Newsgroups, Mailing Lists, Chat

Interacting with the Net Community

• Newsgroups

• Mailing Lists, Listservs

• Chat (Internet Relay Chat, Web-based Chat, Instant Messaging)

Mailing Lists/Listservs

• A forum where people “talk” about a topic via email.

• You subscribe to the lists that you want to be a part of.

• Posting a message is simply sending an email to the mailing list address.

• Can clutter your inbox if the list is busy enough.

Mailing Lists/Listservs

• Moderated mailing list– the lists owner posts all of the messages to the list.– he/she reserves the right to not post an item

• Unmoderated mailing list– Subscribers can send a message to the list at any time

without approval.

• Some lists are used more for broadcasting information (can’t use this for your assignment)

Newsgroups (Usenet)

• Electronic forums where users from all over the world have a discussion on specific topics.

• Newsgroups are split up by subject area

• There are tens of thousands of them on every possible topic.

• You need a program to read the news (newsreader).

• You can subscribe and unsubscribe to newsgroups.

Newsgroup Hierarchies

• Mainstream includes these main headings -biz: business misc: miscellaneous

comp: computers rec: recreational

• Alternative (alt) heading includes these subjects -art, sci, sport, tv, culture, …

• Countries can have their own hierarchies:uk, de, tw, ...

Newsgroup Naming Schemes

Hierarchy Topic Area Subtopic(s)

comp.os.ms-windows.games

Newsgroups

• Newsgroups contain messages (articles) grouped into threads (the original article along with all follow-up messages).

• Someone sends (posts) a message to the group, the people can read the message and then they can respond to the message.

• Servers receive messages, forward messages to other servers, and manages the groups and messages to it’s users.

Newsreaders

• Tin (general account)

• Netscape

• Web-based (e.g. deja.com service)

Newsgroup Etiquette

• Good idea to see what the group covers and what the culture is like before posting.

• See if there is an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) before posting.

• Remember that these people do not know you.

• No flaming.

• Use same netiquette as you would with email.

Chat

• Forums where you talk with others in real-time; virtual room-like environments where people come and go

• You need to select a username/screen name• Moderated v. Unmoderated• You ‘chat’ with others via the keyboard.• The messages of all conversations in the room

are displayed on the screen.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

• Conversation is managed on IRC servers that share chat channels on their own networks.

• You need an IRC client to tune in to the channels. (some are web-based now)

• You need to learn commands to use the client.

• You can join a discussion that is ongoing with many people.

• Or you can create your own channel that is private (invitation only).

Web-Based Chat• a.k.a. chat rooms

• Areas for people to gather and talk about something (even support from companies).– Some chats are scheduled and have guests– Some chat rooms are moderated.– Like IRC, you can set up private chats

• You need a Java-enabled browser to participate.

• Some sites even keep an archive (transcripts)

Instant Messaging

• You have access to public chats, but mostly used for private ones.

• Need to download a client.• The client only works with a proprietary IM

network.• Some clients support audio too.• Look into the security settings (privacy for your

comings and goings, file transfers, etc.)