A list of questions and answers related to a Web site, newsgroup, software, or any kind of product, service or topic. Because these are "frequently asked" questions, most users can find the information they need on a FAQ. So, before you send an e-mail to customer service or newsgroup, check the FAQ on the Web site.

Originally FAQ was a document provided for many Usenet newsgroups which attempted to answer questions which new readers often ask. FAQs were maintained by volunteers and posted regularly to the newsgroup. New users were recommended to consult the FAQ list for a group before posting to it, so FAQs keeped newsgroup discussions from being overrun by newbie questions.

The collection of all FAQ lists is one of the most precious and remarkable resources on the Internet. It contains a huge wealth of up-to-date expert knowledge on many subjects of common interest. Accuracy of the information is greatly assisted by its frequent exposure to criticism by an interested, and occasionally well-informed, audience (the readers of the relevant newsgroup).

The main FTP archive for FAQs is on a computer called RTFM at MIT, where they can be accessed either by group or by hierarchy. There is another archive at Imperial College, London, UK and a World-Wide Web archive in Ohio, USA.