Using Emailing lists and Newsgroups Tony Brett Oxford

Using E-mailing lists and Newsgroups Tony Brett Oxford University Computing Services February 2004 Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

Agenda • E-mail lists – How to set up – How to use – Subscribing – Moderating • Newsgroups (Usenet) – How to set up newsreader • Comparison of Newsgroups and Maillists • Netiquette • Conclusion Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

E-mailing lists Oxford University uses EZMLM (easy mailing list manager) Other Products: Majordomo, mailman OUCS-written web interface to EZMLM https: //maillist. ox. ac. uk Distributed Subscription - based Designated receivers of messages Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

How to Set up E-mail lists • • • Request to list-request@maillist. ox. ac. uk List gets created Login to https: //maillist. ox. ac. uk Use your herald username and password Full details and instructions at: http: //www. oucs. ox. ac. uk/email/maillists/ezmlm/owners. xml • Moderate vs. non-moderate • Subscriber posting vs. open posting • Open or Closed Subscription? Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

How to Use Oxford E-mail lists (1) • Send mail to listname@servername might be oucs-courses@maillist. ox. ac. uk • Message goes to all subscribed people • Everything controlled by the address you send to. E-mail subject and content are irrelevant. • Listname-subscribe@maillist. ox. ac. uk • Listname-unsubscribe@maillist. ox. ac. uk http: //www. oucs. ox. ac. uk/email/maillists/ezmlm/users. xml Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

How to Use Oxford E-mail lists (2) • Moderation requires a reply message • Can have many moderators. • Postings from Moderators must be selfmoderated. • Postings from others can be moderated by any moderator. Decision of first is final! • Security relies on ability to RECEIVE mail, not send it. Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

Newsgroups • • • Dates from 1986 – RFC 977 Sometimes called Usenet NNTP Acronymns: BTW, AFAIK, IMHO etc. Emoticons : -) : -( ; -) FAQs – Read them! Thousands of groups & servers worldwide News. ox. ac. uk Spam, Troll, Flame Google groups etc. brings it to the web Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

How to set up newsgroups • In Oxford E-mail newsmaster@oucs. ox. ac. uk • http: //www. oucs. ox. ac. uk/netnews/ • ox. clubs. *, ox. colleges. *, ox. [dept] • Accessible only in Oxford Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

How to set up a newsreader • Many available – Outlook Express, Netscape Collabra, PINE, TRN, RN. • Available for all Operating Systems • Use your ISPs news server for example: news. ox. ac. uk, news. ntlworld. com, news. tiscali. co. uk and so on • Can read through the web using google groups or similar Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

Outlook using Oxford’s News (1) Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

Configuring a news account Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

Getting the Newsgroups This can be slow on dial-up! Enter a search term or browse and doubleclick the ones you want. Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

Reading Articles Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

News vs. Maillist NEWS EMAIL LIST • Wider audience. • No management effort. • Messages can be kept indefinitely. • Only one copy of each message. • Can read newsgroup messages when you wish. • Subscription to a newsgroup is easy • Not Private • Less urgent – read news less often than E-mail • New software might need to be learned • Can be set up to be private • Addresses on a list are not restricted to Oxford • Easier to send urgent messages • Existing, familiar mail software can be used. • High-volume of email can prove intrusive. • The method of subscribing to an email distribution list can be tricky • "list maintainer" required • Each message replicated many times - inefficient. • Storage at the discretion of each member of the list. Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

Netiquette • Use the Subject: field • Don’t auto-reply to mailing lists! (Herald does this automatically) • Don’t have an argument on a mailing list • Write carefully if you feel strongly about something. Use emoticons to convey sense of what you’re saying • Keep messages brief • Don’t flame, spam or troll • Don’t quote others without acknowledgement • Be Legal, Decent, Honest & Truthful http: //www. oucs. ox. ac. uk/email/netiquette/ Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004

Conclusions • • • Maillist and News both have their uses Never a definitive correct solution Use requires care and planning Both can save time, paper and frustration High volume E-mail lists sometimes move to newsgroups • Enjoy! Tony Brett OUCS Course Code ZAA 2 February 2004