YAHOO GROUP SEARCH

No matter what subject you are interested in, there is very likely to be an 'email list group' which addresses this subject. A large number of them are part of the 'Yahoo Groups'. For instance, if your dog has an illness, you can go to Yahoogroups and search for a group that addresses this illness. Following are directions on how to accomplish this.

1. In your browser, enter: http://groups.yahoo.com/
2. This will bring up a page which has a SEARCH box in the middle of the page.
3. Enter the subject you want to search on in this box. For example, "Canine Liver Disease"
4. When you hit enter, you will receive back a list of all of the Yahoogroup Lists that seem to relate to this subject.
5. Note that the number of members are shown. Also it will tell you if archives are open to non-members. These are items of information which may help you decide which list you are interested in joining. For example, if the group has only 4 members, you may wish to look for one with a larger membership so that you will get information from more sources. If the archives are available to non-members, you might want to look in the archives and read some of the messages to see if it is the sort of list that would interest you.
6. When you pick a list to investigate further, simply click on the name of the list which is highlighted in blue. This will bring up more information about the list.
7. If you choose to join the list, you can do so by looking to the right of this new screen. In a yellow box you will find the words "Join This Group". Click on this and follow the instructions.
8. Some lists will let you join immediately; others will require that you "apply" for membership. Some ask for specific information from you, others don't.
9. If this is your first Yahoogroups experience, you probably don't have a Yahoo ID set up. Do be sure and set one up because this is what allows you to use the various functions of the list such as message archives, shared files, photo pages etc.
10. When you join the list, you can decide how you want to receive your email messages. You have options such as individual emails (this is the best way to begin to feel a part of the group), digest (many emails grouped together and sent once a day or whenever there are 30 or so messages), Special Notices will generally get you nothing at all. You can also choose "No email" which means that you opt to go in and read the mail directly from the archives. This doesn't clutter up your inbox but you are likely to forget to do it on a regular basis and may miss a lot of the discussion. Note that many groups discourage or even ban "lurkers". They require that you post occasionally. Finally, No Mail is an option to choose whenever you go on vacation and don't want to have all of that mail waiting for you when you return home. But unless you go in and read the backlog from the archives, you will have missed whatever went on while you were gone.

So this is how to find email groups that might interest you. Go in and try searching under 'westies' or 'west highland white terriers'. You will be surprised how many groups there are that address this IMPORTANT subject! If you join a couple of the more active ones, you may find that you learn a great deal and have a resource for questions and sharing your fun Westie experiences.

NEWS ALERTS

Click on news alerts to set up a search which will give you regular news on any subject you choose.