SO YOU WANT TO SET UP A LISTSERV DISCUSSION GROUP?!

Helpful hints from the Moderators of IPCT-L

Zane Berge (zberge@emoderators.com)
Mauri Collins (mauri@emoderators.com)

JANUARY, 1993

Think about it and if you can, talk to people who are already listowners. Consider subscribing for a while to LSTOWN-L@SEARN.SUNET.SE (a frequent poster to this list is Eric Thomas who wrote and maintains the LISTSERV program) before launching the project. LSTOWN-L discusses the technical details of running LISTSERV software and participants offer advice and moral support to each other.

Unmoderated lists run fairly well by themselves for long periods of time, with little more than attention to administrative details. A moderated list demands constant attention, and you can sometimes feel like you have taken on a child to raise.

In this document, we will pose many questions--the answers to which will define your list and your tasks. Discuss them with your local computer experts, and where possible, with someone who already has experience with the management of a LISTSERV discussion group.

Ask yourself some questions:

1). Do you have continuing access to a computer account with an Internet, or can you arrange for such an account? While not mandatory, an account specifically from which list matters, (and ONLY list matters), can be dealt with is advisable. There is nothing more embarrassing than absentmindedly sending a piece of personal mail to an international group of people scattered across the globe (most listowners have war stories they would be delighted to share). Daily list maintenance can be done all at one time, or can be scattered among your other daily tasks, depending on the amount of work your list generates.

2). Do you know your computer's mailer well enough to cope with a lot of mail, and are you prepared to learn how to use the LISTSERV mail distribution program? This is a highly sophisticated program whose documentation is better than most mainframe program documentation (i.e. packed with information delivered in arcane language, and making the assumption that you know most of what you are asking before you ask.)

3). Do you have access to computer consultants who can talk to you in plain "people" rather than computereze? Are they patient and willing to work slowly with you while you learn? Do you have a friend or acquaintance who already runs a list and who is willing to share their experiences with you? While not mandatory, these "people resources" can save an incredible amount of time and heartache.

4). Are there enough like-minded people "out there" who would like to discuss your chosen content area to make continuing conversation possible? Ask around, ask your friends and colleagues, read lists in allied areas to see how much discussion revolves around your chosen topic. If no one contributes, your discussion groups becomes just another list of names and addresses in a computer file somewhere.

5). Is there another list that already covers your chosen content area, or is sufficiently close that subscribers might not be interested in reading something that may largely duplicate already ongoing dialog? There are already over 4000 different LISTSERV groups out there and more being added daily, so chances are there may be an organized forum already established. The list of all 4000 groups and their site names can be retrieved by sending the following note:

To: mailserver@nisc.sri.com
-------------------
send netinfo/interest-groups

Affirmative answers to the above question leads you some decisions that need to be made:

6). What kind of group do you want this to be? Will it be strictly for discussion, or for one-way dissemination of information? Will it be organized around a specific task that will produce tangible results? It is hoped that the discussion will be ongoing, or is this list for a limited period/limited purpose? (Electronic "salons" in conjunction with conferences are limited period, limited purpose. A number of papers are posted and for a specified duration discussion revolves around the content of the papers.)

The answers to the above questions will influence your steps through the following process:

A. Decide on a content area and write a statement of purpose e.g. "This list will be for the discussion of (talk.hamsters.duct_tape), among people who deal with (hamsters and duct_tape) and would like to discuss the theory, implications, problems, and practices on a continuing basis." Lists have a tendency to take on a life of their own, so be prepared to expand or constrict your statement of purpose over time.

B. Give the list a name (all children should be named!) with a maximum of eight characters as in HMSTRSDT-L (HaMSTeRSDuctTape-L) that is different from any other of the over four thousand list names out there, and if possible, one that gives a clue to the discussion content. The trailing -L indicates that this is a LIST, but there are as many names with as without that part to their names.

C. Retrieve and read some of the available documentation. It is available from the LISTSERV homepage.

D. Locate an networked computer that is running LISTSERV software. One located close to home is always nice, as you may make many calls to the systems operators there as you set up and shake down your list. You may get to know these folks very well, so it pays to be very pleasant with them, regardless of how frazzled you get.

E. Ask the System Administrators if they will be willing to host your list, and if disk space is available for archives and files. It is helpful to take along your statement of purpose and be willing to justify to them just what you want to use their resources for, and to reassure them that nothing you do will embarrass them or the institution.

