[Forward from the Bytes for All list. John.]---------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: FREDERICK NORONHA [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 07 May 2002 12:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Bytesforall] FEATURE: Linking a diverse country -- mailing
lists in India
LINKING A DIVERSE COUNTRY: MAILING LISTS IN INDIA
By Frederick Noronha
[log in to unmask]
They're less glamourous than web-sites, at first glance don't seem as
obviously useful as e-mail, and definitely not as luring as chat. Yet, the
simple but priceless tool of mailing-lists, which comes from an earlier
Internet era, has an important role to play in a vast and diverse country
like India.
This is clearly shown from experiences from the field.
From pointers to locate texts in Sanskrit, to developmental information use
to India, expats chatting and fighting via the Net, news from a range of
sources, and even GNU/Linux techies sharing vital information ... all this
and more is making itself available on India-related mailing lists.
Mailing-lists are indeed a treasure trove of information, and vitally useful
for a country like India. Inexpensive to operate, a well-run list can bring
in immense results. Setting up a list is easy, but keeping it going is
difficult.
Says Jeanu J Mathews, based in the US: "Internet-based mailing lists have
all the standard conveniences that anything based on the Internet has. But
above and beyond that (some like the) SAJA (South Asian Journalists
Association, run by Prof Sreenath Sreenivasan of Columbia University) is an
excellent networking vehicle and the members, though often close-minded in
their outlooks, are very helpful to aspiring journalists such as myself. I
am very greatful for the same."
Mailing-lists are seldom advertised. You probably won't find a directory for
them. But the good ones get noticed fast. These grow in popularity through
word-of-mouth.
Today, there are 'families' of mailing-lists like the Indnet.org network
which offers lists guiding you about emigration law, economic news, plain
discussion, headline-news about India, library science, an employment
bulletin, and even a matrimonial digest. Some have upto 5000+ members.
First the basics. A mailing list -- or discussion list -- comprises a group
of people that read each others emails. Subscribers to a mailing list send
messages to one central email address. A special software program then
distributes this message among dozens or hundreds of the list's subscribers.
This means certain advantages. It's like having a meeting which goes on
forever without tiring you (hopefully). Besides, your meeting allows
everyone to talk whenever convenient to you, without cutting into someone
else's time. You intervene when you please, and at your own convenience.
Most interestingly, once set up, all this cost very little money. (Free
list-hosting sites offer certain services, though these are showing signs of
being curtailed.)
If lists can be so useful, why has India overlooked the potential of the
humble mailing list?
One reason could be that when the Net first opened up in India in mid-1997,
the allpowerful and fashionable web-site was already making waves.
Mailing-lists were in the news internationally perhaps in the early and
mid-nineties. We in India too went along with the 'fad' of the times, rather
than exploring the potential of this appropriate tool. Perhaps it also took
time to understand what mailing lists were all about.
Then too, you need time, perserverence and patience to build up a mailing
list. As one would guess, there's little money in this tool -- though its
potential to build community, share information, link up people and even
mobilise action sometimes is immense.
In the 'nineties, the IndiaLink network of NGOs set up a handful of
interesting lists, like the IL-environment. This linked green campaigners
across the country, from the humble concerned citizens to persons like
union minister Maneka Gandhi and wildlife campaigner from Mumbai Bittu
Sehgal. But lists tend to be unpredictable, and these fell into disuse.
Social campaigners have been quick to realise the potential of software.
Harsh Kapoor based in France runs an interesting mailing list that seeks to
campaign against the increased communal polarisation of a civilization known
as India. Kapoor's SACW is an "informal, independent an non-profit" citizens
wire service run by South Asia Citizens Web (http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex)
since 1996.
In the past couple of years, many across India have realised the potential
of unglamourous mailing lists, if necessary using free list-sites. Like
yahoogroups.com. Search this site, and you could get a few hundred lists
with the word "India" prominently listed in them.
But this is not enough.
Says New York-based UNDP policy analyst Vikas Nath <[log in to unmask]>:
"Somehow South Asia has not picked up on mailing lists inspite of having
good connectivity in comparison to other regions. I guess, the problem is
with find good lead organisations to start mailing lists. Looking at India:
most of the NGOs do not have an effective email/ web strategy. This is even
more striking since we are the ones who could most benefit from the mailing
lists."
