Using Discussion Lists Effectively
On this page you will find suggestions about taking advantage of a
widely-used scholarly institution, the Internet discussion list.
The page is prepared and maintained by Dr. J. B. Owens, Professor
of History, Idaho State University. Comments and questions will be
appreciated: owenjack@isu.edu
First a Story
I picked this up on the tube one night while doing the dishes. As
I recall, the program was part of a series called "The Red Bomb."
A more precise reference? Hey, I was doing the dishes and didn't
know I was going to learn about something useful.
When J. Robert Oppenheimer was setting up the huge atomic bomb
development program in the New Mexico desert during World War II,
he and the high-ranking military officer in charge of project
security found their organizational views were in conflict. The
military guy wanted each of the 300 or so scientists involved to
work in his or her own cubicle with careful control maintained over
all communications. Oppenheimer bluntly told him that if work were
organized in that way, there would be no bomb. Scientists, he
gently explained, needed frequent interaction with each other in
order to develop their ideas and research. Oppenheimer got his
easy and free verbal and written exchange among the scientists, the
U.S. got the bomb, and security was terrible.
All scholars need that sort of frequent interaction with each other
to generate and refine ideas and to explore the possibilities of
different types of research. This felt need is what generates such
excitement at a properly-run academic conference: participants are
getting something for which they are often starved, particularly if
they don't work at some large research institute (few of those in
the Humanities and Social Sciences) or in a large urban center with
active research seminars such as those at Columbia and the
University of Pennsylvania (citing those with which I had personal
contact).
The Internet makes it possible for all of us to get the necessary
frequent interaction. Indeed, it is better than anything in the
past because larger groups and individuals at diverse sites can be
involved, and it is much easier to interchange papers and data.
Several of the items on my page Scholarly Links of Interest
will direct you toward those in History and other fields. But to
get the best personal results from your participation in such
electronic forums, it helps to learn certain conventions, to which
I turn.
Moderated Lists
- A list moderator reviews all messages sent to the list BEFORE
POSTING to make sure that the form and content are appropriate. As
cases of improper Internet use increase, moderators will become
increasingly necessary, especially for lists with open subscription
and large membership. On unmoderated lists, if unproductive and
irrelevant "noise" becomes irritating, the list "owner" (as they
are known) SHOULD discuss the matter with the problem's source, and
if the noise continues, drop the culprit from the list. But this
doesn't always happen.
Threads
- The use of subject headings is an important part of this
discussion list business. When you post queries or comments to our
class list, try to give the message a subject title that will tell
other list members what your message is about. Short titles are
best. Then, when someone replies to a query or comment, the same
subject heading should be used. Using the common subject heading
for all related messages will create a THREAD (to use electronic
discussion list jargon).
If you are commenting on something raised within a particular
thread but with a substantial change in direction, change your
subject title. Some may wish to continue with the original thread
while others will be discussing your topic. By establishing
different threads, we can follow multiple discussions at the same
time without confusion. When you are a member of a very active
discussion list with lots of members and lots of threads developing
at the same time, you will appreciate the convention because it
will allow you to read related messages (or delete them if the
thread doesn't interest you) as a group.
How to reply to an earlier message
- Because not everyone on the list will remember an earlier
message to which you want to post a response, you need to organize
your message to include everyone. The way to do that is to start
your message as follows:
- On 1 January 2000, Albert Student wrote: [Include the message
or that part of the message about which you want to write
something.]
If in quoting a section that interests you, you have deleted much
of the original text, it is a good idea to indicate that as
follows:
- On 1 January 2000, A. Student wrote (much text deleted): [the
part that interests you]
If you are going to insert your comments and questions in spaces
between sections of the original message, it is a good idea to
indicate that as follows:
- On 1 January 2000, A. Student wrote (my comments and questions
inserted in the text): [the text and your contributions inserted
in spaces created at appropriate points]
When you post a message
- Try to be brief. Write what you want but know what you are
talking about. Keep to the point.
Courteous Behavior
- ATT has recently banned its operators from saying "Please"
because it takes too long. It seems a shame to have to include a
section about being courteous, but these are tough times. In
short, say "Please" or something similar when you are asking for
something (help, information, clarification), and say "Thank You"
when you have received something. Which brings me to...
Reinforcement
- It often takes guts to post a question or comment to the
electronic void. Lists become more active when such courage is
reinforced and participants become more friendly. In your
responses try to say stuff like: "I want to respond to A.'s
terrific question." or "A.'s tentative hypothesis really helped
me clarify how I want to deal with this problem." Lists become
more active, and therefore more useful, when members feel their
efforts are appreciated, their questions will generate discussion,
and their comments will get a fair if critical reading.
Citation
- Some class members will want to cite, in examination essays and
the project paper, material from electronic messages. Although
there is no generally-accepted citation form for electronic
messages, there are some obvious considerations. First, you may
have a number of these by the same person, often from the same year
and day, in your bibliography. Second, you may have two or more
messages by the same person on the same subject (thread, see
above). Third, often the messages are little more than
conversation, which means that matters of fact are not as well
substantiated as they would be in a scholarly book or an article in
a professional journal; in other words, you should try to verify
facts from published sources (which may be on-line ones), just as
you would do if someone told you something. As samples of
bibliographic entries for discussion list messages, I have included
items under my name in the bibliographic examples of the Course Style Sheet.
All contents copyright © 1995, 2000, 2001.
J. B. Owens
All rights reserved.
Revised: 21 August 2001
URL: http://www.isu.edu/~owenjack/list.html