Mass Communication on the Internet

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Mass Communication on the Internet
Tutorial 7

• Using Mailing Lists, Newsgroups,
• and Newsfeeds

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Objectives

• Learn about different types of mailing lists.
• Locate mailing lists on the Web.
• Join and leave a mailing list.
• Learn how to post messages to a mailing list.
• Retrieve and read a mailing lists archived files.

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Objectives

• Learn about Usenet newsgroups.
• Configure a news account using an e-mail program.
• Subscribe and unsubscribe to a newsgroup.
• Learn how to reply to and post articles to Usenet
  newsgroups.

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Objectives

• Learn about Really Simple Syndication (RSS).
• Search for newsfeeds on specific topics.
• Search for aggregators.
• Learn about podcasting.
• Explore different sources of podcasts.
• Search a podcast for specific content.

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What Is a Mailing List?

• A popular way of sharing information is to join,
  or subscribe to, a mailing list.
• A mailing list is a list of names and e-mail
  addresses for a group of people who share a
  common interest in a subject or topic and
  exchange information by subscribing to the list.
• Discussion groups are another name for the groups
  represented in a mailing list.

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What Is a Mailing List?

• You send your information and opinions to a
  mailing list by posting (or sending) an e-mail
  message to the list.
• When you post a message to a mailing list, the
  e-mail list software running on the server
  automatically forwards your message to every
  e-mail address on the mailing list.
• The server that runs the e-mail list software is
  sometimes called a list server because it runs
  the list.

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What Is a Mailing List?

• Mailing list messages e-mail messages that
  express ideas or ask questions that each member
  of the mailing list receives.
• Commands messages that request the list server
  to take a prescribed action.
• List address (list name) the address to which
  you send messages and replies.
• Administrative address the e-mail address to
  which you send commands, such as the address that
  you use to subscribe to a list.

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Information Flow in a Mailing List
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Common Mailing List Commands
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Moderated and Unmoderated Lists

• List moderator person who moderates a mailing
  list to ensure that the list always receives and
  sends appropriate and relevant information to its
  members.
• Moderated list a mailing list for which a list
  moderator is responsible for discarding any
  messages that are inappropriate for or irrelevant
  to the lists members.
• Unmoderated list a mailing list for which no one
  moderates the list and postings are sent to list
  members automatically.

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Moderated and Unmoderated Lists

• Closed list
• a mailing list in which membership is not
  automatic.
• the list administrator, a person assigned to
  oversee one or more mailing lists, can either
  reject or accept your request to become a member.
• the list administrator might reject your
  membership request if the list has too many
  members or if you are not part of the groups
  specified community.
• Most lists are open lists that automatically
  accept all members, in which case the list has no
  administrator.

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Warnings About Mailing Lists

• You might receive many e-mail messages every day
  from the list server. If you subscribe to several
  mailing lists, you might find that the mail
  volume is more than you can read.
• New list members sometimes repeat questions and
  comments that have been previously posted in the
  mailing list. You should lurk when you first join
  a mailing list.
• You expose yourself to potential privacy problems
  because the message you send contains your name
  and e-mail address.

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Warnings About Mailing Lists

• Consider deleting your signature from e-mail
  messages you post to the mailing list and using a
  free e-mail account address for your
  subscriptions.
• Many unmoderated mailing lists receive postings
  from people who discuss topics outside the scope
  of the list or post spam messages that contain
  advertisements for unrelated products and
  services.

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Searching for Existing Mailing Lists

• The Internet provides access to thousands of
  mailing lists on many different topics.
• You can use your Web browser to search sites of
  mailing lists based on keywords or categories
  that you provide.
• There are several lists of lists sites that you
  can visit to start your search.
• Topica is a Web site that identifies and hosts
  mailing lists by category and name.

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Searching for Existing Mailing Lists
Topica home page
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Searching forExisting Mailing Lists

• Different mailing-list sites store information
  about different lists.
• You can also find information about mailing lists
  by using an Internet search engine.
• When a mailing list includes a link to a Web
  site, it is a good idea to visit the sponsors
  Web site to learn more about the kind of
  information it will provide.

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Searching for Existing Mailing Lists
Yahoo! search results for Alzheimers mailing
list
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Subscribing to a Mailing List

• There are two ways to subscribe to a mailing
  list
• Send an e-mail message to the list server with a
  request to join the lists membership.
• Visit the mailing list sponsors Web site and use
  a form to enter your name and e-mail address.

