Mailing Lists
Mailing lists are an easy way for many people to easily exchange email on a common topic.
After subscribing to a mailing list on a particular topic, a user simply sends an email which
will be automatically forwarded to everyone else on the list. Administrative functions such
as subscribing and unsubscribing can be handled entirely by email, although web page
interfaces are becoming more common.
You can search for publicly available mailing
lists on a particular topic at Topica,
Tile.Net,
Catalist,
and PAML,
There are thousands of free mailing lists, covering a very wide range of topics - including
Jokes!
 Overview
3D Mailing Lists
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Mailing List Overview
Mailing lists are an easy way for many people to easily exchange email on a common topic.
After subscribing to a mailing list on a particular topic, a user simply sends an email which
will be automatically forwarded to everyone else on the list.
Several software programs, called 'list servers', are available which provide mailing list
capabilities. One of the key features of list servers is that subscribers can perform all
administrative functions (such subscribe or unsubscribe) via email.
The amount of message traffic varies greatly between mailing lists. Some may have only
a few messages a week while other may have hundreds of messages a day. One of the options
available to subscribers is to receive all messages in a single email, once each day. This
'digest' option can greatly reduce the number of emails a user receives.
Some mailing lists also offer access to archives of previous messages. These can sometimes
be accessed online through a web page interface and can also be sent directly to the user
by making a request through the list server.
There are no approvals required to create a mailing list. All you need is a computer
attached to the Internet and one of the many freeware/commercial list servers that are
available today. Three of the most common list servers used today include Listserv,
Majordomo, and Listproc. Most people, however, don't want to take the time
to manage a list themselves, so they purchase mailing list services from companies who
specialize in the creation/maintenance of mailing lists.
Because there is no central approval authority for mailing lists, the exact number of such
lists is unknown. However, it is estimated that over 100,000 mailing lists are active on the
Internet today. Some of the list are private and some are public. You can search for mailing
lists on a particular topic at Topica,
Tile.Net,
Catalist,
and PAML,
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3D Mailing Lists
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