USC GEOG LISTSERV

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IMPORTANT: Subscribing to the USC-GEOG LISTSERV will not work with a personal email address (i.e., john@netscape.net). You need to use your student/faculty university email address (i.e., john@sc.edu) to subscribe to the listserv. Its up to you if you want to forward your student/faculty mail to your personal address. You may want to bookmark this page for future reference, especially if you are not familiar with LISTSERV.

To SUBSCRIBE to the USC-GEOG LISTSERV, email the following text message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.SC.EDU

SUBSCRIBE USC-GEOG
This message should not be put in the Subject line, but in the main text window.

To UNSUBSCRIBE from the USC-GEOG LISTSERV, email the following text message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.SC.EDU

SIGNOFF USC-GEOG

To SEND a message to all the people currently subscribed to the list, just send mail to USC-GEOG@LISTSERV.SC.EDU

This is called "sending mail to the list", because you send mail to a single address and LISTSERV makes copies for all the people who have subscribed. This address (USC-GEOG@LISTSERV.SC.EDU) is also called the "list address".

You must never try to send any command to the list address (USC–GEOG@LISTSERV.SC.EDU), as it would be distributed to all the people who have subscribed. All commands must be sent to the "LISTSERV address", LISTSERV@LISTSERV.SC.EDU. It is very important to understand the difference between the two, but fortunately it is not complicated. The LISTSERV address is like a FAX number, and the list address is like a normal phone line. If you make your FAX call someone's regular phone number by mistake, it will be an unpleasant experience for him but you will probably be excused the first time. If you do it regularly, however, he will probably get upset and send you a nasty complaint. It is the same with mailing lists, with the difference that you are calling hundreds or thousands of people at the same time, so a lot more people get annoyed if you use the wrong number.

You can also tell LISTSERV how you want it to confirm the receipt of messages you send to the list. If you do not trust the system, send a "SET USC-GEOG REPRO" command and LISTSERV will send you a copy of your own messages, so that you can see that the message was distributed and did not get damaged on the way. After a while you may find that this is getting annoying, especially if your mail program does not tell you that the message is from you when it informs you that new mail has arrived from USC-GEOG. If you send a "SET USC-GEOG ACK NOREPRO" command, LISTSERV will mail you a short acknowledgement instead, which will look different in your mailbox directory. With most mail programs you will know immediately that this is an acknowledgement you can read later. Finally, you can turn off acknowledgements completely with "SET USC-GEOG NOACK NOREPRO".

Contributions sent to this list are automatically archived. You can get a list of the available archive files by sending an "INDEX USC-GEOG" command to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.SC.EDU. You can then order these files with a "GET USC-GEOG LOGxxxx" command, or using LISTSERV's database search facilities. Send an "INFO DATABASE" command for more information on the latter.

Please note that it is presently possible for anybody to determine that you are signed up to the list through the use of the "REVIEW USC-GEOG" command, which returns the e-mail address and name of all the subscribers. If you do not want your name to be visible, just issue a "SET USC-GEOG CONCEAL" command.

More information on LISTSERV commands can be found in the LISTSERV reference card, which you can retrieve by sending an "INFO REFCARD" command to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.SC.EDU.

Network Etiquette

In the tradition of list owners everywhere, USC is posting a list of recommendations for good manners when participating in lists. In the tradition of the Internet, we have appropriated other's hard work for this list. Credit goes to Peter Milbury and Mike Eisenberg, co-owners of the LM-NET listserv for School Library Media Specialists and to Jennifer Chandler, University of South Carolina College of Library and Information Science.

When sending messages to LISTSERV, please keep the following suggestions in mind. They will help keep the group user-friendly for everyone. Please include a subject line in each posting (it's a good idea for all e-mail).

Keep each line in your message shorter than 70 characters. Longer lines can cause problems with some e-mail systems.

Do not include lines consisting only of "=" signs, since they too cause some systems problems except for the one that most mail programs generate after your header and before your message.

When replying to another message, try to refrain from quoting entire messages. Paraphrasing or quoting selectively are both kinder to people's eyes and e-mail boxes.

At the end of your message, include your name and your electronic mail address (this is your electronic "signature"). Because it can be difficult to interpret e-mail addresses, you are encouraged to include your institutional affiliation.

Long signatures are discouraged. They may be humorous the first time, but get old quickly (and take up valuable net bandwidth and computer space). Some folks tire of the time spent having to skim over them. 2-4 lines should be sufficient to include any necessary information. Remember most lists are not forums for social comment.

Be extremely careful when replying to the author of a list message. The USC e-mail systems will send your reply to the entire list if you simply use a reply command. If you really want to send to the entire list do so.

Think before you post. Do I really want to say this to the world (list)? Reread what you wrote. Did you really say what you intended to? Once a message is sent, it can't be retrieved.

Flames: a "flame" is an emotionally charged posting, and is often directed at someone. Be sure you really want to post it, and remember than some lists don't tolerate flames.

To signal humorous intent, use some sort of "smiley", such as :-). Facetiousness and sarcasm can be misunderstood easily in electronic communication.

Replies to requests for information. Some large lists have a policy of sending information privately to the requester. The requester then summarizes to the list. This can cut down on traffic, but it tends to reduce the "give and take" that some lists value.

Please be considerate of others. Through inexperience or limited local software, list members may inadvertently violate the above suggestions. A private message to the offender from an experienced friend or from the list owners is more appropriate than a public flame.

Please participate! Your ideas are important. Just because you think everyone knows something doesn't mean they do. If you're not sure, send the posting to an experienced friend on the list (or the list owner) to see if the information may be valuable.

This list has its own character, just like any "real" grouping of people (such as a party, or a meeting). The list functions best when people respect the character of the list. It's also good to respect the differences among list members and have a certain tolerance for our individual eccentricities.

DON'T SHOUT—unless you really mean it. The use of all uppercase letters is considered shouting, and therefore rude. Part of the problem with all caps is that it is harder to read than mixed case. The other problem is that since facial expression and tone of voice are missing from electronic communication, some way to express strong opinions (both positive and negative) is needed, so ALL CAPS has been designated.

Some common abbreviations found in mail notices are: FWIW => for what it's worth; GOK => God only knows; HHOK => Ha, ha - only kidding; HHOS => Ha, ha - only serious; IMHO => In my humble opinion; LOL => laughing out loud; OTOH => on the other hand.