How Mailing Lists Work
Read about netguide, our class mailing
list
Mailing lists serve as a kind
of round robin or many-to-many discussion group. They are based in the email system
and are subject specific, ie, the discussions revolve around a single topic. Unlike
web boards, in which one *goes to* the discussion and where one can pick and choose
items to read, mailing lists are delivered to your email box and you receive all
the posts automatically. Mailing lists work through the use of special programs.
There are many of these programs available such as Listserv, Majordomo, etc. The
great advantage of mailing lists is that you don't have to keep track of the addresses
of perhaps hundreds of people who share your interest, the mailing list software
does that. You need post only to one address, that of the mailing list software
program, and it takes care of distributing your post to all the other members
of the list.
Mailing lists work best
to stimulate thought and to serve as resources for information. A good mailing
list will provoke critical thinking and analysis as members debate and explore
the issues of the field. List members often share resources, by posting addresses
of useful sites, or by posting bibliographies for further reading.
- E-mail discussion lists
constitute one of the most popular methods of group communication on the Internet.
Discussion lists support group communication by providing, at minimum, two basic
functions: (1) the ability to distribute a message to a group of people by sending
it to a single, central address, and (2) the ability to quietly join and leave
the list at any time.
- In order to provide these
separate functions, an e-mail discussion list typically has two addresses associated
with it: (1) a "listname address," the address to which you send any messages
that you intend to be read by the list subscribers; and (2) an "administrative
address," the address to which you send any commands or requests that affect your
subscription to the list. It's easy to remember this distinction by thinking of
your local newspaper: the first address is somewhat analogous to sending a "letter
to the editor," while the second is like sending a letter to the newspaper's subscription
office.
- With most discussion lists,
the "administrative address" is a computer program that allows the subscriber
to subscribe and unsubscribe automatically, without external intervention. There
are at least five popular mail server programs used to manage Internet discussion
lists: REVISED LISTSERV (also called BITNET LISTSERV), Unix ListProcessor (or
Listproc), Mailbase, Mailserv, and Majordomo. The commands for subscribing and
unsubscribing under most of these programs are the same; however, other useful
commands differ greatly from one program to another, and some programs support
features that others do not.
- This document does not
describe all the features supported by any of these programs, only those most
commonly used. For more information on any of these programs, send a message containing
only the word "help" to the appropriate mail server. Additional programs and commands
will be added in future revisions of this document.
- This document also does
not deal with discussion lists to which one subscribes by sending a message to
"listname-request." There are a great many discussion lists of this type; some
are distribution lists maintained manually by the listowner, while others use
some form of mailer software ranging from a simple script to a fairly sophisticated
mailing list program. Some require that subscription requests be placed in the
message text; others require them to be included in the Subject: line. Because
of the variety of methods of maintaining these lists, it is impossible to generalize
about their command features. However, as a rule, assume that any discussion list
with an administrative address of "listname-request" is maintained manually by
a human being. Accordingly, you should subscribe by sending a friendly message
in plain English to "listname-request." If a program responds with instructions
for subscribing, follow the instructions.
- When you subscribe to a
list, you will typically receive a "welcome" message, describing the purpose of
the list and telling you how to unsubscribe. Save this message! It tells you which
program the discussion list is run under, and how to get further help.
- Mail servers can be confusing.
Many people use the term "listserv" generically, to refer to any list mail server
program. To make things worse, the Unix ListProcessor (listproc) program was originally
called "listserv," just like REVISED LISTSERV. Many listproc hosts are still configured
with the name "listserv," and will accept commands addressed to "listserv@host"
as well as to the correct name, "listproc@host."
- Usually--but not always--you
can find out which program a discussion list is run under by examining the message
headers. For instance, listproc lists should include a line saying "Unix ListProcessor."
However, the best practice is to save any "welcome" message you receive when you
subscribe, and to note at that time which set of commands is applicable.
- Remember to send all commands
to the "administrative address"--mailserver@host--not to the "listname address".
Mailserver is the program that maintains the list (either listproc, LISTSERV,
mailbase, mailserv, or majordomo); host is the address of the host computer (for
example, ucdavis.edu or cleo.murdoch.edu.au).
- Be sure to leave the Subject:
line blank, and to delete any signature file if your mailer allows you to do so.
- Always include the name
of the list in the message to mailserver@host. Most mailserver sites maintain
many different discussion lists, and it is essential that you tell the mail server
which list you are talking about.
- For instance, to join the
discussion list law-lib@ucdavis.edu, send an e-mail message containing only the
command
SUBSCRIBE LAW-LIB John Doe
to listproc@ucdavis.edu.
Basic Mailing List Commands
Join a list
| Listproc: |
SUBSCRIBE listname Firstname Lastname (e.g., SUBSCRIBE LAW-LIB John Doe) |
| LISTSERV |
SUBSCRIBE listname Firstname Lastname (e.g., SUBSCRIBE INT-LAW John Doe) |
| Mailbase |
JOIN listname Firstname Lastname (e.g., JOIN LAW-EUROPE John Doe) |
| Mailserv |
SUBSCRIBE listname Firstname Lastname (e.g., SUBSCRIBE ENVIROLAW John Doe)
(Optionally, include the e-mail address at which you wish to receive list mail:)
SUBSCRIBE listname Firstname Lastname address |
| Majordomo |
SUBSCRIBE listname (e.g., SUBSCRIBE ELAW-J) (Optionally, include the e-mail
address at which you wish to receive list mail:) SUBSCRIBE listname address |
Leave a list
| Listproc |
UNSUBSCRIBE listname |
| LISTSERV |
UNSUBSCRIBE listname |
| Mailbase |
LEAVE listname |
| Mailserv |
UNSUBSCRIBE listname (UNSUBSCRIBE listname address if you subscribed under
a different e-mail address.) |
| Majordomo |
UNSUBSCRIBE listname (UNSUBSCRIBE listname address if you subscribed under
a different e-mail address.) |
| This lesson is from the Roadmap
workshop. The complete
Roadmap Workshop is available at Paula's UNCA site.
These Roadmap files were converted
to HTML by Neil Enns. If you have any questions, comments or thoughts,
please email them to me and not to Patrick.
Patrick Douglas Crispen
PCRISPE1@UA1VM.UA.EDU
The University Of Alabama
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS
LETTER DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA - TUSCALOOSA
ROADMAP: COPYRIGHT PATRICK CRISPEN
1994. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|
Last Edited:
Matrix Magic  questions@matrixmagic.com
|