Using a Mailing List

Now that you are subscribed to a mailing list, you will want to begin to make use of it. Here are some tips and suggestions.

Three Golden Rules of Mailing Lists

The first rule of mailing lists is don't send your subscription request to the hundreds (or thousands) of people who participate in the list. In other words, all subscribe and unsubscribe commands must go to the administrative address of the list - not the group address.

The second rule is don't send email to the entire list when it is meant for a single person. When you reply to a message which originated from a mailing list, you can reply to the entire list or you can reply to the individual who wrote the message. Be sure that, unless your reply is of general interest to the entire list, you reply to the person who wrote the original message. Normally, to do this, you will have to type in the email address of the person who sent the message (this address will appear in the original message) in the TO: line in the reply message. Once you're sure where a response message will go, delete as much of the old message text from your response as you can to avoid sending repetitive text. This is a point of etiquette on the net.

The third rule is to subscribe to the list before you start trying to send messages to it. If you send a message to the address for postings, but are not yet subscribed, you'll usually get a bounced message saying "you can't post because you're not subscribed to that listserv."

Listserv messages will come to you as private Internet email messages and you'll need to look at the header to see the origin of each message. Review lesson 3 for more details on how to read the headers of messages.

There are different types of listservs that offer different commands and the differences are covered in most Internet guides. Many listservs allow users to receive only one message a day from the listserv which contains a summary listing of all messages, senders and subjects for that date. This is called a listserv digest.

"Subscribe" and "Unsubscribe" are two of many mail server commands. For a full treatment of other commands available look at Staffordshire University's Electronic Discussion Lists Tutorial.

Listserv Interaction Tips
It helps to have a sense of audience before posting to a listserv. An important point is the nature of interaction online will change depending on how many people are on a given listserv, the tone set by the moderator, and even by the tone set by each and every person's posting.

When starting out on a new listserv you may want to "lurk" at first; reading messages to see what's going on, but not posting messages. When you do post a message, be aware you never know who might be reading. Posting creates an opportunity for you to share your great ideas and projects with people with whom you'd never ordinarily have a chance to meet. If your goal is to create successful interaction on a listserv, you'll do well to remember people are people. The culture on the Internet is generally informal. Try to avoid sounding formal, stuffy, or elitist.

Experienced Internet users typically get dozens of messages a day and brevity is important. Whenever possible, keep postings to one or two screens. The preferred method of sharing long documents is to post a short message telling readers where they can get the file on the web or via ftp. It depends on how important you perceive your document to be for most subscribers of that particular listserv. You are free to post whatever you like.

Flaming
Some people post negative or insulting messages, called "flames," just to see who they can rile. These postings are best left ignored.

FAQs
Many listservs have documents with Frequently Asked Questions, called "FAQs" that new users should request and read carefully to avoid asking questions that have already been answered again and again. Often messages will be posted announcing the availability of such FAQ files and how to send a message and request a copy be sent to you via email.