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General List Information
Lists are mechanisms to send email to groups of people, rather
than individuals as discussed above. They may be organised in
different ways, but the main groups are:
Newsgroups:
are a type of discussion group, but
are different to mailing lists and discussion groups in that the
messages of the group are not usually circulated to each member but
are collected on special computers called news servers. To
participate in the discussion you have to connect to the news
server and read the messages on-line, which usually requires a
special program called a news reader and a direct Internet
connection. This will not be discussed further here.
Mailing lists:
are usually used for one-way traffic, for
example distribution of a newsletter from an organisation to its
members. An example of this would be the HST Bulletin
mailing list.
An electronic conference or discussion group:
is intended for
multiple-way traffic - in other words, any member of the list can
send mail to the list, thus stimulating interactive discussion and
sharing of ideas and information. Therefore both types of list are
run by the same software and function in a similar way, but differ
in their purpose and how they are used
Some usage guidelines
- Write your emails in sentence case, not UPPERCASE
- Use plain text (avoid HTML or rich text formatting in email messages)
- Identify yourself - the best way is to include a signature with your name, institution and perhaps some contact details
- Do NOT forward junk mail, chain letters or any similar material
- Always check the address that you send messages or replies to before sending
- More suggestions on appropriate list use:
List servers and Services available
There are several List servers available including: Lyris www.lyris.com , Listproc
listproc.net , Majordomo etc and list hosting services eg www.onelist.com and www.egroups.com
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We
subscribe to the HonCode principals
of HON Foundation.Confidentiality of data relating to
individuals and visitors, including their identity, is respected by this Web site. HST undertakes to
honour or exceed the legal requirements of information privacy that applies in South Africa.
