Date: Fri 28-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

iinfo-onelist.com-Brand

Full Text:

INTERNET INFO FOR REAL PEOPLE: Onelist.com

By Bob Brand

Mark Fletcher, a twenty-something computer science graduate of UC-San Diego,

has improved the Internet experience for thousands of Net-sters. He runs

Onelist.com -- a website that hosts over 120,000 e-mail lists (listservs)

sending a daily payload of 12 million pieces of e-mail into the Internet

cloud. Fletcher's site allows anyone with access to a cyber-onramp the ability

to contribute to a "virtual community building paradigm" -- e-mail linkage of

the like-minded.

In previous articles, I outlined hidden treasures of the Internet -- e-mailing

lists (listservs). At the time (three years ago), the Big Three types of

software programs that managed these lists were Majordomo, Listserv and

ListProc. Not only were the rules for subscribing and unsubscribing to these

lists non-interchangeable, but their reliability was less than perfect.

Often, The Big Three "packages" were run on computers at large universities.

Listowners (individuals who performed the nuts and bolts operations of keeping

e-mail contributions on topic and other chores) wrestled with cranky hardware

and software. It was not unusual to receive messages that had no relevancy to

the list.

A few examples include probes ("this is a test -- do no answer"), complaints

from subscribers ("is this list still active, I have not received any mail in

a few days"), and apologies from the listowner explaining a hardware failure

or computer downtime due to system maintenance.

All active e-mailers have received them. Frankly, we accepted these mild

annoyances as part of the quirkiness of the Internet. Onelist will change

that.

Changes In E-mail

The advent of free Web-based e-mail such as Yahoo!, HotMail and others brought

subtle changes to the Internet. People can now send e-mail all over the world

on personal computers from a library or cyber cafes.

When using free web-based e-mail from an ISP (Internet Service Provider) or

AOL, it lifts constraints imposed of having a single e-mail account. Freebie

e-mail brought advertising tagging along at the end of e-mail epistles.

E-caboose ads now thread the Internet fabric.

Fletcher brings together these new trends and, in the process, solves many of

the nettlesome problems of listserv administration and unreliability. As a

result, an explosion of new lists dot the cyber-landscape. List ownership has

become almost as easy as setting up a free e-mail account.

My Experience

Within the last few weeks, I created two brand new e-lists. This is how the

process works:

Go to the website http://www.onelist.com. First-time users must enter an

e-mail address and create a password. I named my new list: HackFurby. (I had

been corresponding with a small group of Furby "deconstructionists" and it was

agreed that we need a hassle-free way to communicate on this important

subject; the open membership list is named HackFurby@Onelist.com).

The list creation process is straightforward. It takes only a few minutes. The

listowner (also called the moderator) can have open membership (anyone can

join just by signing up) or closed membership whereby a member can only gain

access by approval of the owner.

Posting of messages works the same way. The list owner can allow any message

to be posted to the entire list or can act as gatekeeper whereby only

moderator approved messages reach the list. Naturally, the "rules" can be

changed by revisiting the Onelist website after the list is up and running.

RSVP

The Oneline software allows the owner to invite friends and

cyber-acquaintances to join the list. With a simple e-mail entry, a customized

"boilerplate" message is sent through the TCP/IP cloud. With a simple reply,

the recipient is added to the list. Slick.

Some Nice Touches

All the thoughtful ideas built into Onelist are too numerous to mention.

However, some examples of features experienced moderators may like are the

ability to be notified when new members subscribe, easy digesting and

un-digesting, member center archive of names for all subscribed/moderated

lists, optional monthly or bi-monthly FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions),

co-moderator addition, and privatization of the list (removal of list from

appearance in database).

With this degree of flexibility (and privacy), lists can be generated for

everything from genealogy to ad hoc board membership messages and much more.

One potential danger is the ease of use features could hide potential privacy

problems with e-mail.

Nevertheless, Onelist will lead to improved communication on the Internet and

broaden participation at all levels of cyber-experience.

No Longer Alone

The popularity of Onelist spread across the Internet like a prairie fire on a

flat Midwest patch of sun-baked grassland in mid-August plagued by drought. It

was not long before two similar sites, eGroups and Topica, appeared on the

Web. Frankly, the Internet will never be the same again.

The overall quality of e-list will improve as a result. While we may never

witness the end to the message "please unsubscribe me from this list," its

frequency is sure to decline over time as Onelist listservs increase in

popularity.

Give it a try. Highly recommended.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.onelist.com

http://www.startext.net/news/doc/1047/1:COMP52/1:COMP52041599.html

http://www.egroups.com/

http://www.topica.com/

(This is the 156th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the

Internet. Next, Linux v NT is the subject on tap. Stay tuned. Until next week,

happy travels through cyberspace.

Previous issues of Internet Info for Real People can be found at

http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions to

rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)