Introduction to Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are a tremendous electronic tool which enable Internet users to communicate easily and quickly with other people, For example, a mailing list enables you to e-mail one message to a large group of people using only one address. Generally, people use e-mail lists for one of two reasons: 1.) to communicate with a group of people who are interested in a common topic or 2.) to disseminate some type of information.

An electronic mailing list is similar to U.S. mail mailing lists. The difference is that only you subscribe or unsubscribe yourself to the list and you, therefore, choose in which mailing lists you wish to be included. Lists are divided by topic; over 3000 lists topics range from fly fishing to particle physics to early childhood education. Internet users who are interested in a given topic may subscribe and then read and contribute to the electronic mailing list. These subscriptions are part of your Internet access so there is no specific cost associated with your use of mailing lists. Some lists are moderated which means that a human being scans every submission and decides if it is pertinent to the list. Moderated lists are more likely to have more productive discussions or information which remains focused on the list topic.

Mailing lists can be an unbelievable source of information. On the other hand, there certainly are lists out there that will not contain very much useful or high quality discussion. Feel free to pop on and off of lists until you find the ones that meet your needs. Also, remember that if you subscribe to mailing lists you are making a commitment to check your mail on a regular basis so that the mail does not build up in your electronic mail box.

The General Steps

The general steps for using a mailing list on the Internet are below:
1. Locate the list in which you want to participate.
2. Subscribe to the list.
3. Read, and write to the list.
4. Remove yourself from the list (unsubscribe) when you are no longer interested in the list.

The four most common types of lists.

Listserv
These lists are perhaps the most common type and are sometimes called bitnet lists. The word "listserv" is often used generically for any mailing list, but in a strict sense, it refers to the lists which run on a piece of software called listserv.

Listproc
These lists run on a piece of software called "list processor". They are becoming more commonly run by schools and universities.

Internet Lists
This is a generic catch-all name for lists that are run by individuals on the Internet and not by computers. The instructions are generally the same, but can vary somewhat.

Majordomo
Majordomo is a program which automates the management of Internet mailing lists. Commands are sent to Majordomo by the subscribers of the mailing list via electronic mail to handle all aspects of list maintainance. Once a list is set up, virtually all operations can be performed remotely, requiring no intervention by the postmaster of the list site.