An individual in Newcastle could send an electronic mail message to a computer in Georgia with a command to be added to a discussion list on postmodern cultural theory. Subsequent messages sent to postmodern-theory would be fanned out by the computer to the other subscribers on on the list. The humanities are well represented amongst the hundreds of email groups which exist. Some lists are not strictly speaking discussion groups but rather serve to distribute information or even electronic journals. Some are open to everyone and everything, busy and wide-ranging in style, whilst others are closely edited by a moderator and always relevant to the subject matter.
Some lists have three hundred subscribers, others as few as forty or as many as two thousand.
Care should always be taken that the listserv address and the whole-list address are not confused. The role of the listowner is to ensure that the list runs smoothly both behind the scenes and at front of house where discussion is taking place. Finding and Joining a Discussion Group First and foremost you require an Internet electronic mail account. If you are at an academic institution then the normal procedure is to consult someone at the computing service or your department's computing officer. Second, you require the name of an appropriate electronic mail list.