A good place to look about list creating and other matter is by sending the following to listserv@ndsuvm1 (vm1.nodak.edu) INDEX NEW-LIST and fetch ("GET") the various files principally NEW-LIST CREATE (appended). (thanks Marty Hogg) -- co-owner INFOSYS, TQM-L, CPARK-L, ERAPPA-L, JANITORS, LDBASE-L, et -L [log in to unmask] "The 'NET' never naps" +1 814 863 1843 31 Shields Bldg. -- Penn State Univ -- University Park, PA 16802-1202 USA General Comments on Creating an E-mail List Marty Hoag 05/30/91 The actual techniques or technology used to create a distribution list vary depending on what system you are using. Most unix systems allow you to do this on your system. But I'm not really a unix expert. We use software called LISTSERV on our IBM VM system to automate list maintenance and mail distribution. However, there are a couple of basic steps (mailing lists aren't as well defined as usenet news groups in their creation). 1. Decide on a topic/subject. Check to see if a list already exists. * 2. Pick a name. Check for duplicate names as much as possible. * 3. Pick a host. Usually you can do this yourself, find a nearby site, or find a site you work with to do this. (The host you use may affect the name so you might have to go back to 2... ;-). As a last resort you might send a message to the list [log in to unmask] (or [log in to unmask]) explaining the proposed list and asking for volunteers to host it. But please try your own site first. 4. Set up the list, put in a few entries, and TEST IT! ;-) Depending on the system you may have both a list ID and a -request ID. 5. Once it is ready to go announce the list. If it is an off-shoot of an existing list you may want to announce it there, but avoid wholesale announcements on many lists. DO send an announcement to [log in to unmask] . We feed thousands of people and many of these maintain various well-known "lists of lists". * ** NOTES: * Get the LISTSOF LISTS file from listserv as described. ** Get the NEW-LIST FORMAT file from listserv. To get these files from our listserv send e-mail to [log in to unmask] ([log in to unmask]) with the text or body of the mail containing the command(s): GET LISTSOF LISTS (note the spelling...) GET NEW-LIST FORMAT I hope that helps you get going! Good luck! Marty ----------- Marty Hoag ND Higher Education Computer Network US Mail: NDSU Computer Center Phone: (701)-237-8639 Fax: (701)-237-7464 PO Box 5164 / UCCS Bitnet: nu021172@NDSUVM1 (NOTE 0 = ZERO) Fargo, ND 58105 Internet: [log in to unmask] UUCP: ...!uunet!plains!vm1.nodak.edu!nu021172