Lists

A list is very similar to a postal mailing list. Your e-mail address is added to the e-mail addresses of a group of other people who share a common interest. People send messages to the list address and they are automatically forwarded on to each of the individual members. You read the e-mail just as you would any other you receive.

There is one big difference between postal and e-mail mailing lists: you ask to have your name added to the list. You don't just get junk mail from an organisation you haven't heard of. To emphasise this you are known as a member of a list. There is no limit to the number of lists of which you can be a member. However, some lists generate a lot of e-mail and you can quickly become swamped if you're not careful.

Some lists allow anyone to join and post messages. Others let anyone join, but all messages are looked at by a 'moderator' before being forwarded on to the list. Still others are 'closed' - your application to join is vetted (this is often used on confidential projects or to ensure that lists remain at the right academic level) and only approved members can post and receive mail from the e-mail lists.

There are many different brands of mailing opt-in lists software. They all work in a similar way and have only minor variations in the commands you have to type in to make them work. There are tables showing the similarities later on in this document.

You can just sit there and read your regular messages from the list. This is known as 'lurking'. This is usually the best policy when you first join a list. It gives you a chance to see what the quality of the contributions is before launching in yourself and can save you much embarrassment.