Access the JEAHELP archives | Join JEA's LISTSERV

This article was originally printed in the winter 2001 edition of Communication: Journalism Education Today.

Selectivity Makes
E-Mail Distribution Lists Efficient

by Bradley Wilson

Some information obtained from
L-Soft International, Inc. General User’s Guide for LISTSERV®, version 1.8c, ©1996.
LISTSERV is a registered trademark licensed to L-Soft international, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com

E-mail lists have become a popular way for people with like interests to communicate. There are e-mail lists for people with almost every known interest, inluding teaching journalism. But, as some people who grow tired of the abundance of information being shared among list members, lists can be a nuisance.

To manage information, most e-mail programs have developed methods of filtering the incoming mail so it is easier to separate the useful mail from the junk.

But before talking about the usefulness of filters, it helps to understand what an e-mail list is – and isn’t.

LISTSERV

LISTSERV is a system that makes it possible to create, manage and control electronic “mailing lists.” However, not all e-mail distribution lists are managed by LISTSERV software.

A common misconception is that “listserv” is a generic English word, like “e-mail.” Some people say “a listserv” whether the list is hosted using LISTSERV software or by a different mailing list manager. Just as it is incorrect to say programmers wrote a certain software package in C++ when it was actually written in BASIC, it is misleading to say a list is a “listserv,” a term implying a certain set of command features, when the “list” is not.

In 1986, Eric Thomas, wrote the first version of the LISTSERV software. It is now a commercial product licensed exclusively to L-Soft international, Inc., meaning the name of its mailing list processor product and the term should not be used generically.

PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE

On a public list, anyone can join or leave, ask questions, see who is on the list, search archived messages, and so on. Public lists usually attract a lot of subscribers, and may generate a lot of traffic. It is up to the list owner to take action to stop poor behavior on the list.

A private list, on the other hand, is a list to which the owner has exercised some measure of access control. Usually, you need to apply for membership to the list owner, and only people who are subscribed to the list may send messages and access archived postings. Private lists are usually smaller, more focused, and more “professional.”

In most cases, the terms “open and closed list” are interchangeable with “public and private lists.”

MODERATED LIST

With an unmoderated list, messages submitted to the list by users are passed straight to the subscribers of the lsit. On occasion, a list may be rejected, particularly if it is too long. If the message is accepted, the original text is published in its entirety, and the other subscribers can know that nothing was censored. A moderated list is similar to a real-world newspaper. When you send mail to the list, a human being opens it, the moderator, and then decides what to do with your message. Usually the editor “cleans up” your message, shortens it if it is too long, and includes it in the next “issue.” Sometimes the moderator simply acts as a filter, deciding whether to accept posts to the list.

LIST OWNER

The list owner is the person formally in charge of the operation of the list. The list owner, usually knowledgable in the field covered by the list, may not know much about computers and may not even work in the department or organization where the list server is maintained. The technical aspects of LISTSERV management, such as software upgrades and hardware management, are handled in a technology department.

SENDING MESSAGES

To send a message to all the people subscribed to the list, send mail to listname@listserv.xyz. This is called “sending mail to the list” because you send mail to a single address and LISTSERV makes copies for all the people who have subscribed. This address (listname@listserv.xyz) is also called the “list address.”

Do not send any command to that address, as it would be distributed to all the people who have subscribed. Send commands to the “LISTSERV address,” such as listserv@listserv.server.xyz. It is important to understand the difference between the two. Use the listserv address to send commands to the machine maintaining the e-mail list. Use the name of the list e-mail address to send a message to everyone on the list. Do not send commands such as SIGNOFF and SUBSCRIBE to the listname address.

DIGEST

Because some people simply do not want to wade through all the e-mail a distribution list can generate, some lists, including JEAHELP, are available in digest form. A digest is simply a larger file with everything that was said on the list on a particular day (or week for low-volume lists). LISTSERV digests are not edited. They contain exactly the same information as with a normal subscription, not in a single message that is usually sent during the night when the lines and computers are less busy.