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Subscribing to a Mailing List

• If you subscribe to a closed list, the lists
  administrator must approve your membership.
• If you subscribe to an open list, your acceptance
  is automatic as long as you have formatted the
  request properly.
• Some mailing lists provide an option for
  receiving message digests, in which several
  postings are grouped into a single e-mail message
  to help reduce the number of messages you receive
  from the list.
• Some lists let you temporarily stop receiving
  messages and resume service at a later date
  (during vacations, etc.).

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Subscribing to a Mailing List

• The clerical functions of a list server are
  automated and they respond to requests in
  preprogrammed ways.
• When you subscribe to a mailing list, the list
  server confirms the e-mail address you typed with
  the header that is included with your e-mail
  message.
• Some list servers also request your first and
  last names in the subscribe command so they can
  add your name to the membership log.

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Subscribing to a Mailing List

• When you subscribe to a mailing list, be sure to
  check the documentation you find and follow the
  instructions carefully.
• If you submit an incorrect subscription request,
  the list server returns a message with
  information about why it could not process it.
• On high-volume lists, the list server might send
  you a confirmation message that you must return
  so it can confirm your e-mail address before you
  are officially added to the list.

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Subscribing to a Mailing List

• You will receive a message confirming your
  membership in the list once the list server has
  accepted and processed your subscription request.
• You should keep the confirmation message in a
  safe place because it contains valuable
  information about how to leave the mailing list,
  special features of the list, and other list
  details.

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Posting a Message toa Mailing List

• People interact with mailing lists by posting
  messages.
• When you post a message, the list server receives
  the message, sends it to the list moderator for
  approval (if necessary), and then forwards the
  message to every e-mail address on the mailing
  list.
• Messages that you post should be consistent with
  the list members interests.

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Posting a Message toa Mailing List

• Create a new message in your e-mail program.
• Type the list address in the To field.
• If necessary, type Cc and Bcc address and a
  subject.
• Type your message in the message area. Make sure
  that your message is consistent with the lists
  guidelines for submitting messages and that your
  question or comment is relevant.
• Send the message.

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Reading a Mailing ListsArchived Files

• Many list servers file every message received by
  the list in an archive, although the list server
  might delete the messages periodically to recover
  disk space.
• You may send a request for the messages from a
  particular time frame or send a command to search
  the archive for messages on a particular topic.
• You must retrieve or locate a list of available
  archive filenames and data.
• You then request the list server to send you or
  display one or more of the named files.

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Identifying a MailingLists Members

• Some mailing lists support a command that lets
  you receive information about the people
  subscribed to a mailing list.
• The administrator who controls the list, known as
  the list owner, has the option of making the
  mailing list members information available when
  you use the review or who command.

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Identifying a MailingLists Members

• When you belong to a mailing list, your name and
  e-mail address are available and can be listed
  by any list member who sends the review or who
  command to a list server that is configured to
  reveal members by name and e-mail address.
• If you want to be a member of a LISTSERV or
  ListProc list, but do not want other members to
  have access to your name and e-mail address, you
  can conceal your membership from the lists
  members (but not the owner).

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Identifying a MailingLists Members

• In a LISTSERV or ListProc mailing list, create a
  new e-mail message, and type the lists
  administrative address in the To field. Leave
  the Cc, Bcc, and Subject fields blank.
• In the message area, type the set listname
  conceal command if you are subscribed to a
  LISTSERV list, or type the set listname conceal
  yes command if you are subscribed to a ListProc
  list, replacing the lists name for listname.
• If necessary, delete your signature, and then
  send the message.
• If you decide that you want your name to appear
  again, follow the same steps but substitute
  nonconceal in place of conceal in the LISTSERV
  command and yes in place of no in the ListProc
  command.

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Leaving a Mailing List

• When you leave a mailing list, also referred to
  as dropping the mailing list or unsubscribing
  from the mailing list, you will stop receiving
  messages.
• You send your unsubscribe message to the lists
  administrative address and include the
  unsubscribe (or signoff) command, followed by the
  lists name.
• Before dropping a mailing list, check the mailing
  lists confirmation message to determine the
  proper command to use.