MAKING MORE DECISIONS

IPCT-L LIST HEADER

*   Interpersonal Computing and Technology
*
*   Review= Public     Subscription= Open       Send= Editor
*   Notify= Yes        Reply-to= List,Respect   Files= No
*   Confidential= No   Validate= Store only     X-Tags= Yes
*   Stats= Normal,Public
*   Notebook=Yes,A,Weekly,Public
*   Mail-via= Distribute
*   Ack= No            Formcheck= No
*   Owner= IPCT@GUVAX (IPCT-L Georgetown University)
*   Owner= IPCT@WILBUR.PSU.EDU (mauri collins)
*   Editor=IPCT@GUVAX (IPCT-L Georgetown University)
*   Editor=IPCT@WILBUR.PSU.EDU (mauri collins)
*   Language= English
*   Errors-To= IPCT@GUVAX

7). The most critical decisions is: will this be a moderated group or not? This governs who the response to Send= ? Send = Editor will direct the mail to you, Send = List will have mail distributed directly to subscribers. Unmoderated lists require little interaction with participants, discussion flows freely into whatever areas the conversational leaders wish to take it, discussions rarely remain focussed and can deteriorate into flame wars very quickly.

Moderated lists consume the moderator's time which is often spent mediating among list participants, deciding what will be posted to the list, and what will, for various reasons be returned to sender. A well-articulated set of guidelines can be very, very helpful. A note sent to

To:LISTSERV@listserv.georgetown.edu
-------------------
get EDPOLICY ASC

will return you a copy of the IPCT-L editorial policy which will give you some ideas and a model. This policy is under constant review by both listowners and the subscribers to the list. Other examples of policies are linked to the Moderator's Homepage

If you decide to moderate, (i.e. Send=editor) are you going to do it alone? And who will take care of your list when you need to be gone? Is there someone who would be willing to learn how to manage the list, so that you would have back-up and relief? LISTSERV does take some learning and practice before you go on-line. On a moderated list, messages go the first editor named, but there can be more than one listed.

8). Do you want people to be able to subscribe and unsubscribe themselves (subscriptions = open)? Or do you want to do it, and require a short self-description before they are added? Can anyone get a list of subscribers, or only those people whose names appear on the list?

9). (Confidential=?) Do you want just anyone to be able to send messages to your list, or is that privilege reserved for subscribers?

10). Do you want them notified their message has been received and sent to the list (or the moderator depending on your chose to moderate or not)?

11). Is your list to have all the postings archived, if so, how often? (This may depend on the number of postings and the amount of storage space on the machine hosting your list).

12). What will be the primary language of your list?

The other file you will need to set up is the one LISTSERV will send back to new members when they subscribe. The default document contains a bare-bones note that welcomes the new subscriber and provides them with a few simple LISTSERV commands get them started. You may want to elaborate on the welcome and include your List's statement of purpose and some guidelines for submissions or, as IPCT-L does, the editorial policy. Even if your list is usually unmoderated, situations may arise where you will need to intervene, and it is helpful to have a policy statement that you can refer people to.

ALMOST THERE

An announcment of your new list can be sent to other lists that may have a readership with interests in common with those you wish to reach with your list. Sending the announcement to LSTOWN-L@SEARN.SUNET.SE will bring it to the attention of a wide selection of other listowners, who may then chose to cross- post the announcement to their own lists.

The announcement can also be sent to other lists where topics similar to yours are discussed. It is not considered appropriate to just broadcast to every list you can think of. (Reading one or two of the many "netiquette" guides available, if you have not already done so, is a wise idea.)

Have an "opening topic" planned. When a new group congregates, some kind of ice-breaker will often help to get conversation rolling. There will be frantically busy times when many subscribers will be contributing, and lulls in the conversation where nothing may be posted to the list for substantial periods of time.

DAILY MAINTENANCE

Sometimes people trying to join the list cannot persuade LISTSERV to accept their messages, or they find that there machine designation has changed since they subscribed and LISTSERV refuses to acknowledge they are on the list so they can unsubscribe. So you will need to deal with subscriber's requests to subscribe and unsubscribe, and they will forget how to set their subscriptions at NOMAIL for vacation periods, etc.

Checking an unmoderated list every few days and dealing with the accumulation of notes from LISTSERV is a must. Network glitches can occasionally result in hundreds of administrative notes a day from LISTSERV.

A moderated list needs to be checked at least daily and messages to the list forwarded promptly, unless you have decided to send the submissions to you list out in a "digest" format at periodic intervals (check with your local LISTSERV guru on how to do this). Again, dealing with administrivia from LISTSERV is a must to avoid having your mailbox overflow.

We wish you good fortune, if you choose to start your own list. We have derived an enormous amount of satisfaction and growth and more than a few grey hairs from moderating IPCTL