Writing 166J
Th 6-9:45 p.m. Oakes 222 and 205
Spring 2001
5 credits

Instructor: Kevin Woodward
Email: kwoodward@yahoo.com or woodward@cats.ucsc.edu
Phone: 831.595.4518 (cell) or 831.459.4574 (UCSC office)
Office hours: Th 4:45-5:30 p.m. Kresge College, Room 216
Class website: www.cruzio.com/~kevinw/writing166j

Mailing lists

Students will be required to subscribe to at least one of the following mailing lists:

• online-news – Premier discussion list for online journalists. To subscribe go to http://clio.lyris.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=online-news&text_mode=0
• online-writing – Discussion list for those who write, edit or produce for the online medium. To subscribe go to http://www.content-exchange.com/cx/html/owl.htm
• CARR-L – Computer assisted reporting and research, "sub CARR-L <YOUR name>" in body of message to listserv@ulkyvm.louisville.edu

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What is a mailing list?

For the purpose of this explanation, "mailing list" refers to Internet, Usenet or World Wide Web-based electronic mailing lists.

A mailing list is simply a method of electronic mail transfer where email is distributed to a set list of recipients from a central point. Other terms you might hear to describe a mailing list are: distribution list, reflector, broadcast list and more recently, opt-in list. An exploder is a secondary mailing list distribution point, useful for sites with limited bandwidth or disk space. An e-zine is a magazine-like publication sent to its readers through email. A mailing list is not dependent on frequency - it may have hundreds of messages sent each day or have as few as one mailing per month (or less). Many lists offer a digest format in addition to the regular distribution, which is a bundling of many messages into one, distributed at a pre-set interval, often once a day. This is a useful feature for high volume lists.

There are two types of lists: discussion and announcement. Discussion lists are interactive and allow exchange between list members. Announcement lists are one-way only, used to distribute news, information, humour, top-ten lists, essays, merchandise price lists (or whatever topic represents the purpose for which the list was created). When a list is moderated it means that the messages sent to it are not automatically distributed, but are instead mailed to the moderator for approval. "Closed" as applied to a list can mean a couple of things, but usually means that a list subscriber must be approved by the moderator before joining. Some lists might have a narrowly defined membership, for example, a list set up only for lesbian iris gardeners living in California. While a list of this type might not be publicly accessible with respect to the intent of this database, a list owner may still choose to advertise it as a way to reach potential list subscribers.

Finally, a person may maintain their mailing list by hand, through a web-based interface, or with a software package designed for the purpose. This software is called a listserver or a mailing list manager (MLM).

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Basic commands for three types of mailing lists

Commands such as "subscribe," "unsubscribe," or "review" are sent directly to the list server. Usually that address begins: "listserv," "majordomo," or "listname-request" @domainname. Some basic commands and the syntax required by different software systems are shown below.

Messages for distribution to the subscribers must sent to an entirely different address. Usually that address begins: "listname" @domainname.

When you subscribe to a discussion group it will automatically send you basic information about the group, including how to post messages and how to unsubscribe. It is a good idea to save that message.

Important note: Many mailing lists are very particular about the address you use for sending commands or posting messages. Be sure to subscribe to a discussion group from the same email address you plan to use for receiving and posting messages or your messages may be refused. Consider unsubscribing and then re-subscribing when you change email addresses.

A. Listserv (most common)

• Subscribe: subscribe [listname] {firstname lastname}
• Unsubscribe: unsubscribe [listname]
• Receive digest version: set [listname] digest
• Vacation, stop mail: set [listname] nomail
• Resume mail: set [listname] mail
• Get list of subscribers: review [listname]
• Receive a copy of your posts: set [listname] repro
• Receive acknowledgment of your posts: set [listname] ack

B. Majordomo

• Subscribe: subscribe [listname] [e-mail-address]
• Unsubscribe: unsubscribe [listname]
• Digest: subscribe [listname]-digest
• Cancel digest: unsubscribe [listname]-digest
• List of subscribers: who [listname]
• (A copy of your post is sent automatically;no option for vacation/no mail)

C. Listproc

• Subscribe: subscribe [list] {firstname lastname}
• Unsubscribe: unsubscribe [list] {firstname lastname}
• Vacation stop: set [listname] mail postpone
• Resume delivery: set [listname] mail ack
• Digest: set [listname] mail digest
• Cancel digest: set [listname] mail ack
• List of subscribers: recipients [listname]
• Copy of your posts: set [listname] mail ack

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