Mailing lists Q

[POP]

Sorry; posted this in the wrong group (.mail) first; I have
cancelled that message and reposted it here. This is a result of
the REMOVE ME thread over in .mail.
---------------

Huh, hadn't thought about mail lists in eons, I think; at least
years. They almost always seem to unleash almost a ddos attack
on one's inbox and many unsuspecting newbies seem to still get
caught in them, no matter how well the descrips warn people about
the possible onslaught of messages. Which brings me to my
question/s:

What purpose and what kind of person would subscribe to a full
blown mailing list? What use could they be?

I've thought about databases; no, way too much crud to pick thru.
A very lonely person? Maybe; if they like to read. To learn?
Suppose that's a possibility. A mailing list could help one cull
out the misfits ahead of time I suppose, and there is a lot of
good information hidden away in the many mails, but ... sheesh, a
couple days/weeks of lurking will do the same thing, and probably
a lot quicker.

Anyone got any responses that might make me feel like I have one
less ignorance-area in my life?

Regards,

Pop

[Mike Easter]

Post by POP
What purpose and what kind of person would subscribe to a full
blown mailing list? What use could they be?

There are many many different kinds of mailing lists and mailing lists
function 'similarly' to web based forums and nntp based newsgroups; so,
the same 'kind of' people who would participate in any electronic
community forum would participate in a mailing list.

It is relatively simple to setup and manage. Each of the methods,
webforum, mailing list, nntp newsgroup - has its own advantages and
disadvantages and very often they completely overlap. Examples are
gmane for overlapping newsgroups, webforum, and mailing lists and grc
for overlapping webforum and nntp news. Googlegroups is another example
of overlapping a web interface and a mailing list.

Some support systems provide the support only in the form of mailing
lists, not nntp or web based.

--
Mike Easter
kibitzer, not SC admin

[jg]

Post by POP
Huh, hadn't thought about mail lists in eons, I think; at least
years. They almost always seem to unleash almost a ddos attack
on one's inbox and many unsuspecting newbies seem to still get
caught in them, no matter how well the descrips warn people about
the possible onslaught of messages.

I don't understand the ddos attack bit. What onslaught of messages are
you referring to?

Which brings me to my

Post by POP
What purpose and what kind of person would subscribe to a full
blown mailing list? What use could they be?

They are very useful for specific topics of interest to you

Post by POP
I've thought about databases; no, way too much crud to pick thru.
A very lonely person? Maybe; if they like to read. To learn?
Suppose that's a possibility.

absolutely

A mailing list could help one cull

Post by POP
out the misfits ahead of time I suppose, and there is a lot of
good information hidden away in the many mails, but ... sheesh, a
couple days/weeks of lurking will do the same thing, and probably
a lot quicker.

You have a point, to a point. But by lurking you have to sift through a
lot of posts to separate the noise..

Post by POP
Anyone got any responses that might make me feel like I have one
less ignorance-area in my life?
Regards,
Pop

[User]

Post by POP
What purpose and what kind of person would subscribe to a full
blown mailing list? What use could they be?

Umm, welll, let's see ... For one, my Wife a retired IRS Collections
Attorney on the West Law Mailing List. Likes to keep up with case
precedents. In her retirement she raises and trains (obedience)
Australian Shepherd dogs. The Aussie mailing list comes in quite handy
and is quite enjoyable keeping up with friends and fellow
breeder/trainers around the globe.

Anything else? I can provide a whole lot more.

[ken]

Post by POP
What purpose and what kind of person would subscribe to a full
blown mailing list? What use could they be?
Anyone got any responses that might make me feel like I have one
less ignorance-area in my life?

I use a 'full-blown' Mailman list as an announce-only (one way) to notify
hundreds of members that a particular Emagazine has published another
issue.

There are hundreds of others that are for industry-specific topics. Some
I subscribe to are related to web design, web publication, data bases.
Many mailing lists have been very active for ten or more years.

Ken

[Mark Geary]

In article <e3oat5$dfk$***@news.spamcop.net>,
POP <***@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:

< A mailing list could help one cull out the misfits ahead of time I
< suppose, and there is a lot of good information hidden away in the
< many mails, but ... sheesh, a couple days/weeks of lurking will do
< the same thing, and probably a lot quicker.

Lurking where? Sometimes a mailing list will have archives of past
messages available on a web or ftp site, but not always. Often the
only way to see the messages posted to the mailing list is to
subscribe.

Mark Geary

[POP]

Post by Mark Geary
< A mailing list could help one cull out the misfits ahead of
time I
< suppose, and there is a lot of good information hidden away
in the
< many mails, but ... sheesh, a couple days/weeks of lurking
will do
< the same thing, and probably a lot quicker.
Lurking where? Sometimes a mailing list will have archives of
past

...

Lurking on a newsgroup, not a list.

Interesting bunch of responses; and reasonable uses, too. Color
me a little surprised but hey, what do I know? <g>

Pop

[Mark Geary]

In article <e3qu9h$m3$***@news.spamcop.net>,
POP <***@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:
<
< "Mark Geary" <***@eris.io.com> wrote in message
< news:e3qt37$v8c$***@news.spamcop.net...
< > In article <e3oat5$dfk$***@news.spamcop.net>,
< > POP <***@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:
< >
< > < A mailing list could help one cull out the misfits ahead of time I
< > < suppose, and there is a lot of good information hidden away in the
< > < many mails, but ... sheesh, a couple days/weeks of lurking will do
< > < the same thing, and probably a lot quicker.
< >
< > Lurking where? Sometimes a mailing list will have archives of
< > past
< ...
<
< Lurking on a newsgroup, not a list.
<
< Interesting bunch of responses; and reasonable uses, too. Color
< me a little surprised but hey, what do I know? <g>

Ah, you were referring specifically to the Spamcop newsgroups as
gatewayed to mailing lists? There I agree. Dicussions on a newsgroup
are easier for me to follow than on a mailing list. However, generally
speaking, many useful mailing lists are not gatewayed to newsgroups
and when they are, the gatewaying is sometimes imperfect. (For
example, the gmane newsgroups, gatewayed from a number of mailing
lists, do funny things when I read them with trn.)

Mark Geary

[G|_|Y |\\/|AC0|\\|]

Post by POP
What purpose and what kind of person would subscribe to a full
blown mailing list? What use could they be?
I've thought about databases; no, way too much crud to pick thru.

You appear to have somehow arrived at the false conclusion that
all mailing lists are high-volume mailing lists.