"Not many people in South Asia can afford to subscribe more than one or two
good environment or development related publications. But if we were to have
effective mailing lists which for example circulate relevant articles and
postings, then they would prove to be immensely useful," adds Nath. He
explains that in Bangladesh, there are cases of group of doctors and health
professionals making available health related databases or articles
available in the West to email subscribers.
Nath should know. He himself started two mailing lists. One is on
DigitalGovernance at http://www.digitalgovernance.org and has over 1000
subscribers now, around 600 from Asia region. The other, DevNetJobs is run
with the support of other volunteers at http://www.devnetjobs.org (it has
almost 15000 subscribers, with around 8000 from the Indian sub-continent.
Shaji John <[log in to unmask]> shortly celebrates the 'first birthday'
of her friends_of_UP maailing list www.yahoogroups.com/group/friends_of_up.
Says John: "The group is formatted as a knowledge community for social
change in UP and in its short period of existence grown to about 150
members." A sociologist, she worked with several NGOs. Work takes John to
different "hard to reach" areas, from where the mailing list is kept going
via cybercafes in Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Jansi or even Banda.
"It will be too mcuh to assume all your dispatches will be read with great
attention by all... to some it might be even a bit of a nuisance..right?
That said, I must note I do get occasional support mail from some members
whom I know nothing more than their ids and that goes a long way in
sustaining me," says Shaji John.
Says Roger Harris, a close watcher of the ICT-for-development campaign
worldwide: "Part of the trouble is list messages can range from incredibly
useful to iritatingly banal, and what's one to one person may be the other
to another. No way to decide without spoiling things. For India, the big
thing must surely be local languages as soon as possible. Also probably
more local initiatives."
Swati Sani <[log in to unmask]> is one of those who runs a list for the
people of the central Indian city of Nagpur, most of whom are staying
outside the city or the country. It's at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nagpurcity/
"The list was started in July 1999. Since then many people have found their
long lost friends and have used the list for various other purposes ranging
from finding about courses in universities, exchanging recipes to exchanging
view on politics," says Sani.
Some strange things have come out of the list.
An infant girl, concidentally also called Swati, had been adopted from an
orphanage in Nagpur by a Dane family some 16 years ago. As the girl grew up
she wanted to find out more about her biological parents. Through this list
she was able to contact a member who helped her trace her biological mother.
Now, the girl's mother's family and her step-siblings are being helped by
the Dane couple.
It was the night of September 11, 2001. All the telephone lines from NY and
NJ area were down. But internet was working. There are dozens of Nagpurians
living in that area. "We sent a message to our list asking anyone wanting to
contact anyone back in Nagpur to send us a mail with their contact phone
number and the name. We kept checking mail every half an hour and I don't
really remember the number of phone calls we made that night. But yes the
gratitude earned that night was the best reward ever," says Sani.
But this is not about social work alone. It's about allowing people to
communicate, exchange ideas, network and share goals on a scale seldom done
otherwise on a people-to-people basis.
Goa Schools Computers Project, now drawing attention for the way it has been
drawing practical support from expat Goan communities, was first sounded out
via the GoaNet mailing list. Given its high ratio of expats, and differences
in perceptions, there are also other Goa-linked lists like Goa-Goans and
GoanCauses on Yahoogroups.
Carneiro set up GoaNet in August 1994 says: "In September of 1993 I moved
from Nairobi, Kenya, to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to go to university.
Kenya had an established Goan network with two Goan clubs in Nairobi. And,
many of my social activities revolved around these two clubs and the Goan in
the area. However, in the US no such network existed."
Not just isolated, this 18-year-old then didn't even know how to use a
computer. His sister wrangled a job in a university computer lab, so he
could learn more. He picked up a lot, and during work hours would use the
Internet Relay Chat, or IRC. "Missing the Goan network in Kenya, and having
no way of connecting Goan around the Boston area at that stage, I turned to
the Internet," he recalls. The rest, as they say, is history.
GoaNet networked Goans around Boston and New England, which might have
catalysed the formeration of the New England Goans Association. It has
brought literally hundreds of Goans back in touch with their distant home
state, which their ancestors had left two or more generations ago, in some
cases.
Says Carneiro: "The main utility of this list is to network Goans around the
world. Goanet is a medium by which we can get the latest news from Goan,
discuss issues pertinent to the region or to Goans, hear about social events
organized around the world and much more. It is a place where we can post
obituraries or report notable achievements. The main thing is that it brings
Goans around the world that much closer to each other."
