If
you've ever had a question and thought, "Surely someone knows the
answer, but how do I find that person?" With the Internet, not
only can you search websites for information, but you can also
communicate with people from around the world, getting answers to
obscure questions from others who share your interests.
Some
of the more interesting information on the Internet can be found in
electronic forums. There are literally thousands of newsgroups
covering every topic imaginable--from computers, social issues,
literature and science, to recreation, entertainment, hobbies and
current affairs. You can
find job postings, business and healthcare advice, announcements about
events, referrals, and political and religious discussions.
The
best way to discover what topics are available in Usenet newsgroups is
to visit the Google Groups
site. From there
you can browse through the complete list of groups or look for a group
related to your interests.
You can also access Google's Usenet
archive of more than 700 million messages. This
is particularly useful if you want to trace discussion trends about a
topic over a period of time.
LISTSERVE
discussion groups figure among the more interesting sources of
information on the Internet. After
subscribing to a list about your favorite topic, you can read
messages posted by other subscribers and write your own.
If
you're seeking information about a topic, a LISTSERV list is a great
place to ask. If the list
is active, you'll certainly get answers to your queries.
If you have information that others can use, you can post it to
the list, developing your popularity among members.
Everything you post to the list will be distributed to all
members of the list.
One
LISTSERV addict writes, "I spend a lot of time and energy on
various listservs. I find the free-wheeling exchange of ideas and
opinions to be exhilarating. I have learned a lot from many wonderful
folks, and I thank them all for having enlightened me.
Many times, I would ask a question, then file away all the
responses people would send me. As you can imagine, over the years
this has resulted in quite a 'cache' of valuable information."
Another
writer says that most lists are "like a virtual coffee house
where people you haven't met are comfortably discussing topics you
enjoy conversing about, and will be happy to have you contribute your
experiences."
Each
listserv targets pre-determined topics and discussions. Before
submitting a query or a comment to the entire listserv group, monitor
the discussions. After a few days, you'll be able to tell what you can
safely submit.
All
lists have owners; and in many instances, the owner also acts as
moderator, setting rules, keeping the list active, and keeping the
peace in the event of an argument that gets too heated.
L-Soft
links to helpful LISTSERV sites.
A 38 page General User's
Guide is now available and can be viewed online or retrieved from
the ftp server in a variety of word processing formats.
From
the page headed "Welcome to CataList, the catalog of LISTSERV
lists!" you can browse any of the 53,333 public LISTSERV
lists on the Internet, search for mailing lists of interest, and get
information about LISTSERV host sites. This information is generated
automatically from LISTSERV's LISTS database and is always up to date.
To
find lists in the areas of your interests, type a topic into the
search slot, and Catalist will locate all of the lists related to your
chosen subject. Catalyst
finds your topic quickly. Because
there are many, it will take you longer to choose which ones meet your
needs and interests.
Type
"art" in the search box, and you'll come up with 1305 lists.
"Science" brings up 606, literature 133, women 272, business
255, health 416. Beside
each list, you'll find the number of subscribers.
382
of the 53,333 lists have more than 10,000 subscribers.
“Moms online chat mailing list” has 33,144 subscribers; and
The Beatles list has 28,942. At
the top of the heap is MSN with 8,686,258 subscribers.
General
rules of behavior on lists and in other Internet discussion groups
have often been referred to as "Netiquette."
The term combines Net and etiquette.
An excellent book on the subject can be found online. The author, Virgina Shea, has written a classic, and
she's made it freely available on the Web.
Her
netiquette rules apply to all "discussion groups" including online forums, message boards, bulletin boards, electronic mailing
lists, and USENET newsgroups.
Netiquette
comes from the word "etiquette", which means "the forms
required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be required in
social or official life." Etymologically, it comes from the
French word for "ticket." If you know the etiquette for a
particular group or society, you have a ticket for entry into it.
Some "don'ts" that apply to participating in Usenet
news groups or lists:
-
Don't
send attachments to a list. Not
only are they suspects for viruses, they can take a long time to
download.
-
Don't
copy long pages from Web sites, even though they may be if use to
your group. Briefly
describe the page and include the URL so that group members can
visit the site themselves.
-
DON'T
CAPITALIZE EVERYTHING. IT
LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE SHOUTING.
-
Don't
ask questions until you've checked to see if the list has an FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions).
List members don't like answering the same questions
repeatedly.
-
Don't
post chain letters to a list; and don't post a virus warning until
you've verified that it isn't a hoax.
This can be done at Symantec’s
hoax page.
-
Don't
flame list members. There
will be times when users will post idiotic nonsense or personal
attacks. While it's
very tempting to attack them when they do, bite your tongue, take
a deep breath and keep your fingers off the keyboard until you
cool down. Moderators
have been known to unsubscribe flamers from the list.
-
Don't
use discussion groups for promoting your product or services.
People don't join discussion groups to read "spam"
(unwanted advertising). If
you have a product or service that someone on the list says
they're looking for, send the information directly to that person.
Remember to replace the list address in the "To:"
slot with the member's address.
-
Don't
post things that are irrelevant to the list.
If the topic of list is Environment, don't post your
comments about what's wrong with American foreign policy unless
it’s related to the environment.
-
Don't
write long, run-on paragraphs.
Keep paragraphs short (four or five lines at most) and
leave a space between paragraphs.
What you have to say will be much more inviting and easier
to read.
-
Don't
quote an entire message when you're only responding to a part of
it. Quote just enough to put your comment into context and
perspective. When you
quote don't leave out a part that changes the original meaning.
-
Don't
try to be cooler than the clever teenager who can't spell but has
abbreviations for everything.
"Like dude, wus up? a/s/l pls."
If you're going to be stylish, develop your own style
rather than copying the copycats.
Remember that when posting to a newsgroup or list, everything
comes out as words on a computer screen.
There are no gestures, facial expressions, body language,
inflections and tone of voice. Unless
you have a highly developed style of writing, your words alone may be
misunderstood.
It's particularly difficult to express emotions in writing.
For this reason, many people communicating on the Internet have
learned to use "emoticons" or "smileys." These are
intended to convey simple emotions, like happiness :-) or sadness :-(
in a symbolic portrayal of a face when viewed sideways.
See the list of emoticons at Windweaver.
While
the Internet is often thought of and used as a medium for one-on-one
communication or for individual surfing, it is also made up of
communities. Apart from
chat rooms, which are often chaotic, dull and unfocused, Internet news
Groups and LISTSERV lists provide an excellent venue for shared
interests.
As
William James wrote, “The community
stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away
without the sympathy of the community.”
