Important Information About the Student Lists

Welcome! Here are a few basic instructions about the Student Lists and about the computer program (Listserv) which will help you use these lists.

THIS MESSAGE IS IMPORTANT! Please print it out or save it on your disk so that you can refer to it later! You will need it again when your class term ends or when you decide to join other SL lists!

The Student Lists were established to provide a forum for cross-cultural discussion and writing practice for college and university students in English language programs around the world.

There are ten SL lists:

INTRO-SL    Student EFL/ESL Discussion List for New Members
CHAT-SL     Student EFL/ESL General Discussion List (Low level)
DISCUSS-SL  Student EFL/ESL General Discussion List (High level)
BUSINESS-SL Student EFL/ESL Discussion List on Business English
ENGL-SL     Student EFL/ESL Discussion List on Learning English
EVENT-SL    Student EFL/ESL Discussion List on Current Events
MOVIE-SL    Student EFL/ESL Discussion List on the Cinema
MUSIC-SL    Student EFL/ESL Discussion List on Music
SPORT-SL    Student EFL/ESL Discussion List on Sports
SCITECH-SL  Student EFL/ESL Discussion List on Science & Technology

First, the basic rules!

Now the details....

  1. How to send a message to INTRO-SL

    Send your message to: INTRO-SL@LATROBE.EDU.AU Before sending your message please be sure that:

    1. You have read ALL of the instructions in this message carefully.

    2. You have typed the above address correctly. There should be no spaces in the address.

    3. You have given your message a 'SUBJECT' line. (Avoid saying only 'Hello' or 'My Introduction' since these are so common that people might not pay attention to your message.)

  2. How to Join Another List

    After you have spent some time on the INTRO-SL list, both sending and receiving messages, you can join other SL lists. To do so, send a message to:

    LISTSERV@LATROBE.EDU.AU

    and in the body of the message (NOT on the subject line), write:

    SUB XXXX-SL firstname & familyname here

    (where XXXX is the name of the desired list). If you want to join two or more lists, add additional SUB lines as needed in the message.

    For example, if your name is Muhmad Ali and you want to join EVENT-SL and ENGL-SL, send the following message:

    SUB EVENT-SL Muhmad Ali

    SUB ENGL-SL Muhmad Ali

  3. How to "Unsubscribe" (get off the lists)

    To get off a list, send a message to:

    LISTSERV@LATROBE.EDU.AU

    and in the body of the message (not on the subject line), write:

    UNSUB XXXX-SL

    (where XXXX is the name of the list). If you want to get off more than one list, add additional unsubscribe lines as needed. If you want to unsubscribe from ALL lists, send the following line:

    UNSUB *

    IMPORTANT: Do *NOT* unsubscribe from INTRO-SL if you want to continue to use the other SL lists. Doing so will cause ALL of your subscriptions to be unsubscribed. Instead, use the NOMAIL command below to stop the flow of messages.

  4. NOMAIL for vacations

    Whenever you want to temporarily stop receiving messages from one of the SL lists, you can set yourself to 'NOMAIL'. This means that you are still subscribed to the list, but that you will not receive any messages from it. To set yourself to NOMAIL, send a message to

    LISTSERV@LATROBE.EDU.AU

    saying:

    SET XXXX-SL NOMAIL (XXXX-SL = the name of the list)

    If you want to set several lists to NOMAIL, you can set each one on aseparate line of the same message. If you want to stop mail on ALLlists, send the following:

    SET * NOMAIL

    For example, if you want to stop the mail from INTRO-SL, send thismessage:

    SET INTRO-SL NOMAIL

  5. To start receiving mail again:

    Send a message to:

    LISTSERV@LATROBE.EDU.AU

    saying:

    SET XXXX-SL MAIL (XXXX-SL = the name of the list)

    For example, to start receiving mail from INTRO-SL, send this message:

    SET INTRO-SL MAIL

  6. To get old messages again

    Messages posted on INTRO-SL or any of the SL lists are kept for a minimum period of two months. You can get a set of all messages sent in any weekly period in the following manner (taking the second week of May, 1996 as an example:

                       SEND TO: listserv@latrobe.edu.au
                   MESSAGE: get intro-sl log9605b f=mail
                                            ^ ^ ^
                   Last two digits of year__| | |
                     Two digits for month_____| |
                       a=week 1, b=week 2, etc__|

    Note: "Week 1" = the 1st through the 7th, "Week 2", the 8th through the 14th, etc.

  7. About the LISTSERV

    This address--LISTSERV@LATROBE,EDU.AU--does not connect you to a live person. It only connects you to the LISTSERV computer program which helps manage mailing lists. So there's no need for you to write anything in the "name" or "subject" lines, or to write a personal message, because the computer program does not read any of that. Just follow the above directions exactly to subscribe or unsubscribe.

    Please read the section on "NETIQUETTE" below to make sure that you post a good message.

