Communicating in the infosphere includes Lists, Newsgroups, Chat & Messaging - but only lists will be studied tonight. We’ve already looked at email. Throughout this module we’ll cover other asynchronous forms, synchronous forms, 1-to-many and even many-to-many - sounds like one too many, I know, but let’s get on with it.

Lonely Planet | Comet Newsletter - an example of a 1-to-many email list.

I had almost no idea that chat and SMS could be combined - sounds expensive.

Concepts to chew the fat over (massage comes later):

• Cyberspace is informationally created ‘space‘
• Non-speech communication through text: audience and authors’ responsibilities
• Privacy and Security

An email list is a semi-automatic way of distributing mail to a group of people who have made a choice to receive the messages and have the right to send material to others on the list. So far this sounds like a club who enjoy receiving supermarket catalogues in their letterbox and members calling everyone about this week’s specials. Most lists should not be fully automatic but be moderated.

Sometimes, on what are known as moderated lists, the message is stored by the listserver software which then informs the list moderator by email of the arrival and contents of the message and will not resend it to all list members until the moderator replies with an email message that the listserv software accepts as authorising distribution.

Two different kinds of communities may be served by lists. The first kind might be one with plenty of information interchange, such as the movie buffs - they meet regularly, discuss films, tell movie gossip, share anecdotes about what they’ve seen, debate and argue, critique, form friendships and enmities. The second kind of community would be more like a one way street. For example the regular staff meeting with a productivity report, someone might ask if we’re getting a pay rise, but little interchange.

Subscribing to a list may be simplified and presented in a web form. Great, because no-one wants to learn those commands nor fear that a typo will unsubscribe them from the Hollywood A-list.

Newsflash! If it’s a hot list, you may get the option of the reader’s digest form rather than individual messages from every single fan around the world.

Newsflash! Spy on yourself / become a double agent - conceal your membership from the list.

Using a List: Technical points - be wary of exactly who you’re replying to.

Using a List: Social points

Remember the following:

* a list will have conversations already going…don’t join in without reading because your contribution may have already been made
* lists are public conversations: be careful with defamatory remarks and copyright infringements
* lists have rules, each subtly or greatly different to one another.
* membership of lists is a responsibility
* some lists are moderated, meaning that you need approval to subscribe. to post messages etc
* always remember that lists are asynchronous: your message whether new or reply may be read either soon after you post it, or some days later, by many different people with different schedules
* put into the list what you expect to get out of it - if you want information, be prepared to provide some as well