For example, a discussion group's goals can be as nebulous as creating a sense of community and camaraderie, or even just having fun or blowing off steam. Most online discussion groups have multiple goals. The content of any online discussion group is the sum total of the messages that participants have posted. This is the leading cause of inconsistent content quality, but also it is the reason for having a discussion group in the first place . Of course, the perceived value or relevance of user-generated content depends on who's posting.
Some groups allow anyone at all to post a message.
Theoretically this allows greater diversity, but in practice it often leads to spam-filled discussions. Some groups offer specific guidelines for the content of postings. There's a lot of hype about interactivity on the Net. However, clicking a link on a Web site, doing e-commerce, or filling out an online form is only minimally interactive. Online media is still fairly new, and many people have only recently begun to participate in online discussion groups.