    REMEMBER: SUB, UNSUB, NOMAIL, MAIL and GET commands are sent to:

    LISTSERV@LATROBE.EDU.AU

    But to post messages to your list, send them to:

    XXXX-SL@LATROBE.EDU.AU (XXXX-SL = the name of the list)

  8. How to Reply to Messages

    On some systems you can reply to a message by using the F5 key. On others, you enter REPLY or simply 'r' -- but whatever way you use, double-check to make sure that the "TO" line is what you want! Most systems will send the reply to the original sender, but some systems may send your reply to the whole list.. When you want to reply, first decide whether you want to reply to the original sender, or if you want to share your comments with the entire list. If your 'reply' function does not give you the correct address, then enter it manually.

  9. Please Check Your Mail Regularly

    On most e-mail systems, you only have a certain amount of space in your mailbox. If you do not read and empty your mail on a regular basis, your mailbox could "overflow" and cause problems. If you do not get any new mail for a long time, it might mean that your mailbox is full, or that there was a breakdown in the system somewhere. If a full mailbox causes error messages to be sent back to LaTrobe for more than a few days, your subcriptions will be cancelled. It will be your job to check that your mailbox is not full and that your system is running. Then, if necessary, you can subscribe again.

    If you are not sure which lists you are currently subscribed to,

    you can send a message to:

    LISTSERV@LATROBE.EDU.AU

    and in the body of the message (not on the subject line), write:

    QUERY *

    You will be sent a message telling you which lists at this address you are currently subscribed to and what your settings (MAIL/NOMAIL, etc.) are.

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  10. Netiquette

    E-Mail has a certain etiquette which is often called "netiquette". Pay attention to the following rules to help guarantee success and good relations.

    1. All the people on the lists are students like you. They are probably new to this as well. So please don't be afraid to post messages. It will be a great learning experience.

    2. Be positive. If somebody says something you like, tell him or her, either by commenting to the whole group, or by sending him or her an individual reply. If you disagree with the person, try to do so in a constructive rather than negative way.

    3. Be polite. On a list like this, with people from many cultures, it can be easy to have misunderstandings. Try to be polite and friendly in your postings.

    4. Humor is appreciated, but again, please be polite. Avoid comments which could offend or confuse people of other cultures.

    5. Remember: if it's of individual or personal interest, send a reply to the person who posted the message (just use the reply option on your system). If you think it might be of general interest, post a message to the whole group.

    6. Let people know what you're going to be talking about. Make sure your posting has a clear and descriptive entry on the "Subject" line.

    7. Keep it short. Some students have to pay to get their e-mail! So keep your messages brief--no more than 2 screens. The LISTSERV will not accept messages that are longer than 50 lines or so.

    8. Don't post too often! There is a limit of two postings per day per student with a maximum of five postings in a week.

    9. Identify yourself. List your name, school, and e-mail address briefly at the end of your posting. Some e-mail systems do not include the "header" so other people may not see it.

    10. If you are referring to another person's comments, it is usually a good idea to quote that person. On some systems the "forward" feature will help you do this. However, please EDIT out that person's header and any other information which is not relevant, to avoid clutter and wasted space. Under no circumstances should the quoted material be longer than your own comments!

    11. Try to make the right comments to the right list. If you want to discuss movies, you should join and post to MOVIE-SL. If you want to discuss music, join and post to MUSIC-SL. If you want to discuss general topics, join and post to CHAT-SL or DISCUSS-SL. BUT -- do not 'cross post.' Send your message to ONLY ONE list!

    12. Keep in mind that people all over the world will be reading your comments. If your comments will only be clear for people from your own country, provide more background information.

    13. The SL Lists are "unmoderated". This means that what members post goes directly to the membership, unedited and uncensored. We are strongly committed to maintaining an uncensored list. In particular, please refrain from using obsecene language.

      Please feel free to discuss any topic that you believe is appropriate for this list. Be aware, however, that the SL List subscribers may not share your views on such topics as politics, religion, or sex. Such topics should discussed in a courteous and sensitive manner.

      The use of hateful, hostile or angry language toward other participants is not permitted on the SL lists, nor is obscene language such as swearing. Those who insist on using such language will be removed from the lists.

      If you find something posted on the list objectionable, you have every right to voice your objections.....but not in public. Please express your complains in private to the person responsible. You can also, of course, simply throw out (unread) all mail from that writer.

      If the tone of certain postings continues to annoy you, you can turn to the people who run the list. However, please remember that we strongly prefer to keep the list free and uncensored and are extremely reluctant to act as policemen.

    14. On e-mail, you cannot see people's faces. So people often use symbols to make their points. *'s or capital letters can give emphasis. For example, "That was a *great* movie". Or "That was a GREAT movie." (Or "That was a g-r-e-a-t movie.")

      Then there are the famous "sideways" symbols: 

                     :-)       (a smile)
      
               ;-)       (a wink)
      
               :-(       (a frown)

      There are also a lot of common e-mail abbreviations. Two of the most popular are:

                    BTW       (By the way)
      
              IMHO      (In my humble opinion)

      List Administration

      The SL Lists are run by the following people:

      Lloyd Holliday, La Trobe University, Australia
      L.Holliday@latrobe.edu.au

      Thomas Robb, Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan
      trobb@cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp

      GOOD LUCK AND REMEMBER: To read is fine, to post is divine!