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Usenet Newsgroups

• Usenet was founded in 1979 at Duke University as
  a way of collecting information and storing that
  information by topic category.
• The topic categories on Usenet originally were
  called newsgroups or forums.
• Another popular term used is Internet Discussion
  Group.
• Each site that participates in Usenet has the
  option of selecting which newsgroups it will
  carry.

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Usenet Newsgroups

• Distributed database stored in multiple physical
  locations, with portions of the database
  replicated in different locations.
• Newsgroups are similar to mailing lists in that
  they accept messages from users and make them
  generally available to other users.
• Newsgroups store articles on a server as articles
  or postings that are sorted by topic.

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Usenet Newsgroups

• Newsgroups are more suitable for discussions of
  broad topics that might interest a large audience
  because they do not require a list server to send
  a separate e-mail message to each potential
  article.
• When users read Usenet articles to which they
  would like to respond, they can reply to those
  articles.
• Some newsgroups have a moderator who reviews all
  postings before they appear in the newsgroup.

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Usenet Newsgroups

• News server the server that stores a newsgroup.
• The collection of news servers connected to the
  Internet make up Usenet.
• There is no central control authority.
• When a user posts an article to a Usenet
  newsgroup, it is routed to the news server
  designated to maintain that newsgroup.

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Usenet Newsgroups

• News servers connect to other news servers
  periodically and compare a list of the articles
  that each is currently storing.
• Each newsgroup article has a unique
  identification number that makes this comparison
  possible.
• This store-and-forward process is called
  obtaining a newsfeed.

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Usenet Newsgroups

• Each news server site employs a news
  administrator, who specifies which other news
  servers will be newsfeed providers and newsfeed
  recipients.
• Most newsfeeds occur over the Internet using the
  Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP).
• Organizations that operate news servers include
  most ISPs, universities, large businesses,
  government units, and other entities connected to
  the Internet.

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Usenet Newsgroups

• Newsgroups are organized into topical hierarchies
  in which each newsgroup has a unique name that
  shows its position and classification in the
  hierarchy.
• Top-level hierarchies are shown as the first part
  of a newsgroups name and then the subcategories
  follow. The names are separated by periods.
• The original Usenet News Service included eight
  main top-level categoriesincluding one
  miscellaneous category.

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Usenet Newsgroups
Original Usenet news service top-level categories
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Portion of the Hierarchical Structureof the biz
Category
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Web Access to Newsgroups

• Newsreaders programs designed for the sole
  purpose of communicating with news server
  computers.
• Most e-mail programs include newsreader features.
• The most recent improvement in Usenet
  accessibility has been the increase in the number
  of Web sites that archive newsgroup articles.
• Tile.net is one of many Internet Web sites that
  maintains a comprehensive list of Usenet
  newsgroups in its databases.

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Web Access to Newsgroups

• The Google Groups directory is an
  advertiser-supported Web site that offers many
  useful tools for accessing Usenet newsgroups.
• Google Groups does not delete newsgroup articles.
• Google Groups has stored over 800 million
  newsgroup articles dating from 1981 in its
  database.
• The Google Groups site has a search engine that
  allows you to query its newsgroup article
  database by subject, newsgroup name, or article
  author.

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Web Access to Newsgroups
Google Groups home page
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Using a Newsreader

• The Google Groups Web site includes a built-in
  newsreader that you can use to view articles.
• Outlook Express includes a built-in newsreader
  that you can access from Internet Explorer or by
  starting Outlook Express.

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Using a Newsreader

• To create a news account in Outlook Express
• click Tools on the menu bar, click Accounts, and
  then click the News tab and use the Add button to
  add a news account.
• If you havent used the newsreader, the Internet
  Connection Wizard might start and request your
  name, e-mail address, and the address of your
  news server
• The address of the news server for your ISP is
  usually the word news or news-server followed
  by a period and your host name.

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Using a Newsreader

• The Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box lets you
  view all the newsgroups on your news server, only
  those to which you have subscribed, or new
  newsgroups.
• The tabs in the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog
  box let you control which newsgroups you are
  viewing.
• You can use the Display newsgroups which contain
  text box in the newsgroup Subscriptions dialog
  box to search for a newsgroup by name.

