The idea of a "group," which can also be termed a "mailing list," and/or a listserv* a very clever extension of electronic mail. As you know, email has several advantages over methods like, a US Post Office letter, the telephone, or a fax machiine. Most of these latter methods are one person to one person. However, with email one person can easily send the same message to many persons by using either a "prepared" mailing list or simply keying in several names in the "TO, CC, or even BC:" box. In either case, the sender only has to write one message and it goes to "all."
*There is no "e" on the end, simply because the term was originally limited to 8 letters. It must also be noted that "listserv" officially only refers to software sold by CataList Corp. "Mailing list" is the technically correct term. However, "mailing list" and "listserv" are commonly used interchangeably, like make a "Xerox" and/or "copy."
Note that a "mailing list" could easily be confused with similar terms that email programs use, where users have gathered a collection of their own usernames. Although this type of "list" functions the same from the person/organization that constructed it, i.e., sending the same message to multiple recipients, the recipients cannot always "reply to all." However, in many ways, the purpose is indeed similar.
A "group list" is simply a means of sending the same message to everyone who is subscribed to the list. The concept is identical to a "special interest group" or SIG. One example of a SIG can be real people with a special focus that meet at a large national convention. However, through the medium of telecommunications, "meetings" or "focus groups" can be held virtually anytime and with people from widely spread geographical areas. There are currently well over 100,000 different public** mailing lists, nearly starting with "aardvard" and going to "zebra." (the number was about 20,000 when I started noting in 1996) Some of the lists are open only to approved members, but the many are open to any interested party. A "closed" list does not necessarily denote snobbery. Neurosurgeons, Saab repairpersons, and retired IBM executives may have good reasons to circulate their information only among a peer group.
** ESU has over 200 mailing lists and none of them are classified as "public." Thus, assuming other universities and government agencies have "lists" that are not public, the actual number of lists has to be far higher than 100,000. Also, I had used ESU's "mailing list" software for several years, but we now use Google Groups, partly to show how easy it is for anyone to set up a quite sophisticated communications structure.
Generally, very large lists [10,000 subscribers and up] are "read-only" lists. A good example is "CNET" [a combination of "computer/network"] which currently is the largest with about 800,000 subscribers (yes, that is much larger than many magazines!). The topic is really uptempo news concerning the Internet and computer software/hardware happenings. CNET arrives in your mailbox every friday. You subscribe with identical commands as shown below. However, subscribers cannot "post" anything to the list. You only get what the list sends to you. Another similar list is EDNET, which is sponsored by the US Department of Education. I suspect it has many thousands of subscribers (again, including myself). While many of us might like to send a message to a list with tens of thousands of subscribers, this would take substantial computing resources, and obviously unsolicited messages could could easily "clog" the pipeline and conflict with "real" (at least as defined by the list owners) messages.
Most lists are in the "other" category, simply a way for subscribers to contact ALL other subscribers. This "open" concept can easily be abused with either non-important or nonesense messages. "Stupid" messages seem to be inherent with the concept, but just like "stupid" USPO mailings that most of us get every day (to say nothing of unsolicited telemarketing calls!) you do not have to read them or even open them. The "delete" key works fine! And, unlike mail that comes from the USPO, we don't even have to carry it out with the trash! With the caveat that we indeed can receive messages we don't want, 95% are no doubt genuine, and at least a few can be considered in the category of: "Wow, I'm surely glad that I received notice of this grant possibility long before most people, and well before it got into the regular 'print' news!" Indeed, mailing lists are considered "essential" to thousands of educators.
While ubscribing to a "mailing lis" is slightly different for each system, it often
requires sending an email message to something like "listserv@aserver.edu," but may also be just clicking on a link.
For listserv lists, the software then handles all requests automatically with no human intervention.
This also means that one must use the exact commands or else the "dumb"
software cannot figure out "what you meant to say." In the case
of listserv software, your SINGLE LINE message would consist of: subscribe
listname yourfirstname yourlastname Very similar commands, though not always
identical, are used for the other mailing list software. However, in about 2001,
some clever programmers began using web programming to make this process somewhat
more user-friendly. Not all lists use a web-based front end, but doing so makes
it seem easier. I state it in this manner, because inputting a username, then
adding a one line command of 3 or 4 words is surely not complex. Never-the-less,
a web front end often makes it seem easier.
(Emporia State currently uses "majordomo" software, thus the address is "majordomo@...")
There are now some mailing lists that utilize a web-based, user-friendly, front end for subscribing and unsubscribing. This method will obviously increase, making mailing lists even more popular than they already are.
Listserv software can perform many functions besides "mass mailing," although few other commands are actually used by the recipients. The most useful feature is probably "help." Another handy feature is to obtain a list of all of the "non-concealed" subscribers. In actuality the software enables the subscriber to sort through past messages by date or title and perform a myriad of other tasks. In reality, the command line syntax needed is only attempted by the computer hacker-types. Even the "help" files don't seem to be written with an end user in mind!
Genuine listserv software, majordomo, and others will allow anyone to obtain a text file of all of the listserv groups. This file is well over one megabyte so its not for people with small hard drives or those using old, slow modems! And, quite naturally, it only retrieves genuine listserv lists, not lists from the other software. Never-the-less, since a majority of the lists are on listserv software, it is a useful find. Once you have the list, which is a text file, the simplest thing anyone can do is bring it into a word processor and use the "find" tool to look for lists or explanations that match your interests. However, the class will utilize the "TileNet" and "Topica" and other sites that have searchable database of mailing lists.
The "New"
SIG's!
Besides "standard" mailing
lists, the popularity of Internet communications has fostered many other ways
for groups of people, or SIG's, to communicate. The availability of a web-based
interface between the user and the program has opened up additional ways to
create and maintain mailing lists. Just one example is e-Groups, which is now
owned by Yahoo. It is located at groups.yahoo.com
and it allows people to make their own mailing group. While you could also create
a group within your own email program, such as MS Outlook, note that a working
"mailing group" allows anybody on the list to send messages to everybody
with one message.
INTERED will be using Google Groups, and information will be supplied elsewhere.
Thus, anybody with access to the web (like 200 million English speaking people!) can now create a very powerful electronic mailing list. Friends, enemies, etc. This is just another example of how the Internet and modern communications is very, very powerful to individuals. eGroups also lets you search for SIG's (not their term...the generic term) within eGroups' groups. But, if you create an eGroup mailing list, you do have the option of having it private or listed/shown with eGroups. Thus, there no doubt are many more lists that are "hidden.
The instructor has been unsuccessful in finding out how many eGroups there are. However, there must be many thousands, and the instructor has seen eGroups, Yahoo, Google, TileNet, and Topica virtually start "before his eyes." All of these exist to use the capabilities of Internet email to provide a substantial expansion of "stock" electronic mail.