From emoryu1!phoenix.Princeton.EDU!nancyamm  Thu Feb  3 23:24:52 1994 remote from awwe
Received: by awwe.UUCP (1.65/waf)
	via UUCP; Fri, 04 Feb 94 02:13:10 EST
	for root
Received: from emory.mathcs.emory.edu by
	emoryu1.cc.emory.edu (5.65/Emory_cc.3.4.16) via SMTP
	id AA22147 ; Thu, 3 Feb 94 23:24:50 -0500
Received: from Princeton.EDU by
	emory.mathcs.emory.edu (5.65/Emory_mathcs.3.4.18) via SMTP
	id AA07648 ; Thu, 3 Feb 94 23:24:48 -0500
Return-Path: nancyamm@phoenix.Princeton.EDU
Received: from ponyexpress.Princeton.EDU by Princeton.EDU (5.65b/2.104/princeton)
	id AA01489; Thu, 3 Feb 94 23:15:54 -0500
Received: from flagstaff.Princeton.EDU by ponyexpress.princeton.edu (5.65c/1.113/newPE)
	id AA11710; Thu, 3 Feb 1994 23:15:53 -0500
Received: by flagstaff.Princeton.EDU (4.1/Phoenix_Cluster_Client)
	id AA09130; Thu, 3 Feb 94 23:15:52 EST
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 23:15:50 -0500 (EST)
From: Nancy Ammerman <emoryu1!phoenix.Princeton.EDU!nancyamm>
To: Jackie Ammerman <emory!emoryu1!awwe!root@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Message-Id: <Pine.3.89.9402032335.G3501-0100000@flagstaff.Princeton.EDU>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Chapter 5: MAILING LISTS AND BITNET

 
 

5.1  INTERNET MAILING LISTS


     Usenet is not the only forum on the Net.  Scores of "mailing 
lists"  represent another way to interact with other Net users.  
Unlike Usenet messages,  which are stored in one central location on 
your host system's computer, mailing-list messages are delivered right 
to your e-mail box, unlike Usenet messages.
     You have to ask for permission to join a mailing list.  Unlike 
Usenet, where your message is distributed to the world, on a mailing 
list, you send your messages to a central moderator, who either re-mails 
it to the other people on the list or uses it to compile a periodic 
"digest" mailed to subscribers. 
     Given the number of newsgroups, why would anybody bother with a 
mailing list?  
    Even on Usenet, there are some topics that just might not generate 
enough interest for a newsgroup; for example, the Queen list, which is 
all about the late Freddie Mercury's band.  
    And because a moderator decides who can participate, a mailing list 
can offer a degree of freedom to speak one's mind (or not worry about 
net.weenies) that is not necessarily possible on Usenet.  Several 
groups offer anonymous postings -- only the moderator knows the real 
names of people who contribute. Examples include 12Step, where people 
enrolled in such programs as Alcoholics Anonymous can discuss their 
experiences, and sappho, a list limited to gay and bisexual women. 
       You can find mailing addresses and descriptions of these lists 
in the news.announce.newusers newsgroup with the subject of "Publicly 
Accessible Mailing Lists."  Mailing lists now number in the hundreds, 
so this posting is divided into three parts. 
        If you find a list to which you want to subscribe, send an e-
mail message to 
 
        list-request@address
 
where "list" is the name of the mailing list and "address" is the 
moderator's e-mail address, asking to be added to the list.  Include 
your full e-mail address just in case something happens to your 
message's header along the way, and ask, if you're accepted, for the 
address to mail messages to the list. 


