Internet > Mailing
Lists > Use >
Mailing List Use - Finding
Lists
| For example, if you wanted to take part in the mailing
list... one sends a
request to NSFNET-INFO-REQUEST@MERIT.EDU. This may be a wonderful
scheme, but the problem is that you must know the list exists in the
first place. It is suggested that, if you are interested, you read
the mail from one list (like NSFNET-INFO) and you will probably
become familiar with the existence of others. - E. Krol; The Hitchhikers Guide to the Internet; RFC 1118; Sept. 1989 |
There
are many thousands of mailings lists all over the world used for discussion
of just about every subject imaginable. Several web sites provide mailing
list indexes to help you find lists
of interest to you. Some include search engines that enable you to search the
lists for keywords of interest. Some of the most useful indexes are listed
below:
Some
people believe that indexes of mailings lists are unethical because not all lists
want to be publicized. However, most lists do want to be publicized so the
greatest
number of people can use them, so these ethical reservations have not gained
much support.
If a list provides an online web archive, you can often get
a sense of the volume of traffic and subject matter by browsing recent postings
before you subscribe.
The
"new-list" mailing list provides a notification of new mailing lists and changes
to existing mailing lists. Because this list is high volume, you should try the
web indexes listed above first. If you do sign up to this list, make sure you
set the digest command to get only one summary
message a day. You can subscribe to the list by sending an email to LISTSERV@HYPATIA.CS.WISC.EDU,
and putting the following message in the body of the email:
subscribe
new-list yourfirstname yourlastname
