Internet groups and forums

I do subscribe to several Internet groups, in fact I am the owner of some of these. Over time, these groups and forums (or, rather, fora?) have paid dividends. I will enumerate some of these groups here, possibly not in any hierarchy, because it is not possible to use same yardstick to measure a group utility.
Tanzanet.org
A group of Tanzanians and friends of Tanzania. A majority of members live and work or study outside Tanzania. With the base of more than 500, about three quarters of them are listeners, i.e. they read the group without posting. The group is well regulated, there is an annual general meeting that is achieved by email communication and may last for a couple of weks. There is a Constitution. There are office bearers who are elected during election meetings.
The membership is composed of all manners of professionals, from professors to enterpreneurs, grandfathers to fresh graduates. There are arguments every now and then, but they do not lead to enmity or hard feelings.
A number of Tanzanet members live in Tanzania, mostly, like me, around Dar-es-Salaam. Whenever one of us from overseas has to come to Tz for, say, vacation, the message flows on the group, and arrangement is made so that we can meet at some place. An overall favourite for such meetings is Bamboo Bar commonly referred to by the owner's nickname, "Kwa John Fedha" I have never once regretted joining Tanzanet, it is so educative, although with heated topics on, the mailbox fills up daily with 200 messages or more. Tanzanet.org also has forum, but it is much less popular compared to the email group. It mostly serves new subscribers to join the group and some download stuff such as speeches and papers published by members on the Tanzanet.org Journal.

Ethinktanktz.yahoogroups.com
This group started running after year 2000 when lots of ICT users found out Y2K millenium bug was behind them -- for all that came of the premonition, it was "cry wolf" kind of scare.
ETTTz is a group of biggies. It is the group that brings together almost all IT persons in Tanzanian companies. So much help has been offered back and forth. While the group is so handy and useful, we also have misfits who sometimes conduct themselves in unbefitting manners. Usually such noise on the group is shouted down at and ends there and then. ETTTz does not restrict only Tanzanians, therefore there are several subscribers, especially from neignbouring countries.

Driverguide.com
The communitiy I live comprises of believers of computers lasting forever, therefore whenever a computer goes limp, someone looks for some of us cursed with knowledge of terms like IDE, Primary Slave and PCI. Most of ailments of computer requires replacement of hard disk, which necessitates re-installations of drivers of all gadgets such as sound cards. This forum has been a one-stop source of solace, and I shall recommend it any time. It is going to be sometime before we see the last Win98 box on our tables, or a 8-year-old computer on our dining tables (not to be eaten, but part-time furniture in a typical house).

alt.comp.hardware.com
This is one of the hundreds of usenet newsgroups that google salvaged and placed on their servers for easy access. If I were to put down two lines of thext for all positive response I have received from this group, it would fill 100 pages.

In coming posts I'll write something on my experience with running groups.