Electronic mailing lists, also known as "listserves," "listservs" and "email groups," allow many people to exchange information and/or have a discussion through a single email address. Electronic mailing lists focus on a topic; the topic can be as big as "technology and society" or as specific as "lesson plans using KidPix for young children." To use a list, you "subscribe" by sending an email message to the specific list address. Once you subscribe, you will usually receive a welcome message that tells you the guidelines of the list and how to unsubscribe. SAVE THAT MESSAGE--you may want to leave the list someday.

Electronic mailing lists come in all shapes and sizes:

• Moderated -- a moderator sees and approves each message to the list
• Unmoderated -- messages go directly to all subscribers on the list without approval
• Open--anyone can subscribe
• Closed--users must get approval before joining
• One-way or broadcast--users only receive messages from the list--they can't contribute
• Two-way--users can post as well as receive messages.

To find electronic mailing lists that may be of use to you, look for notices in electronic publications and on Web sites you use. You can also search through special directories and search engines of lists (e.g., Liszt, at http://www.liszt.com).

Preparing to Set Up Your List

Setting up your own electronic mailing list takes about 5 minutes. Before you create a list, define the purpose of your list, decide who will participate and choose your list format. The more refined your list's focus and guidelines, the more successful it will be. To set up your list and write the list description or guidelines, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the main purpose of the list? Discussion? Information exchange? Coordination of work?

   

• What is your goal in creating a list? To bring visibility to an issue? To build or strengthen a community of interest? To facilitate work or further your organization's mission?

   

• What are the appropriate topics for discussion on your list? What is irrelevant or not appropriate?

   

• How much message volume, or "traffic," do you intend to have on your list per day? Per week?

   

• Do you want your list restricted to specific participants or open to anyone? If you have participants in mind, collect their email addresses.

   

• Do you want to see and approve each message before it goes to all participants?

   

• How much time can you spend facilitating the list?

   

• Will your list participants mind if there are advertisements on the bottom of messages?

For small, focused lists, you may be able to determine the answers to all of these questions yourself. If you are building a list to serve a specific group of people or organizations, you may want to include them in the development of your list guidelines and goals. A quick email survey or some focused interviews will help you understand the needs of your list participants. Once you have the answers to these questions, you are ready to set up your list.

Developing List Guidelines

Once you have established the goals and format for your electronic mailing list, you are ready to write your list guidelines. Guidelines share the objectives and parameters of the list with subscribers.

You shape the agenda for any list you create. You can establish and enforce any specific rules for your list, as long as you are up-front and transparent about the rules from the very beginning. For example, it is acceptable to designate certain topics as off-limits or unsubscribe users for advertising. People who repeatedly violate the list guidelines can be "unsubscribed."

Electronic mailing list software usually allows you to send a "welcome message" to each new subscriber. Many list facilitators also send list guidelines to their lists regularly (e.g., bi-monthly or monthly) to remind people of the rules. Guidelines should cover the following topics:

• Goals of the list
• Types of people who may be most interested in participating
• Facilitation rules (Is the moderator reviewing each message before it posts? Will inappropriate postings be deleted?)
• Scope of the list, with examples of the kinds of messages that are appropriate--and inappropriate
• Reminders of general list rules (e.g., don't post personal messages to a list, don't post attachments to a list, don't post messages over a certain length)
• Any privacy or legal issues for the list
• Subscription information.

Setting Up a List With egroups.com

After you've established the goals, audience and guidelines for your electronic mailing list, you're ready for the technical set-up. There are three primary ways to run an electronic mailing list:

1. Host it on your own server using mailing list software (e.g., Majordomo or Listserv).
2. Pay a service (e.g., listserve.com or your Internet Service Provider) to host the list for you. You will need to provide them with specific information to set up your list.
3. Use a free service, such as eGroups.com.

    

Free services tack small text or graphical advertisements to the bottom of the messages that are posted. Depending on your target list members, this feature may not be appropriate. Many free services allow you to run an "ad-free" list for a small fee. For example, eGroups.com charges $5 per month per list for messages without advertisements.

To set up your list:

1. Go to the eGroups site, http://www.egroups.com/.
2. Enter the name of your group, the description and the other requested information on the homepage.
3. Click on "Create Your Group." You will need to register as a member when you first use the service. Registration is free.
4. To invite people to your list, change addresses, monitor list use and so forth, go to "my space" on the eGroups site. From there, you will be able to make changes.

Facilitation

So your guidelines are written, your list is set up, people are subscribing . . . how do you get the discussion and information exchange rolling? What if someone posts inappropriately? What if a "flame war" (an email argument) breaks out on your site? Good facilitation is the key to a successful list.

Facilitators can be heavy-handed, reading and approving each post before it goes to the list, but facilitators often are most effective when they monitor list traffic, throw out provocative questions or thoughtful resources, and work behind the scenes to remind and enforce the list guidelines, helping list subscribers stay on topic. As with face-to-face discussions, good list facilitators set a welcoming tone, summarize the discussion, shape the focus of the discussion, manage technical issues, and manage the debate. Each of these activities is described below.

1. Set a Welcoming Tone

• Welcome new members by email
• Thank contributors by email
• Post friendly messages when appropriate
• Look for list outcomes ("success stories") and posts them
• Invite and encourages new members
• Acknowledge posters by name when appropriate
• Encourage list members to introduce themselves
• Encourage and manages discussion.

• Encourage discussion by posting open-ended questions
• Provide "starter content" for discussion
• Post relevant resources.

3. Shape the Focus of the List

• Post list guidelines when appropriate
• Post general reminders of netiquette and list guidelines
• Send reminders of list guidelines and topic focus to individual subscribers when necessary
• Monitor changes in community needs or direction.

4. Manage Technical Issues

• Help list members with list technical problems
• Monitor and reacts immediately to list technical problems
• Subscribe and unsubscribes users when necessary
• Anticipate problems (e.g., before the holidays, reminds users to not use auto-replies to list postings).

5. Manage Debate

• Allow debate to flourish a bit before stepping in (but steps in at the right time)
• Email "flamers" personally when necessary
• Moderate private email discussion between two or more flamers when necessary
• Move heated discussion off-list when necessary
• Never post in anger or without thought.