| For those of you new
to the Internet phenomenon of the online
discussion list, here is an explanation: Sometimes
referred to as e-lists or egroups, the email list
is an online resource of information and support,
and is very much like a room full of people who
are all discussing the same topic.
Participation in an email list is easy.
Firstly, there is no obligation to take part in
discussion. Out of any email list or newsgroup,
the average number of participating members comes
to approximately 7% on average, the remaining 93%
being referred to as "lurkers".
Secondly, it is easy to "de-lurk" at
any time by responding when you wish. New posters
can also put in a brief background about who they
are - to help other list members to feel
connected to you.
From there, it's possible to post as much or
as little as you like - there are many styles of
using an email discussion group, and you can work
out what suits you best.
Discussion lists home
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Delivery options
Emails sent to the list generally go to every
member who is a subscriber - this means that
while you may be responding to one person's
questions, everyone in the "room" gets
to read your answer also. If you wish to send an
email just to the individual, and not to the
list, then you can change the email address from
the list email, over to the individual person's
address.
You can also set your own delivery
options.
There are three options for list email
delivery:
- Individual emails
- Digest mode
- Web only
Individual emails: with this,
you receive new emails as they are uploaded to
the list address. This is the busiest mode, and
at times can feel like a conversation.
Digest mode: in this mode
emails are compiled into one large digest,
combining all the posts to the group from the
previous 24 hours or so. This is sent once a day,
or when sufficient posts have accumulated, and is
a more leasurely way of taking part.
Web only: here, there is no
email delivery and you can read the list from the
website. For both Yahoo and Topica you need to
create your own ID and password to gain access to
the lists in this way. From there the list can be
accessed using a standard browser like the one
you're using now to read this.
To get a user ID for Yahoo or Topica, sign up
at the following URLs:
Yahoogroups
public list web access
Topica
professional list web access
Note - if you already have a Yahoo email
address you may already be able to use your
current Yahoo ID to read the Yahoo list on the
Web.
Discussion lists home
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So there we are! Emails lists can be a lot of
fun and a great source of shared information and
support for the topics you're interested in.
Enjoy!
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