Global lists are not based in a particular copy of pine or Eudora, but are kept in a central database as part of the CATS computer filesystems. Depending on how a list is designated, anyone can add or delete themselves from a list, or the list can be administered by a certain person or persons. Blanche and listmaint are be run from a Telnet session to the CATS Athena system. Newsgroups Newsgroups are another communication tool in the suite of tools a faculty member may wish to employ for any particular class. A newsgroup is much like a bulletin board in a hallway.
Someone posts a message and others see the message.
Someone else may choose to respond and begin a thread of discussion. Messages are sent to the newsgroup are recorded and available to anyone wishing to read the newsgroup. CATS can setup a newsgroup for your course. Use the form, Local newsgroup request , to get started. UCSC newsgroups are usually restricted to people in the ucsc.edu domain and are not generally available world wide.