XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 1 Mass Communication on the Internet Using Mailing Lists Tutorial 7

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 2 Objectives Learn about different types of mailing lists. Locate mailing lists on the Web. Join and leave a mailing list. Learn how to post messages to a mailing list.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 3 What Is a Mailing List? A mailing list is a list of names and addresses for a group of people who share a common interest in a subject or topic Exchange information by subscribing to the mailing list.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 4 What Is a Mailing List? You send your information and opinions to a mailing list by posting (or sending) an message to the list. When you post a message to a mailing list, the list software (LISTSERV, ListProc, Majordomo) running on the server automatically forwards your message to every address on the mailing list.  The server that runs the list software is sometimes called a list server because it runs the list.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 5 Mailing List Actions Mailing List Commands: commands that request the list server to take a prescribed action. List administrator: approves list members. Administrative address: the address to which you send commands to the list administrator. List address (list name): the address to which you send messages and replies.

Information Flow in a Mailing List New Perspectives on The Internet, Sixth Edition— Comprehensive Tutorial 7 6

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 7 Common Mailing List Commands

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 8 Moderated and Unmoderated Lists List moderator: person who moderates a mailing list to ensure that the list always receives and sends appropriate and relevant information to its members.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 9 Moderated and Unmoderated Lists Moderated list: a mailing list for which a list moderator is responsible for discarding any messages that are inappropriate for or irrelevant to the list’s members. Unmoderated list: a mailing list for which no one moderates the list and postings are sent to list members automatically.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 10 Warnings About Mailing Lists You might receive many messages every day from the list server. New list members sometimes repeat questions and comments that have been previously posted in the mailing list.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 11 Warnings About Mailing Lists Use a free account address for your subscriptions. Many unmoderated mailing lists receive postings from people who discuss topics outside the scope of the list or post spam messages that contain advertisements for unrelated products and services.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 12 Searching for Existing Mailing Lists The Internet provides access to thousands of mailing lists on many different topics. There are several “lists of lists” sites that you can visit to start your search. Topica is a Web site that identifies and hosts mailing lists by category and name.

Searching for Existing Mailing Lists Topica home page New Perspectives on The Internet, Sixth Edition— Comprehensive Tutorial

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 14 Subscribing to a Mailing List There are two ways to subscribe to a mailing list:  Send an message to the list server with a request to join the list’s membership.  Visit the mailing list sponsor’s Web site and use a form to enter your name and address.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 15 Mailing List Functions When you subscribe to a mailing list, be sure to check the documentation you find and follow the instructions carefully. If you submit an incorrect subscription request, the list server returns a message with information about why it could not process it. On high-volume lists, the list server might send you a confirmation message that you must return so it can confirm your address before you are officially added to the list.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 16 Mailing List Functions You will receive a message confirming your membership in the list once the list server has accepted and processed your subscription request. You should keep the confirmation message in a safe place because it contains valuable information about how to leave the mailing list, special features of the list, and other list details.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 17 Posting a Message to a Mailing List People interact with mailing lists by posting messages. When you post a message  the list server receives the message  sends it to the list moderator for approval (if necessary)  then forwards the message to every address on the mailing list. Messages that you post should be consistent with the list members’ interests.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 18 Posting a Message to a Mailing List Create a new message in your program. Type the list address in the To field. If necessary, type Cc and Bcc address and a subject. Type your message in the message area. Make sure that your message is consistent with the list’s guidelines for submitting messages and that your question or comment is relevant. Send the message.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 19 Reading a Mailing List’s Archived Files Many list servers file every message received by the list in an archive, although the list server might delete the messages periodically to recover disk space.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 20 Leaving a Mailing List When you leave a mailing list, also referred to as dropping the mailing list or unsubscribing from the mailing list, you will stop receiving messages. You send your unsubscribe message to the list’s administrative address and include the unsubscribe (or signoff) command, followed by the list’s name. Before dropping a mailing list, check the mailing list’s confirmation message to determine the proper command to use.

XP New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition— Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 7 21 Summary Mailing lists are an excellent way to gain knowledge and insight from people around the world who share your interests.