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Using a Newsreader
Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box in Outlook
Express
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Using a Newsreader

• To read an article, click the message header in
  the message list.
• To reply to an article, click the message header
  in the message list of the article to which you
  would like to reply, and then click the Reply
  Group button to reply to the group or click the
  Reply button to reply privately to the author of
  the original article.
• To post a new article, click the New Post button
  on the toolbar to open the New Message window,
  where you can type a subject and the content of a
  new article.
• To send the article to the newsgroup, click the
  Send button.

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Using a Newsreader

• To unsubscribe from a newsgroup
• right-click the newsgroup in the Folders pane,
  and then click Unsubscribe on the shortcut menu
• click the OK button in the confirming dialog box
• To delete your news account
• right-click your news account in the Folders
  pane, and then click Remove Account on the
  shortcut menu
• click the Yes button in the confirming dialog box

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Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

• Really Simple Syndication (RSS) an XML file
  format that makes it possible to share updates
  (such as headlines and other Web site content)
  via a newsfeed
• Newsfeed a file containing summaries of stories
  and news from a Web log (blog) or Web site.
• RSS was designed for sharing news headlines and
  content.
• Now, RSS is also used by organizations and
  individuals that create and maintain blogs as a
  way to publish content.

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Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

• Newsgroups and mailing lists are viewed as push
  technology, which sends content to subscribers.
• RSS is pull technology because subscribers pull
  content to their computers when they want to do
  so.
• To subscribe to a newsfeed, you need to install a
  program called an aggregator on your computer or
  mobile device.
• The Opera Web browser and the Thunderbird e-mail
  client have built-in aggregator programs.
• You can also download an aggregator from the
  Internet.

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Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

• Web sites that provide newsfeeds using RSS
  display a small, orange or blue RSS icon that
  you can click to subscribe to the newsfeed.
• If you have an aggregator on your computer,
  clicking the RSS icon might load the newsfeed and
  give you the option of subscribing to it.
• Other aggregators might require you to
  right-click the RSS icon, copy the shortcut it
  contains, and then paste it into your browsers
  Address bar or into the aggregator to subscribe
  to the newsfeed.

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Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
If you try to subscribe to an RSS newsfeed and
your browser opens a page that looks like this
figure, then you do not have an aggregator on
your computer, or you need to follow the
instructions for your specific aggregator to load
the newsfeed.
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Podcasting

• iPod a very small and lightweight portable media
  player that first became popular because it can
  store and play hundreds of songs which are
  downloadable from the Internet at a minimal cost.
• When the MP3 file format became popular in the
  early 1990s, many people began purchasing MP3
  players, which are portable devices that play MP3
  files.
• Podcasting lets a user subscribe to an audio
  feed, usually stored in the MP3 file format, and
  then listen to it at the users convenience on an
  MP3 device, which might include the users
  computer or a portable device such as an MP3
  player.

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Podcasting

• Podcast
• a subscription audio broadcast that is created
  and stored in a digital format on the Internet.
• podcast is a combination of the words iPod
  and broadcasting
• any digital audio device or computer with the
  necessary software can receive a podcast
• Podcatching software the aggregator used for
  podcasts.
• Most podcasting software is platform independent,
  meaning that it works on any MP3 compatible
  device.

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Podcasting

• The audio feed in a podcast contains an
  enclosure, which is the audio file from the
  server, and this audio file contains the podcast.
• Subscribing to a podcast
• your computer will download the program
  automatically on the schedule you select
• If you subscribe using podcatching software on
  your portable media player, it will download and
  store the radio address when you sync your device

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Podcasting

• Podcastings original use was to make it easy for
  people to create and broadcast their own radio
  shows.
• Podcasts are used by the media to interview
  politicians and professors on specific subjects,
  by colleges and universities in distance learning
  classes, and by movie studios to promote new
  movie releases.

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Summary

• There are resources on the Web which allow you to
  receive and reply to e-mail messages related to a
  specific topic and to find newsgroups on desired
  topics.
• You can use a newsreader to subscribe to a
  newsgroup, read and reply to its articles, and
  post a new article.
• You can find newsfeeds and podcasts on specific
  subjects and use different types of aggregators
  to receive RSS newsfeeds.

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Summary

• Mailing lists, newsgroups, RSS newsfeeds, and
  podcasts are an excellent way to gain knowledge
  and insight from people around the world who
  share your interests.
• You should be able to find an online community to
  answer your questions.