IV. Mailing Lists

1. (a) To Mail a message to another user, send mail by specifing the address 
[normal E-mail]

(b) To Mail a message to a few users at once, specify a special name 
(an Alias) to represent a group  of people; To respond within this group, 
send mail to the same Alias.

(c) To Mail a message to tens, hundreds or thousands of people at once, 
where people in this group can respond, discuss, share information and 
problems, send mail to a Mailing List.

(d) On the internet, there are several thousand such on-going topical 
Mailing Lists to choose from.  Each mailing list message is replicated to 
each member of the list.  The only prerequisite is to know how to send and 
read mail.

2. Subscribing To a Mailing List:

* Always mail a short message containing the word subscribe and the name of the
list.  If the list is administered by a program (listserv or majordomo), send a
message to that program; If the list is administered by a person (userid), send
a message to that person.  

* DonÕt send the subscribe message to the name of the Mailing List.  You 
broadcast it to all the members that way.

* When you send a message to a program, you must use commands in a specific 
format:
- Subscribing to a <listname> 

Majordomo					Listserv

mail majordomo@host.domain		
				mail <listname>-request@host.domain
Subject:						Subject:
subscribe <listname>		subscribe <listname> Robert Katz
~.							~.

- Unsubscribing to a <listname> 

Majordomo					Listserv

mail majordomo@host.domain		
				mail <listname>-request@host.domain
Subject:						Subject:
unsubscribe <listname>			unsubscribe <listname>

- Sending a message to the <listname> 

Majordomo					Listserv

mail <listname>@host.domain	        mail <listname>@host.domain
Subject: My two cents			Subject: My two cents
Yati-Yata-Yati				Yati-Yata-Yati

3. Definitions and Types Of Mailing Lists:
List Owner		The user that originated and maintains the 					list.
Autoposted Lists	Postings to the list are distributed 						automatically.
Moderated Lists		Postings to the list are first approved by a 					moderator.
Open Lists		Anyone can subscribe without list owner 					action.
Closed Lists		Subscribers must be approved by the list 					owner.
Public Lists		Anyone can get information about all those 					who subscribe.
Private Lists		Only Subscribers can get information about 					those who subscribe.
Exploders		Mailing lists that contain other mailing 					lists as members.
4. Mailing List Note:

* Mailing lists generate lots of messages. Subscribe to no more than 5.  
YouÕll have an enormous number of unread messages in your mailbox otherwise.

Questions? Robert Katz: katz@ned.highline.edu
Last Update August 8, 1998