Practical Internet Groupware

Part I. Using Internet Groupware

We live and breathe SMTP email, but its close cousin, NNTP conferencing, isn’t something that most people routinely use to collaborate. In this part we’ll explore what NNTP conferencing is, why it’s such a valuable groupware tool, and how it complements email. We’ll discuss why certain kinds of messaging should inhabit shared rather than interpersonal spaces, and how to organize and work within and among those shared spaces, both on public sites and on the intranet. We’ll see how a discussion server is a knowledge repository and explore ways to make the best use of it.