ARCHIVES

While many lists receive a great deal of traffic, the messages do not always come at the right time for all the members to make the best use of the information. That is why most e-mail distribution lists have some way for members to access an archive of old messages. With some archives, members can use database functions to search the archives for messages related to a particular topic, or sent by a certain person, and have the server return a copy of the messages that matched the search criteria.

For example, contributions sent to the JEAHELP list are automatically archived. Members can get a list of the available archive files by sending a command to the server and can then order the files that interest them.

The archives of JEAHELP are even easier to access and search when using the World Wide Web.

“Sometimes it’s not the ‘teachable moment’ for someone when a topic appears,” list manager and JEA Past President Candace Perkins Bowen said. “Now we have the technology to archive our postings and search and retrieve them later.”

For instance, members new to the list may want suggestions for ways to teach photojournalism. Because others on the list had a lengthy discussion on this a month or so ago, this new member can now go to the Web and find all the suggestions and comments.

The site, http://listserv.kent.edu/archives/jeahelp.html, allows members to search by topic, author or date. The first page lists each week since JEAHELP began and allows members to click on it and see a list of postings.

Another option allows members to “search for” a topic. A search for the rather broad topic “books” on Jan. 18 yielded 32 matches, covering everything from offering local police free yearbooks to a search for additional copies of H.L. Hall’s textbook. To narrow the search further, members can choose messages where the “subject contains” or “the author’s address is” or the date it was posted is “since” and “until.”

To acquire access to the site, send an e-mail message to listserv@listserv.kent.edu. In the message field, put PW ADD (then type your chosen password of five or more letters/numbers). The site will ask you to confirm the password and then you’ll have access.

• JEAHELP is a private, unmoderated list.
  
• Candace Perkins Bowen, a past president of JEA, serves as the list owner. CONTACT Candace.
  
• The list’s server resides at Kent State University and is managed by LISTSERV software.
  
• During the same week in 2001, 121.
  
• The first week of the LISTSERV— August 1998 — we posted five messages — and only three members posted them.

Archives

Access the JEAHELP archives. CLICK HERE.

Join the List

Join JEA's LISTSERV. CLICK HERE.

 

RECIPIENTS

Who is getting the message? Carefully check who your mail program intends to send the message to. Make sure this is where you wanted it to go. It is all too easy to click on the wrong icon or press the wrong key (such as Reply to All), resulting in a message going out to sometimes hundreds of people unintentionally.

TRUST

How well do you know these people? Can you trust people you have never met in person not to forward your comments to someone else? And if they did, whose reputation would suffer the most – yours for saying these things or theirs for forwarding without your permission? It is bad netiquette to forward a message without the permission of the original sender, but this does not stop some people.

USED AGAINST YOU

What is the worst thing that can happen to you if this message is used against you? Computers are not perfect, and they sometimes do unpredictable things to perfectly valid messages. Remember, most e-mail sent from school computers is "owned" by the school district and can easily be retrieved with or without your knowledge.

EXTRA INFO

Have you removed extraneous information not germane to the discussion, such as copies of previous postings included by my mail program or long signature files.

RUDE PEOPLE

The Internet, like the real world, has its share of rude people. While there is not much anyone can do about it, it would be silly to avoid using the Internet simply for fear that someone might insult you. Eventually, you will be insulted or offended by a message someone writes. When it does happen, the only thing you absolutely must not do is hit the “reply” button and send off a stream of insults at your offender.

If you must reply, reply in private so that it does not become a “flame war” – dozens of people casting insults at one another and a swollen mailbox. Insulting someone on a public list is like publishing a derogatory article in the newspaper. In addition to being quite painful, it can result in a libel suit.

If you ever get really upset after reading an e-mail message, write your reply, but wait 24 hours before sending it. Then read it over at least three times to see how you would feel if you received that reply.

 

Writing & Editing | Photography | Technology | Classroom Management

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