Q: What's a FAQ?

A: That's a good question. It's also a common question, a very common question. In fact, you might even call it a Frequently Asked Question. The problem with frequently asked questions is, of course, they need to be frequently answered. If you maintain a Web site, moderate a discussion group, or write a wildly successful Internet column, this can quickly become time consuming. The solution is to compile all the questions, answer them once and post them in a Frequently Asked Question or FAQ file.

Q: When was the last time this site was updated?

Q: Are you the guy that writes the Internet column for the Post-Dispatch?

A: Not since 1999.

Q: Can you get me in to meet Bill McClellan?

A: No, and you can't even find him at Bill McClellan's Bar & Grill on POSTnet anymore since POSTnet is no longer POSTnet. For that you have to go to STLtoday.com.

Q: I just discovered your column and I really enjoy the offbeat humor and insightful social commentary. Where can I read more?

A: You can find several of my past columns online at www.netdetours.com.

Q: Where do you get the ideas for your columns?

A: I have a few standard formulas I use whenever I'm desperate:

• Write about sites a friend or family member would find interesting or amusing.
• I ask my wife for ideas and then do something else.
• Attack Bill Gates or Martha Stewart.

Q: How many sites do you have bookmarked?

A: Over 2,500 including everything from Aardvark Brewing Supplies to ZZ Top Tour Dates.

Q: How did you find them all?

A: Since I write about the Net and design Web sites, I'm online more than 20 hours a week. Even when you take away the time I spend rebooting my computer and waiting for Java applets to download and crash, that's a lot of Web sites. And, of course, people send me URLs (Uniform Resource Locators or site addresses) all the time.

Q. How do you keep track of them?

A. Netscape Navigator allows you to group related bookmarks into folders. You can keep track of a few hundred links this way with a little effort. When the list gets unwieldy, I save a copy of the bookmark file as an HTML document (Web page) and keep it on my hard drive. Then I delete the old bookmarks and start over.

If I need to find an old bookmark, I use Navigator's Open command to view the Bookmarks page where my old bookmarks appear as a series of links. You can accomplish the same thing with Microsoft Explorer's "Favorites" list.

Q: How can I send you URLs?

A: You can submit them from the Feedback page of the Net Detours site or e-mail them to me at talkback@netdetours.com.

Q: I sent you a URL but the site never appeared in your column. How come?

A: Realistically, I've given up writing the column. However, there used to be several other reasons why your site may not have appeared:

1. I haven't gotten around to it.

2. It contains material of an "adult" nature or other material which might be deemed inappropriate by my mother.

3. It's slow, requires additional software, or crashes my computer.

4. It just never fit in.

Q: What do you think is the biggest mistake that Web site designers make?

A: Quitting their day jobs. (Actually I ended up making this mistake myself. I'm now at studioJMC.)

Q: Do you also review computer games?

A: I would but, so far, all the games I've received have been incompatible with my Macintosh or crashed it. That's not the kind of action/adventure game I'm looking for. In the future, I suggest game producers send me a computer and I'll buy the games myself.

Q: And you get paid for this?

A: Yes. (Well, I used to but not well.)