5.2 BITNET
    
 
     As if Usenet and mailing lists were not enough, there are Bitnet 
"discussion groups" or "lists."  
     Bitnet is an international network linking colleges and 
universities, but it uses a different set of technical protocols for 
distributing information than the Internet or Usenet. 
     It offers hundreds of discussion groups, comparable in scope to 
Usenet newsgroups.         
     One of the major differences is the way messages are 
distributed.  Bitnet messages are sent to your mailbox, just as with a 
mailing list. However, where mailing lists are often maintained by a 
person, all Bitnet discussion groups are automated -- you subscribe to 
them through messages to a "listserver" computer.  This is a kind of 
robot moderator that controls distribution of messages on the list.  In 
many cases, it also maintains indexes and archives of past postings in a 
given discussion group, which can be handy if you want to get up to 
speed with a discussion or just search for some information related to 
it.
     Many Bitnet discussion groups are now "translated" into Usenet 
form and carried through Usenet in the bit.listserv hierarchy.  In 
general, it's probably better to read messages through Usenet if you 
can.  It saves some storage space on your host system's hard drives.  
     If 50 people subscribe to the same Bitnet list, that means 50 
copies of each message get stored on the system; whereas if 50 people 
read a Usenet message, that's still only one message that needs storage 
on the system.  It can also save your sanity if the discussion group 
generates large numbers of messages.  Think of opening your e-mailbox 
one day to find 200 messages in it -- 199 of them from a discussion 
group and one of them a "real" e-mail message that's important to you. 
     Subscribing and canceling subscriptions is done through an e-
mail message to the listserver computer.  For addressing, all 
listservers are known as "listserv" (yep) at some Bitnet address.  
This means you will have to add ".bitnet" to the end of the 
address, if it's in a form like this: listserv@miamiu. For example, if 
you have an interest in environmental issues, you might want to 
subscribe to the Econet discussion group.  To subscribe, send an e-mail 
message to
 
                listserv@miamiu.bitnet
 
Some Bitnet listservers are also connected to the Internet, so if you 
see a listserver address ending in ".edu", you can e-mail the 
listserver without adding ".bitnet" to the end. 
     Always leave the "subject:" line blank in a message to a 
listserver.  Inside the message, you tell the listserver what you 
want, with a series of simple commands: 
 
subscribe group Your Name    To subscribe to a list, where "group"
                             is the list name and "Your Name" is 
                             your full name, for example:
                             subscribe econet Henry Fielding
 
unsubscribe group Your Name  To discontinue a group, for example:
                             unsubscribe econet Henry Fielding
 
list global                  This sends you a list of all available 
                             Bitnet discussion groups.  But be careful 
                             -- the list is VERY long! 
 
get refcard                  Sends you a list of other commands you 
                             can use with a listserver, such as 
                             commands for retrieving past postings 
                             from a discussion group. 
 
     Each of these commands goes on a separate line in your message 
(and you can use one or all of them).  If you want to get a list of 
all Bitnet discussion groups, send e-mail to 
 
                listserv@bitnic.educom.edu
 
Leave the "subject:" line blank and use the list global command.
     When you subscribe to a Bitnet group, there are two important 
differences from Usenet.
     First, when you want to post a message for others to read in the 
discussion group, you send a message to the group name at its Bitnet 
address.  Using Econet as an example, you would mail the message to: 
 
                econet@miamiu.bitnet
 
     Note that this is different from the listserv address you used to 
subscribe to the group to begin with.  Use the listserv address ONLY 
to subscribe to or unsubscribe from a discussion group.  If you use the 
discussion-group address, your message will go out to every other 
subscriber, many of whom will think unkind thoughts, which they may 
share with you in an e-mail message). 
      The second difference relates to sending an e-mail message to the 
author of a particular posting.  Usenet newsreaders such as rn and nn 
let you do this with one key.  But if you hit your R key to respond to 
a discussion-group message, your message will go to the listserver, 
and from there to everybody else on the list!  This can prove 
embarrassing to you and annoying to others. To make sure your 
message goes just to the person who wrote the posting, take down his 
e-mail address from the posting and then compose a brand-new message 
to him.  Remember, also, that if you see an e-mail address like 
IZZY@INDYVMS, it's a Bitnet address.
        Two Bitnet lists will prove helpful for delving further into the 
network.  NEW-LIST tells you the names of new discussion groups. To 
subscribe, send a message to listserv@ndsuvm1.bitnet: 
 
                sub NEW-LIST Your Name
 
     INFONETS is the place to go when you have questions about Bitnet.  
It is also  first rate for help on questions about all major computer 
networks and how to reach them.  To subscribe, send e-mail to info-nets-
request@think.com: 
 
                sub INFONETS Your Name
 
     Both of these lists are also available on Usenet, the former as 
bit.listserv.new-list; the latter as bit.listserv.infonets (sometimes 
bit.listserv.info-nets).

Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253
