> I like both.  Mailing list are far harder to find.  (List of
> that is).
I dont know if this is of any help
but here is a text file I got
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: L-Soft list server at North Dakota HECN (1.8c) 

To: shaunewing@USA.NET 
Subject:      File: "NEW-LIST WOUTERS"
Date: Monday
23 February 1998 15:33
HOW TO FIND AN INTERESTING MAILINGLIST
Arno Wouters - Arno.Wouters@phil.ruu.nl
Last update: 5 February 1994
This document is available by email from "listserv@vm1.nodak.edu" with
GET NEW-LIST WOUTERS
or by anonymous ftp from "vm1.nodak.edu" as
new-list.wouters
in the directory "new-list".
(In compiling this information I have made ample use of Marty Hoag's
Some lists of list
(as of 05/01/92) which is retrievable from NEW-
LIST as "LISTSOF LISTS")
TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MAILINGLISTS
TWO NOTES ON ADDRESSES
SOURCES
TOOLS and METHODS
The LISTSERV "List of lists"
The SRI NISC "interest-groups" list of lists
The USENET lists of newsgroups and mailing lists
The Dartmouth SIGLIST
The "Directory of Scholarly Electronic Conferences" (ACADLIST)
NEW-LIST
LIST SEARCHES ON THE INTERNET
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MAILINGLISTS
======================================
A mailing list is a computer program that distributes messages among a
list of subscribers. This program has an email-address
(listname@domain). Mail sent to this address is distributed
automatically to all the subscribers.
There are two types of mailing lists: manually maintained lists and
automated lists.
(1) In its manual form the list of subscribers is maintained by a
person
the list administrator. To subscribe to such a list one should
ask the list administrator to add you to the list. Typically the
administrator can be reached at listname-request@domain.
(2) An automated list is maintained by a program (a so-called
mailserver). To (un)subscribe to an automated list one should send a
message to the mailserver. Usually
this is the command "SUB listname
Yourfirstname Yourlastname" to subscribe and "SIGNOFF listname" to
sign off (substitute the appropriate names and leave off the quotes!).
A mailserver is a program that interprets the lines in a message as a
series of commands to act on
for example to mail a file or to add a
person to a mailing list. To learn how to handle a mailserver one
should send a one line message containing the command "help" (no
quotes!) to the mailserver's address. (In some rare cases
the
mailserver needs an empty message with "help" in the subject).
LISTSERV is the name of the single most important mailserver on
Bitnet. It provides three kinds of services: (1) mailing list
management
(2) file archives
(3) address registration. A userguide
is available from LISTSERV@EARNCC.BITNET by sending it the command GET
LSVGUIDE MEMO. The command HELP can be sent to any Listserv. It will
give you a short list of commands. "INFO REFCARD" returns a longer
list
INFO GEN
a manual. Typically
if a list's address is
LIST@NODE.BITNET the list is maintained by LISTSERV@NODE.BITNET.
Alternatively
if LISTSERV@NODE.BITNET maintains a list named LIST the
list's address is LIST@NODE.BITNET.
There are also Unix versions of Listserv that work on the Internet.
Don't expect these versions to function exactly like the traditional
Listserv.
IMPORTANT: One should carefully distinguish between the address of the
list and the address of the administrator/mailserver. Never send
requests/commands for (un)subscription to the list! Such a message
would bother all the participants
but it would not help you to get
on/off the list. Note
that the list administrator is often just that:
one of the computer people who maintains the list
but is not himself
a subscriber. Alternatively
a mailserver will only react to mail that
is addressed to the mailserver's address
not to the address of the
lists it maintains.
Type of list    |  Address of list       |    Requests/commands
----------------|------------------------|-----------------------
|                        |
Manually        |  listname@domain       |  listname-request@domain
|                        |
LISTSERVed      |  listname@node.BITNET  |  LISTSERV@node.BITNET
|                        |
TWO NOTES ON ADDRESSES
======================
Internet addresses have the format user@domain (for example
John.Doe@phil.ruu.nl)
Bitnet uses the format user@bitnetnode (for
example JDOE@HNYKUN51). To send mail from Internet to Bitnet append
.BITNET
to the Bitnet address (e.g. JDOE@HNYKUN51.BITNET). To send
mail from BITNET to Internet one could use the Internet address
without any changes.
Janet users in the United Kingdom should reverse the order of the
Internet domainnames and Internet users outside the UK should reverse
the order of Janet domainnames.
