Electronic Conferencing is a valuable tool for agencies to maintain contact with many people across a wide geographic area. The primary tool used is the List Server, an Internet mail server which allows individuals to join and leave at their discretion. Whenever someone wishes to communicate with the group, they address a single message to the server where it is copied and sent to every current member of the list. Beyond the traditional service, the ITSC has moved several steps ahead.
All traffic is reflected onto a website where it is indexed for searching.
There are web interfaces to most of the standard list server processes. These forums are accessed via the web and provide for threaded discussions. In the near future, the ITSC will be adding real-time electronic conferencing facilities to support simulation communities.