Susan Moskwa of the Google Webmaster Central team posts on Google Groups asking group participants what they usually do to monitor posts.

There's a lot of interesting feedback, but ironically, some people actually say that the Google Groups search "sucks." Ah well, at least the search engine is running smoothly!

Some tips on how to check the Google Groups came from a variety of members:

In terms of what to read - I check for post count and sometimes the starring to decide whether to read particular threads. Also look at the last poster - some folk are very worthy of a read.

This sounds like typical Digg behavior:

As for determining factors about what I read, post title & snippet [Good point there about trying to correlate title with response numbers], reply count, starring and the thread-starter & last-poster all play a role.

And others check to give attention to the threads that have less love within:

First and foremost 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.

What are your tips on browsing the forums? Join in the discussion at Google Groups.

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