site to post, you will have to register if you want to post your question.

If you do choose to register to post, be sure to study the site for a while to ensure that it has enough people who are knowledgable and helpful enough to answer your question fairly quickly. Also, remember to phrase your question well by stating:
- what information people are looking for;
- why you’re looking for that information;
- what you’ve done and where you’ve looked already to find the information.

Remember to provide as much information as possible - the more information you give about what you are looking for, the more useful the information you will get back in response. Also, as with any scenario where you are asking for help, be courteous in how you phrase your question. If you do all this, you are likely to get a helpful answer or get pointed to where you can get information.

But even if you don’t get an answer, it’s still a good idea to become active on the site. By doing so, you will come to identify members who are particularly knowledgeable about the subject you are looking for information about, and you can either send them a private message (if the site software allows this) or email them (if their email is made available). The chances are that since the request is being made specifically to the person, he or she are more likely to reply.

And that’s the end of my short series on finding information on the internet. I hope you’ve found it informative, and I especially hope that it connects you to all the interesting information that you never knew was out there, waiting to be called up on your laptop or phone. Happy browsing!