"I am most satisfied when I see the community taking full advantage of the
list's potential. Whether it be through having good debates, or finding a
long lost friend, so long as the list is lively and being used I love it,"
he adds. "I get lots of satisfaction when someone writes to me to tell me
that they have found an old friend on Goanet. I love those personal emails."
Bangalore-based Udhay Shankar N <[log in to unmask]> describes some of the
mailing lists he has been part of. These give an idea of the potential of
mailing-lists. For instance: cooking-pot ("private list of Indian techies,
membership by invite only"), Linux-India-General ("fairly noisy nowadays,
but still has nostalgia value since I helped set up"), Cybercom and
InteractInn-L ("list-owner Vani Murarka was one of my correspondents before
she founded the list"). Given his techie-orientation Udhay is also a
moderator at India-GII, and is on claw-in, exchinnet, and free-india (see
details in the box alongside).
After a recent workshop in Chennai on 'Knowledge Sharing for International
Development', a mailing list was set up for the purpose. Similar lists were
set up after workshops on spreading literacy (held in Ahmedabad) and to
campaign for the legalisation of community radio (held in Hyderabad). The
campaign for legalising community radio in India has got added momentum
thanks to continued and sustained interactions via the list, along after the
workshop ended.
Today, India can boast of lists set up for even the stray village.
(SaligaoNet, run from Goa, has a membership of around 120+, mostly
expat-based, from this village close to the North Goa coast. It has kept
busy in raising funds to encourage the magazine-reading habit locally, build
awareness about pollution problems and water depletion in the area.)
Other lists are set up by alumni of various institutions, and GNU/Linux
clubs spread across India. Journalists, naturally, being in the
communication business, have naturally set up a number of lists. There's
e-journo, NMW list for women journos, India-EJ and ThirdWorld-EJ for
environmental journalists both run out of India, Indian Online Media Forum
at Yahoogroups, besides others.
Some of the INDNET lists, also set up by NRIs ages ago -- in the late
eighties -- are extemely well run.
The India Network Foundation is a non-profit organization founded to "serve
the Asian Indian community around the world, and researchers and scholars
interested in learning about India." Started as the first internet resource
for India related news and events in 1988, the INF calls itself "the first
and foremost resource on India and India related issues."
Today, it's a nonprofit, charitable, educational and community organization
founded by Dr. K.V. Rao "to serve the Asian Indian Community around the
world and to help developmental projects in India." Its lists include
digests ranging from news to matrimonial, and specialized forums such
Immigration Law Forum. Membership in the India Network is "open to anyone
interested in India and India related information". All for free!
J Kappil runs the NRI News group ([log in to unmask])
There lists are also giving Indians a chance to see another reality, beyond
the media-depicted situation. pray4peace at Yahoogroups is run by the Peace
Revival Association of Youth based in Pakistan. "This email list seeks to
promote the Peace Awareness Program through interactive learning and
establishing a network of peace loving people all over the globe and
particularly in our area of action -- i.e. Central and South Asian
countries," say its promoters.
Says Eustaquio Santimano <[log in to unmask]>, a Goan based in Denmark: "A bit of
how it all got started .... Over the years, having made contact (via the
Net) with many of our school buddies from Don Bosco Panjim, we decided in
September 1999 to create a Bosco_Net mailing list. After a little persuasion
from well-wishers we opened our forum to help link-up Don Bosco students
from all over the world." Today they have members from Bosco schools from
India, Philippines, USA and even Egypt.
Today, this links alumni from institutions in Matunga, Lonavala, Goa, and
even a school or two in Latin America. "Presently we have around 330 members
from all over the world. Out of which 215 are registered with the mailing
list at http://www.goacom.com/bosco_net," Santimano said.
GII, run out of Delhi, calls itself a list meant to discuss "India's bumpy
progress on the global infohighway". Some discussions focus on the status of
telecom in India, how it compares to other countries, regulatory issues
(pricing, monopolies, privatising, structuring), need for changes to Indian
laws, law on the right to privacy or freedom of expression in cyberspace,
and implications of new technologies for India telecom. It also looks at
matters pertaining to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
Lists also help collaboration across international boundaries, beyond South
Asia.
Recently-launched Solaris is run out of Delhi's sarai.net. But discussions
tend to be led by international participants keen to understand "critical
issues of the Internet and development". This list is a new electronic
mailinglist on IT and "Development" related issues in the "non-Western
world".
