There are many books and magazine articles dedicated to all aspects of the Internet that give the subject a much broader coverage than I ever could. In this article I will assume you have a basic understanding of the common Internet terms such as the World Wide Web, Newsgroups, and e-mail. If these terms aren't familiar to you the local library or bookstore will have many books that explain these. I hope the information presented here might motivate you to take a closer look at what is available to those associated with the surveying profession. All the resources presented in this article are available to almost anyone who has Internet access or who subscribes to any of the on-line services.
Surveyors have their very own newsgroup, titled sci.engr.surveying.
This is a discussion group where you can post a question or a comment that is made available to anyone who wants to access this newsgroup. They can then post a reply or post additional information related to your posting. Anyone can participate and contribute to the subject at hand. For example one 'thread', or set of messages that follow a common subject, was started by a surveyor in England who wished to replace his unreliable summer help with a robotic total station. He related his demo experiences with various manufacturers' equipment.