User Guide

Getting Started

Would you like to get your computer advice directly from the world’s leading technology experts? Interested in tips from power users or developers? Do you have tips you’d like to share with others? Then you’ve come to the right place. There is a lively community of computer experts and computer users who are taking advantage of the Internet to exchange ideas, information, knowledge, and expertise about Microsoft products and services. The Microsoft Communities Web site provides access to wealth of newsgroups, chats, user groups, tips, and discussions where experts and users who are passionate about Microsoft technologies share their thoughts, help, support, and ideas.

If you are unfamiliar with the ins and outs of conversing with others over the Internet, don’t worry. Once you take the plunge and join in, you’ll find that participating in chat sessions and accessing newsgroups is easy.

Chats and Newsgroups: What's the Difference?

On many Microsoft communities home page you’ll find links to chat sessions and newsgroups. How do the two differ?

A chat is an online conversation that takes place in real time. To ask questions and share your thoughts, all you have to do is show up at the appointed time. Transcripts of chat sessions are often posted so people can read them later, but to actually participate in the conversation as it is taking place, you need to be present while the session is open. For more details on how to participate, see Using Microsoft Chat.

A newsgroup is an ongoing discussion where you can contribute your thoughts at any time. For example, you might be looking for a better way to accomplish a specific task such as adding tables to Microsoft Word documents, or have questions about using XML to create Web services. You’ll find links to these and many other similar newsgroup discussion topics in the Microsoft Communities Web site and through the MSDN Developer Community pages. When you select a topic from the left-hand pane in a newsgroups area, a list of conversations will appear in the main body of your screen. Click on a plus sign to delve into the details of a particular conversation thread. To add your ideas to an ongoing thread, click on Post Reply, or select New Post to start a new thread.

If you aren’t sure whether to access Web-based newsgroups or use an NNTP newsreader such as Outlook Express to take advantage of newsgroups, we recommend the Web-based option. You’ll find the Web interface familiar and easy to navigate. For more information on getting started with newsgroups, see Using Newsgroups.

About Microsoft's Community Web Sites

Cyberspace has created incredible new opportunities for people around the world to meet and share ideas about topics they care about. Such communities have proven to be especially valuable for exchanging information about technology, and some of the most active online communities center on Microsoft products and technologies. Microsoft has created a number of community Web sites designed to make it easy to access the wealth of knowledge and expertise that can be found online. Through the Microsoft Communities site and the MSDN Developer Community pages, you’ll be able to connect directly to technology experts, Microsoft customers, and Microsoft employees who are anxious to answer questions and share their experience. We trust that you’ll find the discussions to be lively, and the information exchange valuable.

User Groups: Meet and Learn with Your Peers

User Groups are typically independently run, volunteer groups that meet in-person on a regular basis to discuss and share information on a variety of technical topics. Participation in a User Group is an excellent, inexpensive way to receive technical content, education and to meet with your peers to get more out of the Microsoft platforms, products, technologies, services and resources which you are interested in.

When we refer to “User Groups”, we are specifically referring to Technical User Groups which focus on Microsoft® platforms, products, technologies, services and resources.

User Group resources fall into the following categories:

For detailed information, see the User Group User Guide.

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