Newsgroups are discussion groups that are going on all the time. You can write a message and post it to a newsgroup in the morning and come back to read a reply to the message in the afternoon. You can also reply to other's messages.
There are thousands of news groups covering as many topics. Some are moderated, meaning that a person who has knowledge or an interest in a certain topic will receive the message and read it before posting it. This keeps the discussion on topic. Most are not moderated and the discussion can go anywhere but it can be a great way to get a quick reply to your questions.
As well as the public newsgroups many organizations and companies will provide discussion groups of bulletin boards that focus on areas related to their own topics. This can be a great spot to find out more about an organization, find a solution to a problem you are having and participate in the discussions related to that company or organization.
One problem with posting a message to a discussion or newsgroup is that unscrupulous companies mine the newsgroups for email addresses and then send unsolicited email (spam) to the poster. It is recommended that you disguise your email address using your email software preferences or the bulletin board settings.
Many newsgroups have a publicly accessible faq. A faq is a collection of frequently asked questions that have been posted many times to a newsgroup. You may get a gentle reminder or a completely rude and insulting comment if you post a question that is on the faq. It is acceptable to post a question as where the faq is located and you may find that frequent posters will mention the faq in their message.
Updated November 22, 2007