Says this list, in a bluntly critical voice: "Information technology hasn't
solved world poverty. It arguably has contributed even further to the
growing income inequality on both a global and national scale while the all
too easy rhetoric of UN initiatives, and DotForce and other Digital Divide
programs appear to be recycling outdated neo-liberal dotcom models."
For some reason, mailing lists focussing on developmental issues and people
by those struggling to make their point -- whether it is education,
literacy, community radio, the environment, women in journalism -- seem to
be more effective in taking off. Perhaps this is because of the creative
energy flowing out of such groups.
For instance Pragati -- which means "progress" in Sanskrit -- is a
newsletter from Jiva's education department, a voluntary network run from
the outskirts of Delhi. It provides updates on educational trends, IT in
Education, useful learning resources, methods to enhance teaching, the
development of ICOT (India's Curriculum of Tomorrow), and other teachers.
"It is meant for teachers, principals, educators, parents, administrators,
policy makers, and anyone concerned about the state of education in India
and internationally," says Steve Rudolf, the young American keen about
giving a boost to such IT-fuelled education ventures in India.
GNU/Linux is another network which is active via mailinglists. Earlier, the
LIG (Linux India General) mailing list used to go into overdrive each
evening, India time, as tired young programmers took to the keyboards to
speak on a subject that sparked off passion in them. The GNU/Linux network
also has its complimentary LIH and LIP ('help' and 'programmers') lists,
while regional GNU/Linux groups have at least two dozen mailing-lists on
Yahoogroups alone. Of these some are very active, others tend to be slack
and non-functional.
The South Asian Journalists Association, based among expats working in the
US, has its own discussion lists network at www.saja.org/lists Many have
good words to say about the efficacy of this set of mailing-lists.
One of the most interesting mailing lists on IT in South Asia is run by
Irfan Khan in Karachi <[log in to unmask]>. Four years old now, the list
was started jointly by Khan who is in his early 'thirties and Sean Kline.
"(In 1997-8) the Internet was taking South Asia by storm, and both of us
were interested in its application to equitable social and economic
development. Both were already subscribed to AFRIK-IT and we used it as a
model for our list," says Khan. It now has 250 subscribers, including in
India.
It's hosted by APNIC [http://www.apnic.net/ ] free of charge as a public
service. "From the feedback, I gather that it is considered highly useful as
an information 'clearing and forwarding' mechanism," says Khan. It is
strictly not-for-profit, and it takes an average of an hour a day to keep
the list going.
On his own list, Khan would like to see ways of improving the "weak areas"
of discussion and feedback. Says he: "Around 10 percent of our subscribers
are active in one way or the another. This should change to active
participation of a greater number of subscribers. Somehow or the other,
s-asia-it has not become a *discussion* list as we wanted it to be. It is
more of a news and information list -- which is okay in its own."
Women are not completely out in the cold either.
SAWNET is a mailing list by and for South Asian women's issues. Susan Chacko
<[log in to unmask]> was involved in starting it about 10 years ago,
and "it's generally thriving", says she.
It has about 800 subscribers who are all over the world (including South
Asia) but mostly in the US/Europe. Most of the subscribers are ethnically
from the subcontinent, but there are some who are from other parts of the
world as well and are simply interested in South Asia or women's issues.
"The most unusual feature of the list is that it's limited to women. This
was decided by a vote of the membership when it started, and has been
ratified a few times by subsequent votes," says she.
The obvious strength is that people who might not otherwise get in contact
have made connections through the list. "I've made several friends who are
interested in the same issues as I am. The weakness is that only women with
email access can subscribe. Ten years ago, this was typically a grad student
in a computer-science department, or a faculty member in a US university.
Things have changed a lot, but still, there are a lot of women without
email, so there's still a limited group who can access Sawnet," adds Susan
Chacko.
Says B.M.Bharadwaja: "On the cultural/nationalistic side; I know of one
quite popular (as far as number of members and posts) called "Indian
Civilization" has large number of posts daily and quite insightful
discussions relating to ancient and modern india and Hindu culture. One more
called "Roots" which is more specific to contributions of ancient India to
the world and re-discovering our roots".
The Interact Inn All India Mailing List has been an interesting place, meant
to allow Indians talk to each other, despite the barriers of distance. It
was launched by Bangalore-based (earlier in Kolkata) Vani Murarka.
Says Ms Murarka: "(This list aims) to make the Internet a more useful medium
for people _in_ India." The emphasis is on people "in" India, rather than
Indians abroad, probably because NRIs have had it easier in taking to the
Net in a big way from an early stage.
