To Steve Gordon's way of thinking, planning a vacation by posting questions to an Internet newsgroup or bulletin board is like "going into a crowded room, yelling a question and hoping that someone will answer you."

The founder of Allexperts.com has a better idea: Direct a query to one of his Web site's travel gurus, and you'll receive a personal reply within three days - free.

Among the more interesting developments, ironically, are sites that downplay technology in favor of the human touch. At Allexperts.com, at http://www.allexperts.com you first drill down to the category you're interested in, such as insurance or photography. Then you select a volunteer, based upon his or her profile, to send your query.... volunteers work with the site, providing answers free of charge.

Now there's a site that tries to be all things to all surfers -- Allexperts.com. As the name implies, Allexperts has assembled a group of experts on a variety of topics. Here you can questions ranging from how to install a hard drive to how to kiss well. Ask questions related to relationships or entertainment; current events or investing; religion or the arts; sports or the law. Allexperts features a squadron of volunteers who purport to be knowledgeable in specific fields. They're grouped by general topic, and then by specifics. When you get to the area dealing with your question, there's a brief statement by the volunteer for that topic about his or her background and level of expertise. Click on the name, and you can then send e-mail to the expert -- for free.

I stumbled across allexperts.com on one of my perpetual passes through the Internet. Choose your destination, post a question and voila, in a few days nice and knowledgeable folks are clueing you in on the must-sees, the good deals and the worse than useless with regard to your family trip. Each person has special expertise in particular aspects of your destination.

Prior to a recent trip to Arizona, my expert gave me the lowdown on budget hotels, names and numbers of all-terrain-vehicle rentals, the best nature hiking areas for kids, where to get a decent Mexican meal for just a little dinero, the hokey attractions that young rustlers love and even hyperlinks to companies that do one-day float trips. We followed our expert's directions to the ghost-mining town of Jerome with buildings perched precariously on the mountainside. Allexperts.com has know-it-alls for Europe, North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, the Disney properties, vacation home exchanges and more.