Howdy Fellow Commodore Users!

If you used to belong to the services at either Compuserve, Genie, or Delphi, one of their main attractions was the discussion boards or Special Interest Group areas. I used to like to read all the Commodore comments that novice and experienced users alike would reflect on, from software to hardware and everything in-between. Last year I was introduced to a variety of groups that correspond via email (much like the services of yesteryear used to supply as part of their service). Several of these are a part of a service provided by VideoCam Services in Australia.

As I was beta-testing Maurice Randall's program for Wheels and Wheels128 called The Wave, I subscribed to the mailgroup COPS (Commodore Only PostScript). Alot of information was absorbed from that mailgroup, which at that time adopted discussion of The Wave as it's secondary topic. I didn't have a Post Script printer, and I still don't. The educational value I acquired reading the various posts gave me a better insight into PostScript printing in general, and some of the hurdles various Commodore enthusiasts were trying to overcome.

I was looking for a discussion group that had a less focused topic, something a little more generic in the Commodore mainstream. Several people were mentioning a mailgroup called Homestead, so I thought I would check it out. This list was created out of a need to have an 'everything including the kitchen sink' type list for Commodore conversations. Exactly what I was looking for! Since I subscribed, all those months ago, this mailgroup has been a wellspring of information and timely news from within the Commodore User community. I am sure I'm not the only person who has realized this, as many "Official Announcements" are made to this mailgroup, to be assimilated into the worldwide user community. Some of the announcements you have read in our newsletter, or heard at our meetings, are directly taken from this mailgroup.

Unfortunately, in order to read any of the archived messages of the groups at VCS, you must be a subscribing member. If you wish to only read the archives and not receive mail on a daily basis, you can elect to suspend your messages, and read them via the archive. This might be a good idea if you don't check your mail on a regular basis (your mailbox will be flooded with email in no time!) Currently there three major groups, two I've already touched on, and a third called GTM (geoPrograming: The Millennium). This group deals with programming in GEOS.

To check out these mailgroups, go to:

http://cbm.videocam.net.au/index.php

Look for the area titled Mailing Lists, and select the ones you are most interested in. If you wish to check out a list of known discussion groups with emphasis on Commoddore, check out SnakeMan's listing (updated regularly) at:

http://www.q-link.cc/cbm-discussion.shtml

Join in on the discussions with your fellow Commodore Enthusiasts!