Online Forums for Machine Embroidery
Newsgroups are places on the Internet where people exchange ideas and opinions, post public notices or have an argument! They are sometimes called forums, BBS’s, digests or mailing lists.
Readers post messages or questions or articles to newsgroups for other people to read. Other readers may view the messages and post replies if they wish. They can seem a bit chaotic at first because there may be no official rules or controllers but you can find some really interesting information there.
The best way to view or participate in Newsgroups is by using a newsreader , or to see what newsgroups exist go to http://www.google.com . Newsgroups are listed under various names such as alt, rec, soc, sci, etc. Google explains what these abbreviations mean and you can search for topics.
In Outlook Express there is a place where you can select Newsgroups. You can display the newsgroups supported by your ISP. There are about 30,000 newsgroups - your ISP won't list all of them. If you aren't set up to view newsgroups you should ask your ISP how to do the necessary entry in Outlook Express.
If you join a newsgroup you can view the messages at your convenience. They are not emailed to you. To post a message to a newsgroup you have to subscribe or register first. Here are a few interesting newsgroups...
alt.sewing
alt.sewing.extraspecial.clothing.and.custom.sewing
alt.sewing.machine embroidery
rec.crafts.textiles.sewing
Mailing Lists are a little like newsgroups - but unlike newsgroups which require you to actively look them up and check the messages, mailing lists drop the messages right into your own mailbox. You can read them, save them, delete them, reply to them or ignore them! You can be a passive reader (a lurker), or an active participant, as you wish. You can elect to receive messages every time there is a new one, or daily or on a regular basis, which is called Digest. If you would like to have more messages coming in when your clear your email, sign up for a few mailing lists!
Quiltropolis - there are a whole bunch of sewing and embroidery related lists here - easy to join and find your way around this site,...
YahooGroups - there are dozens of embroidery lists here too. Embroidery Tales, the BBD (Brother, Babylock, Deco), Pfaffriends to name a few of the most popular ones. Just search under "machine embroidery" to see over 70 lists... Register for a few and stay in the loop!
These mailing lists and newsgroups are a great way to meet people and learn more about machine embroidery.
