In Google groups Susan Moskwa asked users how and what they did to keep a check on posts. Some of the questions which include:

• How do you keep up with what's going on?
• Do you use the Google Groups UI?
• Do you use our RSS feeds to follow threads?
• How do you decide which threads to read?
• Do you stop by a couple times a day, or are you constantly following new posts as they come in?

The response was a mix, mostly interesting. Some of which are:

• Sorry to be negative, but the search here sucks - I generally have to view my profile to find threads I posted to. I'm reluctant to start adding feeds to my reader in order to keep up. I wouldn't mind getting an alert when a thread is updated (if I can specify on a thread-by-thread basis only).
• I scan down the page for items without a response - there is usually a reason - either the question is one we don't have a standard answer for (I like them) or more likely, the person hasn't put the question in a way that is clear - so I'll often prompt them a bit and try and get the ball rolling.
• Seems like a common theme here seems to be that the UI is seriously flawed - particularly for keeping track of threads you've commented on and have received replies - sure, you can do that with the 'email replies to me' option - but if you're replying to lots of theads, the 'more options' -> 'email me replies' little hidden facility is a bit of a dog leg with each thread - I seriously think that there should be a more visible way to enable these emails - like perhaps a button?

For the entire interesting blog, read How to become a Webmaster Help superstar.

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