How do you join a listserv?
Basic Steps
- Find a listserv
- Subscribe to the listserv
- Receive the first message from the listserv
- Read the messages you get
- Contribute to the listserv
Basic Steps Expanded
- Find a listserv
- You'll need the e-mail address for the listserv
- You'll also need the required message to be sent to the listserv
- Subscribe to the listserv
- Send an e-mail message to the listserv
- Include the required message
- Leave the Subject field blank
- Delete any signature file
- Receive the first message from the listserv
- This message will acknowledge your membership
- It will also include information on how to unsubscribe
- Note that the administrative address is what you use to correspond with the manager of the listserv
- Note that the distribution address is where you send e-mail to be posted to all the members of the listserv
- Be sure to keep this message
- Read the messages you get
- You may get several messages a week
- Lurk for awhile . . . read the messages only, do not respond
- Observe and learn the netiquette of the listserv
- Contribute to the listserv
- Be sure to send messages to the distribution list
Example
Assume your name is Sharon Egler and you want to join a listserv on recycling. Also assume that the name of the
listerv is "Recycle." (Note that some listserv names are quite strange such as CSRNOT-L, the Center for the Study of Reading.)
You would go into your mail program and send the following message:
To: listserv@umab.umd.edu
Subject: (leave blank)
Body of the message:
Subscribe Recyle Sharon Egler
Note that you should have nothing else in your message . . . delete any signature file.
