There are organized mailing lists on almost any topic. You can join one of these e-mail conferences by merely sending a message to the organizer. Warning! you may get a flood of e-mail, so select your list carefully and cancel when you are no longer interested.

First select a list

You can search a list of descriptions and addresses at

or

There are two types: moderated (where a person or committee selects which messages will be posted to the group) and unmoderated (where the computer sends all messages out to the group, regardless of content).

Some groups also sort messages by content (threads), so you can read only those messages that interest you.

• If your e-mail program doesn't subscribe you automatically, you'll need to print out and save the directions to subscribe and (most important) to unsubscribe. Listserv is the program which manages the subscription to mailing lists.
• Note that there are always two addresses--one to subscribe or unsubscribe (the address with serv in it), and one to address messages to the group--usually the name of the group@its address. Don't confuse the two. Because computers dumbly process your e-mail message, it's equally useless to tell the whole group of subscribers to unsubscribe you as it is to give your remarks on an important topic to the computer that is composing the subscription list.

Submit a request to subscribe by sending an e-mail message according to the directions: Usually, you leave the subject line blank. In the body, you give your real name and e-mail address and add the line "subscribe"

• If you can, specify a summary or digest form. (The directions will tell you if that is possible. Often you specify that after you are a subscriber.) The digest form means that you'll get summaries of the messages--an advantage when there are many responses each day, as there sometimes are
• When you're finished with your project, be sure to unsubscribe, sending the appropriate message as given in the initial directions--usually the same message as your first one with the substitution of the word "unsubscribe" for the word "subscribe," sent to the subscription address