Suddenly, at one meeting, all the women delegates, as they arrive from different parts of the globe, all speak up in support of certain key issues and proposals. No, it s the power of email - more specifically, the power of group discussion via an electronic mailing list. Each time a message is posted to the list address, everyone subscribed to the mailing list receives it. A thousand people could discuss a topic at one time.
Many mailing lists do reach hundreds of people.
In many ways, a mailing list is more like an extended conversation than it is like a meeting. Some lists operate almost entirely without intervention. Subscribers and sometimes non-subscribers post whatever they like. These lists can be full of surprises, some exhilirating and some exasperating. Liz Rykert and Maureen James recommend a facilitator for each list.