Usenet Newsgroups complement both the Web and e-mail. The Web is a tremendous repository of information, but it lacks the intimacy of exchanging information with another person, and it is not the best place to exchange opinions on some event that happened yesterday or to post a message asking for help or information. E-mail is a wonderful way to communicate, but you have to know to whom you want to send a message.

Usenet Newsgroups bridge the gap between the Web and e-mail. Like the Web, they carry an enormous amount of useful information, but the information is in the form of messages posted recently by individuals, so the information is fresh and topical. Reading these messages allows you to discover who else in the world shares your interests. As you make contacts through newsgroups, you can exchange public Usenet messages or you can decide to use e-mail to carry on private conversations. Usenet Newsgroups are a great way to make friends around the world.