How to Find and Join Yahoo Groups

Yahoo has more to offer than just email service and a search engine. Yahoo gives you access to news, sports, shopping, music and videos, among other features. One popular tool available to Yahoo users is access to Groups, which are defined as independent communities within Yahoo that allow people who share similar interests to gather and chat. There are hundreds of Yahoo groups, and finding and joining them couldn't be simpler.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet access
• Computer
• Yahoo account

Find and Join Yahoo Groups

1. Log in to your Yahoo account by clicking the 'Sign In' button on the Yahoo home page. If you don't have one already, you can create your account by clicking the 'Sign Up' button at this time.

2. Click the 'Groups' link from the navigation pane to be redirected to the Yahoo Groups home page.

3. Enter a search for the kind of groups you'd like to find. For example, you might enter 'gardening' if you'd like to get tips for fall planting or 'American Idol' if you'd like to gossip with others about the popular television show.

4. Click on the Groups you are interested in joining. An information page will load that gives a brief description of what is discussed in the group.

5. Click 'Join Group' once you find groups that fit what you're looking for. There may be dozens of groups discussing the same topics, so be sure to look carefully and find groups that seem the most active.

6. Be ready to fill out a questionnaire or a request in order to join a group. Some groups are moderated to prevent spammers or other undesirable people from joining.

Tips & Warnings

• Configure your Groups options to send you emails whenever someone posts in the Group forums. This allows you to stay on top of the conversation and hear the latest that's going on in your group.
• Create your own groups if you can't find ones that discuss the topics you care about. It's simple to create your own group, and you are in control of who joins and who posts.
• If you're having trouble joining Yahoo Groups, visit the Yahoo Help Section to see what you can do to have easier access (see Resources below).
• Don't spam Yahoo Groups. Not only is this considered incredibly rude, it can also be grounds for being banned from the community and from Yahoo itself. Some spamming is also considered a criminal act, so you do so at your own risk.
• Some groups are age restricted and may contain conversation that's only appropriate for adults. If you're a parent, you may want to monitor which groups your children are interested in joining.

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on 1/11/2009 power pet