This spirit of cooperation can still be found today in our Discussion Group. As news and other support organizations slowly faded away, I started the group in October 1999 with the intent of providing a vehicle for OS/2 users to support each other and disseminate news. Today we have approximately 400 members in the group from around the world averaging about 200 messages a month. The discussions lately have regarded everything from newbie questions, to solving problems with Linksys Drivers, partitioning with Boot Manager, making DSL work under OS/2, hardware compatibility issues, along with installation and upgrade questions. The dialogues have been highly professional, not clownish and distracting from the intent of the group. Frankly, I think it has been highly productive and helpful to those participating.

The group is anchored by a core group of OS/2 enthusiasts who routinely and unselfishly answer questions posed to the Discussion Group. I would like to publicly thank those who have generously volunteered their time to help others:

• Jim Bowering
• Frank Griffin
• Scott Lewis
• Charles May
• Phil Parker
• Al Stephan
• Tony Valenti

These users are to be commended for their dedication to the product and service to the OS/2 community. Believe me, their efforts are greatly appreciated by the many OS/2 users they have helped. But I think they get as much out of the program as they put into it. The dialogue among this group is fascinating.

Yahoo! Groups hosts our service free of charge and provides several facilities. Although messaging is currently the prominent feature utilized there are other services available in our group:

• Chat - although seldom used, interactive chat sessions are available.

• Files - I have enabled this section to allow users to post freeware/shareware programs and files. I have added some fundamental OS/2 utilities to this area and have begun to post back-issues of the newsletter here.

• Photos - although nothing has been posted here yet, it makes a great way to distribute screen displays.

• Polls - another feature that is seldom used; this provides the means to poll OS/2 users about issues of the day.

• Calendar - provides the means to track dates and issue e-mail reminders of impending dates.

If you are a new or inexperienced OS/2 user, probably the worst thing you can do is not to ask for help when you are stuck on a problem. Our Discussion Group is one of the best places to find the answer to your question. If you are not currently a member, I heartily recommend you sign-up as soon as possible by using the form below.