E-Mail Discussion Lists

E-mail discussion lists, often known as listservs, are an important resource for educators. New educators in particular get an opportunity to discover what topics are being discussed in the profession at large, to learn who is involved in these discussions, and to make themselves known within the profession by their own contributions. Seasoned professionals exchange tips and techniques. It is now commonplace for researchers to "meet" through electronic discussion lists and forge collaborative relationships.

Listservs are accessed by subscription. The term listserv itself refers to software used on a server computer to maintain the subscription list and distribute messages to all subscribers. The listservs work by the distribution of information via e-mail: these are not real-time discussions. Subscribers receive messages, known as postings, in their e-mail.

To subscribe to a listserv, one generally sends an e-mail message to the computer that maintains the subscription list. For example, let's imagine that there is a listserv called learner-l, dedicated to the discussion of learner-centered education. The listserv is run from a computer at Teacher University. The listserv's address is learner-l@teacher.edu. To subscribe to our imaginary listserv, you would send the following message:

To:listserv@teacher.edu
Cc: [leave this field blank]
Subject: [leave this field blank]
----------------------------------
subscribe learner-l [your first name] [your last name]

Please remember: this is a fictitious example; do not attempt to subscribe to this conference.

Notice that the subscription message is not sent to the listserv itself, but to the computer software address that maintains the list. After subscribing, you will generally receive a long message that begins, "Save this message." Do save it: it will include all the computer commands and options that you will need to maintain your subscription, as well as information on how to delete your subscription. Note: you must send your subscription message from your own e-mail account: the listserv computer will respond to the pre-set return address that it will receive when you send the initial message. Commands to change your options or to delete your subscription will be carried out only if the listserv computer can match the address.

After subscribing to a discussion list, it is customary to listen in for a period of time before sending messages. This gives you an opportunity to learn the tenor of the discussion, the range of issues handled, and any particular forms of etiquette unique to that conference. When you submit messages, remember to submit only those of general interest; if you wish to respond to an individual's posting in a personal way, send a message to that person, not to the entire discussion list. And always remember, it is considered out of line to attack an individual personally, or to respond with sarcasm in regard to an opinion. This activity is refered to as flaming, and those who practice it, flamers, are pilloried, shunned, and eventually barred from participation. Treat others and their opinions as you would wish them to treat you.

A large array of education listservs are described in documents found at the sites listed below. They are arranged by topic. Look through these lists to find information on discussion lists that match your educational specialty.

Find listservs and electronic discussions by topic:

• Tile.net
• E-Mail Discussion Lists. A list of education-focused discussion groups maintained by Andy Carvin at EdWeb.
• CataList. The catalog of LISTSERV lists. You can browse any of the 58,653 public LISTSERV lists on the Internet, search for mailing lists of interest, and get information about LISTSERV host sites.
• Discussion Lists page from the George B. Brain Education Library, Washington State University.

(This page is an updated version of a page originally written by Elizabeth Kirk.)