CHABOT LIBRARY

Home  ·  Hours  ·  Library Catalog  ·  Magazines, Journal Articles, Newspapers  ·  Contact Us

Research Handout for Finding Online Discussion Forums
http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/handouts/discussionforums.html

 

This Handout will go away in August, 2008.  It is outdated, we no longer get assignments like this, and students are more interested in going to Online Social Networks (such as Facebook and Myspace) than some of these listed discussion forums which are now antiquated and little used.  If you link to this page, please remove your links out of courtesy for your users. For more up to date Web 2.0 sources, look at our blog.

While these sites and search suggestions should help you find forums for your project, please keep in mind that anybody can put anything on the World Wide Web and in discussion forums, anybody can be anybody.  So do exercise caution.  Also, please remember that many who post in such forums may often forget that the participants are human beings with feelings, so try to keep yourself from taking words spoken too seriously.  Give as little personal information as you possibly can when registering to a forum.  If they are asking for a lot (including credit card information), you may want to consider a different forum.   Make sure you spend some time getting to know what the forum is about, its intended participants, and whether any personal information you enter may be used for marketing purposes, before joining.  Make sure before clicking any links whether you may be required to download any software on your personal computer and whether you have the space and requirements to take such a program.

Looksmart   http://www.looksmart.com
The more suitable web directory for this particular assignment.  Recommended over a regular search engine.  Enter "discussion groups," "Chat rooms," listservs, "dating services," etc. in your search or browse categories.  When looking at your results, scroll down until you get to reviewed web sites (all above are advertisements and/or sponsors)

INFOMINE http://infomine.ucr.edu/
The directory and search engine to academic resources, this is a pretty good resource for finding discussion groups/forums between scholars or students or individuals belonging to the same profession.  Either enter your search on top or narrow down your search by first clicking on a particular discipline.  Make sure to enter keywords such as "discussion group," "chat," or "listserv" as part of your search.

Librarians' Index to the Internet http://lii.org
This search engine leads to selected resources on various topics.  For positive results, use terms such as "chat rooms" "discussion groups" listervs or usenet.  Will lead you to sites that have such features available.

Topica Email List Directory  http://www.topica.com/dir/?cid=0
This directory leads you to publicly available listservs (email discussion lists) of which you can join.  Unlike other discussion forums, this is the forum that is most moderated and more likely to have participants that are truly interested in the discussion at hand.  You join the listserv and then people post issues related to the topic of the listserv which goes to every participant's email address.  When you respond, it goes to the listserv, thus it goes to everyone signed up to the listserv.  The downside is there is less room for more personal types of conversations, let alone is not spontaneous.

Internet FAQ Consortium  http:// www.faqs.org/
Google Newsgroups (Formerly Deja News) http://groups.google.com/
These two sites give you the ability to become familiar with Usenet (newsgroups or discussion groups) and be able to search through the archives.  Start getting to know particular newsgroups and what they are about by using the Internet FAQ consortium.  You will get the most recent information as to what a particular newsgroup is about, its rules, and its participants.  In general, it is good netiquette to read a newsgroup's FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) before posting.  Search Google Newsgroup's  archives for discussions posted on usenet from  from 1995 to the present.  Enter your search in the search field or browse the category of newsgroups stated below.

The Ultimate Chatlist  http://www.chatlist.com (NOT TO BE SEARCHED IN THE LIBRARY)
Merely a listing of various chat rooms available on the World Wide Web (DOES NOT RATE THEM OR STATE IF THEY ARE USEFUL, etc.), you can browse by category until you find a suitable newsgroup or use the search engine.  Results on top with graphics are merely advertisements, so scroll down and click on one of the links below.  Many require you to download software on your personal home computer or may ask personal information from you such as Email addresses or credit card information, but some may not require any personal information and/or may not require you to download any additional software at all.  Be sure to carefully read any descriptions before clicking on any links!

All Dating Services http://dating.about.com/cs/datingservices/index.htm?rnk=r5&terms=dating+services
About.com's guides usually do a pretty good job selecting the better sites of what is available on the World Wide Web.   Most of these services will ask personal information such as credit card information, however (many have to by law for purposes of age verification)

Craigslist  http://www.craigslist.orgDiscussion forums:  http://forums.craigslist.org/?areaID=1&subAreaID=0
The famed online community resource in the Bay Area.  Personals and classifieds are listed in the main part of the page.  By clicking on any of the location links on the right, you can narrow your scope to a particular area such as the East Bay or South Bay.  On the lower left, there is a link to Craigslist's also famed discussion forums.

East Bay Online http://www.sftoday.com/eastbay2.htm
Guide to several different types of online sources in the East Bay area, including chat forums, discussion groups, and personals.

Also take a look at the San Francisco Chronicle article given at this orientation for more local area chats that are available.  As this article is not available at the Chronicle's web site, please do not lose it.

Third Age Online Symbols & Signs Glossary http://www.thirdage.com/features/tech/netglos/index.html
People who post in chats often use emoticons or initialized terms for common online expressions.  This glossary defines these terms for you.

Chabot Library's Internet Terminology http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/abby/internet.html
For those of you who need to look up terms related to the World Wide Web, Email, and the Internet in general (such as emoticon), look up terms in this resource.

Web Guides and Search Engines  http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/onlineref/websearch.html
Chabot Library's directory to various search engines, web directories, and sites that select quality sites.  Also includes web tutorials.

New IRC Users  http://www.newircusers.com/
How to use Inter Relay Chat, one of the most common types of software for chat rooms along with some information on how to use Webpage (Java) Chat and Instant Messenger types of chats.

Mailing Lists Tutorial  http://www.ncl.ox.ac.uk/it/mailinglists.html
Teaches you how to use mailing lists (such as listservs) including how to subsribe and unsubscribe.
 
 

Chabot Library's (and Alameda County Library's) Complete List of Databases
      http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/abby/dblist.html
To find articles related to your subject, go to Chabot's Complete List of Databases.  For magazines and journals, select Ebsco Host MasterFile Premier.  For newspapers, select either Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, SIRS Knowledge Source, Ebsco Host Newswatch, or Facts.com.  For pros and con information, select Facts.Com, then Issues and Controversies.

Direct Links (in case URL listed above is down):
Ebsco Host MasterFile Premier and Ebsco Host Newswatch   http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (On Campus Only)   http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe
Facts.com  http://www.2facts.com

Web Guides and Search Engines  http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/onlineref/websearch.html
Chabot Library's directory to various search engines, web directories, and sites that select quality sites.  Also includes web tutorials.