Many topics are discussed on these forums. Discussion groups come in many "colors" and "flavors." You may find a wealth of information, or a lot of junk. It is up to you to decide if the person contributing is an expert and what is the relevancy of the articles posted.

Listservs are Mailing Lists or electronic discussion groups that originated in the academic community. Many Listservs are about academic and research oriented topics. Usually they are moderated. You have to subscribe to a list in order to receive the messages in your E-Mail box. This is the main difference between a Listserv and a Newsgroup/Usenet list. Go to the W.W.W. and visit the following addresses:

These are two specialized search engines that will look for discussion groups on the topic(s) of your interest.

To join a mailing list you have to:

1. Send an E-Mail to a computer. For example:
   mailserv@crf.cuis.edu

2. Leave the subject line blank. (Remember, you are directing your message to a computer, not a person!) To leave the subject line blank on the Rio Grande FreeNet, press the space bar then <ENTER>.

3. In the body of the message, write:
   <subscribe [name of the list] [your first name] [your last name]>     For example:
   subscribe Stumpers Jane People

4. DO NOT sign the message.

Follow this format. Do not add "please" or "thank you" or any other information. (Remember you are writing to a computer!) An electronic message will be sent to your e-mail box with information about the list and with the posting or mailing address for the list. Notice that the subscription address and the posting address are going to be different! After you have subscribed, you will begin to receive mail from the list. The best advice when joining a discussion group is to lurk first. Be aware that use of Netiquette (appropriate, socially- accepted behavior) is expected.

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