Using discussion groups

In the last issue of The Institute, I pointed out the difference between discussion groups and mailing lists, and then focused on how to use mailing lists. This column addresses the companion set -- discussion groups. Discussion -- exchange of information, sharing of experiences, the ability to easily ask a question of one's peers -- is at the heart of IEEE and its groups of members.

First, let me just review the essential difference between discussion groups and mailing lists. A mailing list should be used by the "owner" of the list to send messages to people who are on that list. No one else should be able to send to that list. Discussion groups are for people to receive messages from, and reply to, those who want to discuss the topic for which that group was established.

These lists and groups can have different characteristics which can be determined when they are set up. All of these lists and groups are processed by a computer program called a list manager. These programs can exist on virtually all computer networks. The IEEE uses the program "majordomo."

Since this month's topic is discussion groups, I will now describe the different types of groups (that can be managed using majordomo), and how to join, leave or interact with one of these groups. Then I will look at how to set up and manage a group.

DISCUSSION GROUPS.   Discussion groups are set up so members of the group can receive messages sent by each other and anyone else. To become a member of a discussion group, you send a subscribe-message to the list manager -- the same one as for mailing lists. The commands and procedures are the same, but the names of IEEE discussion groups have a "-d" at the end to distinguish them from mailing lists.

One of these discussion groups is called "secbbs-d". This group has been set up for people interested in IEEE section-based bulletin board systems. To subscribe (become a member of this discussion group), you send a message to " majordomo@ieee.org " and put the keywords "subscribe secbbs-d" on the first line of your message (followed by a blank line). You should begin to receive messages for that group starting with the next one sent out. To cancel your subscription, send another message, but use "unsubscribe secbbs-d". If you do not want to join the group, but you want to send the members of this group a message, send your message to " secbbs-d@ieee.org ". If you want to send a message to the owner of this group, send your message to " owner-secbbs-d@ieee.org ".

The three kinds of discussion groups are: unmoderated, moderated and private.

* Unmoderated discussion groups are wide-open, uncensored forums intended for specific topics. Anyone can become a member of the group by subscribing. Anyone can send to the group, but only members of the group receive messages sent to the group. Replies are sent to the group. Messages are not archived.

* Moderated discussion groups are controlled forums on specific topics. Anyone can become a member of the group by subscribing. Anyone can send messages, but the messages are reviewed by the group owner before being resent (as-is or edited) to the members of the group, or rejected. Replies are also directed to the group owner. This is the e-mail counterpart to letters to the editor. Messages are archived in special cases and where the group owner has arranged for the appropriate file storage.

* Private discussion groups are uncensored forums for internal discussion among members of a group -- for example, a volunteer and/or staff committee or task force. The membership of the group is determined by the group leader. Messages sent to any of these groups by people not in the group will be discarded. Messages are not archived.

SETTING UP DISCUSSION GROUPS.   If you want to use the IEEE's majordomo to create a discussion group for an IEEE entity in which you are a volunteer, send an e-mail message to the IEEE staff person associated with your entity. This staff person will set up the process for you to become the owner of this new discussion group. (Normally the lead volunteer -- section chair, society president, etc. -- knows who the staff person is or how to find out.)

If you ask for an unmoderated discussion group, you get copies of all subscribe and unsubscribe request messages.

If you ask for a moderated discussion group, you get copies of all subscribe and unsubscribe request messages and all messages for the group, and you have to vet/edit/reject them.

If you ask for a private discussion group, you create and update the list of people in the group. You must use the actual e-mail addresses for the members (and not aliases -- IEEE or otherwise).

If a discussion group is not used for some period of time -- six months or so -- the owner will get an automatic request to indicate if the group is still needed. If there is no response in one month, the group will automatically be removed.

GROUP ALIASES.   Why not use group aliases? There is a simple and practical answer to this question: management, or more accurately, the lack of management tools. In the past, individual IEEE volunteers have asked IEEE staff to set up a group alias. A message is sent to the group, and people can reply using either a simple reply or a group reply (to the whole list). However, that volunteer cannot change the membership of that group alias, members of that group cannot unsubscribe, and others cannot subscribe. All of these activities must be done by an IEEE staff member. Given the extensive use of e-mail and the need for group memberships that change relatively often, such a scheme is impractical. Therefore, no new group aliases are being formed and existing ones are being phased out. They are being replaced by the appropriate mailing list or discussion group.

INDIVIDUAL IEEE ALIASES are useful in that other IEEE members can find out how to contact you by looking in the IEEE e-mail directories. Similarly, IEEE members can use majordomo commands to find out what groups exist.

The reality is that we are learning how to better use e-mail messaging procedures and tools like file server and majordomo to help IEEE members, volunteers and staff. As always, keeping track of these tools and how best to use them is quite a challenge.