In the case of India, till the late 'nineties, it was difficult to get
access to the Net. Abroad, expat communities of South Asian origin --
specially university students in the US -- were encouraged to set up mailing
lists on a range of issues. That was why GoaNet was set up in 1995 by then
18-year-old Herman Carneiro, to grow into a network that encompasses a
number of related lists and today has an estimated 4000 readers. Not a bad
figure for India's smallest state!
This encouraged many other Goa-linked experimental lists to be set up. Some
from this western coastal Indian state have taken root quite well. GoaCom
(www.goacom.com), a local web based firm, hosts nearly two dozen mailing
lists. Many are run on not-for-profit lines. Though some are still to be
activated adquately, others are quite active.
Lists have widely varying tones. Moderators of the fairly active 'Sliklist'
say it's "a place to have knowledgable, civil and most of all, fun
conversations about technology, philosophy, culture and whatever else we
want to talk about. We have only two rules: no ad hominem (personal
attacks), and no spam."
Some lists are tame, others are boisterous -- wild might be a better word.
Lists also tend to promptly get inactive. Others drag on, some face
monotonous infighting. But lists can also be useful and a surprisingly
convenient, and shockingly inexpensive way of sharing information across a
country the size and diversity of India.
To cope with the defeaning silence that can kill many new lists, two
strategies usually work. Firstly, you need a 'critical mass' in terms of
your number of members, before a list gets activated with life of its own.
Secondly, every list badly needs a committed core group that will nurture
and promote it, specially in its early stages... till the 'critical mass' of
membership is generated.
Software of a wide range has been used to run mailing lists. Earlier,
Majordomo used to be popular. This was built at a time when Net access was
limited, and it allowed users to 'work' mailing-lists almost wholly by
e-mail. Along the way, Listserv and other software became popular. So much
so that at one time 'mailing lists' became synonymous with the term
'listserv'. Today, GNU/Linux products like Mailman -- that are part of the
Free Software campaign, offering freedom both to developers and in terms of
affordable prices, are proliferating on a number of India-run mailing-lists.
Lists can be either moderated or unmoderated. Moderation improves the
quality of the postings allowed through, but somehow reduces the spontaneity
of the debate. Some lists are announcement-only lists, not allowing for
discussions by members.
Silk-List, a place for "knowledgable, civil and fun conversations about
technology, philosophy, culture and whatever else we want to talk about"
says it has only two rules: no ad hominem (personal attacks), and no spam.
With their range and diversity, mailing lists promise to link a vast and
diverse country in an inexpensive and effective manner. But do we have the
patience to build them up, utilise them towards a positive goal, and also
tackle challenges like the need for building suitable content, offering
wider accessibility within the nation, and also importantly offering
non-English language solutions so that the millions can talk to one
another?
**********************************************************************
SEPARATE BOX: Links to some lists...
**********************************************************************
Silklist. For knowledgeable and fun conversations about technology,
philosophy, culture... http://lists.vipul.net/mailman/listinfo/silklist
FSF-India. Free Software Foundation, India.
http://cc4.tifr.res.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-india
NWM: Women in Media mailing list
http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/NWM_Mumbai
pray4peace: Peace Revival Association of Youth based in Pakistan.
[log in to unmask]
SAJA E-mail Discussion List. South Asian Journalists Association.
http://www.saja.org/lists
india-gii
https://ssl.cpsr.org/mailman/listinfo/india-gii
S-Asia-IT: Discussing IT developments in South Asia
SAWNET: For South Asian women's issues.
http://www.sawnet.org/about.html
Sasialit: The South Asian Literature list.
http://is.rice.edu/~riddle/play/sasialit/
BYTESFORALL-READERS: For discussions on BytesForAll issues.
[log in to unmask]
INDIANFOOTBALL: The Indian Football Fans Cyber Club
http://www.indianfootball.8m.com/nfl2000/mailinglist.htm
The Interact Inn All India Mailing List!
Website: http://www.manaskriti.com/InteractInn/
Cyberlaw-india 7 e-commerce, media, Internet law in India
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cyberlaw-india/
Organic Indian. Organic farming and promoting organic products.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organic_indian
Solaris. IT and 'development' related issues for the non-Western world.
http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/solaris
Pragati. Jiva's updates on educational trends, useful learning resources
http://www.topica.com/lists/pragati
NRI E-Group. For all Indian origin people overseas/India.
