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About mailing listsWhat is a mailing list?Email-based mailing lists (also known as email discussion groups or listservs) are very effective and inexpensive means to communicate ideas and news among people with similar interests quickly and widely. They run on a similar principle to a postal mailing list except that they take advantage of the power of the Internet. Email-based mailing lists allow participants to input their own ideas and news to other people with similar interests whenever they wish, thus encouraging 'discussion' and exchange of views, potentially with members from all over the world. In addition, news and events can be posted as they occur so members are always up-to-date with what's happening. Not only is email an easy to learn and almost instant form of communication, How do mailing lists work?Finding a listYou can locate a mailing list that might be of interest to you by checking out a number of sites available on the Web. For example, for Australian education-related discussion groups, refer to EdNA's or Oz-TeacherNet's listings. For almost any other topic, go to Tile.net which provides access to over many thousands of mailing lists!Joining a listDepending on the type of software used to support the mailing list, you can either subscribe directly via email or by filling in a form on the mailing list's website. Each list will have slightly different ways to subscribe. Just follow the instructions provided.For example, if you wanted to subscribe to the Asia EdNet discussion group, you can join by sending an e-mail to asiaednet.help@asialink.unimelb.edu.au. You will then shortly receive an email message welcoming you to the list. Contributing to a listOnce you are subscribed, you will start receiving email messages from other members on the list. Many people like to 'lurk' when they first join a list (that is, they just read the messages without contributing any themselves). That's fine.Once you feel comfortable with the types of messages and information that get posted, you might feel happy to start to contribute your own ideas and news or simply ask questions that hopefully other members will be able to answer. Be aware that the email address you use to subscribe to the list is different from the one you use to post messages to the list. For example, for Asia EdNet, you subscribe via asiaednet.help@asialink.unimelb.edu.au but you post your messages to asia-ednet@edna.edu.au. When you post a message to the mailing list address, every person on the mailing list will receive your message. You also have the option to contact another member individually if you wish, although if you think your comments would be of interest to the entire group, it is a good idea to send the message to the mailing list address as well. Moderated listsSome lists, such as Asia EdNet, are moderated in order to ensure that the quality of the messages remains high. In moderated lists, all messages are sent first to the moderator who will review and approve or reject them. Moderators do not act as censors but rather as filters to remove unwanted emails such as private replies, unsolicited advertising, offensive messages and so on.DigestsOn some lists you may receive just one or two messages a week from the group. Others can be very large and you might feel a bit overwhelmed by the dozens or more messages you receive everyday.Many of the larger lists provide an option to receive a 'digest' of the list, that is, a collation of all the messages posted during a particular period or that fill a specified message length. This way, you will only receive one or two messages each day containing all the latest messages. Members can usually choose for themselves what type of service they receive. For example, in Asia EdNet, members can choose to receive a digest by sending an email to lyris@edna.edu.au with the message: set asia-ednet digest. Internet etiquette (Netiquette)Remember, you should never post any message that you would not be willing to send to your boss! Mailing list messages are public and legal documents which are easily archived, copied and forwarded to others. In addition, offensive or irrelevant comments will often see you removed from a list.Do read at least one of the many documents available on the web about Netiquette, such as the Netiquette home page, to help you get along with others on your mailing list. Leaving a list
If you decide that the list isn't for you after all, you can easily leave either via email or by filling in a form on the mailing list's website. For example, for Asia EdNet, you would send a message to lyris@edna.edu.au with unsubscribe asia-ednet in the body of the message.
For more information about the Asia EdNet project, please contact: Asia EdNet Project Coordinator, email: asiaednet.help@asialink.unimelb.edu.au |
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