[log in to unmask]
BoscoNet: For alumni of Don Bosco institutions in India, elsewhere
http://www.goacom.com/bosco_net
Exchinnet 7 India Internet Exchange
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/exchinnet/
free-india 7 Forum For Right to Electronic Expression
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/free-india/
Indology
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucgadkw/indology.html
South Asia Citizens' Web: Independent update on South Asia
To subscribe: [log in to unmask]
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex
Online Journalists
[log in to unmask]
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/Indian_Online_Media_Forum
NRI news
[log in to unmask]
Contact the moderator: J.Kappil <[log in to unmask]>
Sarai reader-list (Delhi): Discussion list on media and the city.
http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/
CRindia : Campaign to legalise community radio in India
http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/
Indialists.org: Check links to a range of lists.
http://www.indialists.org
GoaNet * Linking Goans across the globe
http://www.goacom.com/goanet
IndDiaspora
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/inddiaspora
IndiaEntrepreneurs
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/indiaentrepreneurs
StartupAvenues
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/startupavenues
The Norwegian Forum for South Asia (NoFSA).
http://www.nofsa.uio.no
GII -- India's bumpy progress on the global infohighway
https://ssl.cpsr.org/mailman/listinfo/india-gii
The SASIALIT mailing list:
http://is.rice.edu/~riddle/play/sasialit/
INDOLOGY http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucgadkw/indology.html
BSD India! Computing issues related to BSD
http://www.sharma-home.net/mailman/listinfo/bsd-india
Onlinejournalists_of_India group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Onlinejournalists_of_India
Pragati, periodic educational newsletter
[log in to unmask]
S-Asia-IT * IT issues in South Asia
http://www.apnic.net/wilma- bin/wilma/s-asia-it
Pakistan Linux Users Club
http://www.linuxpakistan.net/mailman/listinfo/pluc_linux.com.pk
Indianfootball.com * Indian football
[log in to unmask]
FSF-India Free Software Foundation-India
http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/options/fsf-india/
Gujarat Development
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GUJARATDEVELOPMENT
[log in to unmask]
Vyakaran -- a listserv on Grammars of South Asia.
Contact: Tej K. Bhatia Professor Linguistics & Cognitive Sciences Syracuse
University [log in to unmask]
silk-list
http://www.arachnis.com/silk-list/
cypherpunks-india
http://lists.vipul.net/mailman/listinfo/cpunks-india
FreeThought
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freethought
http://www.indianfootball.8m.com/nfl2000/mailinglist.htm
LINK: LIST... The Indian Football Fans Cyber Club Mailing List
**********************************************************************
Please draw any errors in URLs above to my attention. FN
**********************************************************************
SEPARATE BOX PLEASE:
Where to find a mailing list:
Liszt at http://www.liszt.com
Search by list's names or descriptions, words in messages of archives.
Topica http://www.topica.com
Searchable database plus free mail-list hosting service.~
Tile.net http://tile.net/lists/
Includes alphabetical listing of lists, and domain where list is hosted
PAML (Publically Accessible Mailing Lists)
http://www.neosoft.com/internet/paml/ Maintained by Stephanie da Silva.
Prodigy has an index to its lists at
http://www.goodstuff.prodigy.com/Mailing_Lists/index.html.
ForumOne has a site that lets you search for Web-based bulletin boards (not
mailing lists) at http://www.forumone.com/.
Many other lists are hosted at websites scattered across the globe. It's
difficult to keep track of which interesting lists open up, and when they
shut down. You might have to go by word-of-mouth and check with those who
share your interests.
Yahoogroups (earlier eGroups), OneList, ListBot, Cool List, and other free
list-hosting sites let you search among the lists hosted at that site. For
some reason, Yahoogroups has become popular among Indians wanting to create
'free' (or adware-sponsored) mailing lists.
Others offering hosting services also offer mailing-lists. Mark Symonds
<[log in to unmask]> is popular among the GNU/Linux network in India, and
offers free to affordably-priced list hosting. Manaskriti's Vani Murarka
<[log in to unmask]> also offers list-hosting services.
NOTE: An edited version of this appeared in www.expresscomputeronline.com
--
Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa * India 832.409490 / 409783
BYTESFORALL www.bytesforall.org * GNU-LINUX http://linuxinindia.pitas.com
Email [log in to unmask] * SMS [log in to unmask] * Saligao Goa India
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