SOURCES
=======
There are several lists of lists available. The main ones are:
-the Listserv "list of lists" on Bitnet;
-the Internet "interest-groups" list;
-two lists of Usenet newsgroups;
-the Usenet list of "Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists" on Internet
and UUCP networks;
-a combined list of Bitnet and Internet lists from Dartmouth
(SIGLIST);
-the "Directory of Scholarly Electronic Conferences" (ACADLIST)
an
annotated list of mailing lists
newsgroups
newsletters
electronic
journals etc. that are of interest to academics;
Another important sources is:
-NEW-LIST
a Listserved mailing list and archive for announcements of
new lists. In addition
the NEW-LIST archive contains copies of both
the Listserv and the "interest-groups" lists of lists in a searchable
format.
(The WAIS based "lists" database on CIC-net is dissolved).
TOOLS and METHODS
=================
Basically
there are two methods to access these sources:
(1) on line searches
(2) retrieve a list and search through it at home (electronically
or after printing).
As most lists are long
the first method is often the prefered one.
Internet tools for on line retrieval: gopher
WAIS
telnet (one tool
would suffice
gopher is the preferred one).
Listserv databases can be searched interactively from VAX/VMS and from
VM/SP CMS systems. Other users should submit batch jobs by email. Send
an "INFO DATABASE" to an appropriate Listserv for more information.
Tools for retrieving files: anonymous ftp (Internet only) and email.
Make sure you have enough disk space available
since most lists are
VERY long.
Tools for searching the retrieved files include your favourite word
processor
GREP commands
hypercard etc.
The LISTSERV "List of lists"
============================
The Listserv list of lists contains one line descriptions of
Listserved lists on Bitnet. Most (but not all) Listservs will get you
a copy after submitting the command "LIST GLOBAL". Most servers would
also allow for the command "LIST GLOBAL /string" (e.g. "LIST GLOBAL
/philos") to get those lists which have "string" in their description.
The SRI NISC "interest-groups" list of lists
============================================
This is a list with descriptions of special interest group mailing
lists available on the Internet
compiled by Steven Bjork. New
versions of this list are typically issued on a quarterly basis.
The file "interest-groups" (over 1.2 MB!) is available:
-by anonymous ftp from sri.com in the directory "netinfo".
-by email from mail-server@sri.com ("send interest-groups").
A hardcopy
indexed version is available from Prentice Hall under the
title "Internet: Mailing Lists" (ISBN 0-13-327941-3).
The USENET lists of newsgroups and mailing lists
================================================
David Lawrence maintains two lists of newsgroups on Usenet. The "List
of Active Newsgroups" lists the regular Usenet newsgroups. The Usenet
software also allows the transport of hierarchies of newsgroups not
part of the "traditional" Usenet (bionet
alt-groups
bit.listserv
etc.). These groups are listed in the list of "Alternative Newsgroup
Hierarchies". Both lists contain one line descriptions.
Stephanie da Silva maintains the list of "Publicly Accessible Mailing
Lists". This is a list of mailing lists available primarily through
the Internet and the UUCP network. The list includes short
descriptions of the purpose of the lists.
These lists are distributed via the Usenet newsgroups news.lists and
news.answers (monthly updates). News.answers is archived at many
sites. The files are named "active-newsgroups"
alt-hierarchies
and
mailing-lists
. They can also be obtained from the MIT Usenet
archive:
-by anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu in "/pub/usenet/news.answers".
-via email from "mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu"  The appropriate commands
are:  send usenet/news.answers/active-newsgroups/*
send usenet/news.answers/alt-hierarchies/*
send usenet/news.answers/mail/mailing-lists/*
The Dartmouth SIGLIST
=====================
David Avery from Dartmouth maintains a combined edited list (over 500
KB!) of Listserved and manually maintained lists on both Bitnet and
Internet. The list includes short descriptions of the purpose of the
lists and is sorted by category (computing
science
humanities etc.).
It is updated monthly. Dartmouth provides several versions of the
list. They also provide several applications (MacIntosh Hypercard
MSDOS
VM/CMS
VAX/VMS and Unix) that present the list in a nice
format and facilitate searches.
SIGLIST is available:
-by anonymous ftp from DARTCMS1.DARTMOUTH.EDU in directory SIGLISTS.
-by email from LISTSERV@DARTCMS1.BITNET ("INDEX SIGLISTS" for a list
of files and "GET READ ME" for more information )
The "Directory of Scholarly Electronic Conferences" (ACADLIST)
===============================================================
From the README file: "This directory contains descriptions of
electronic conferences (e-conferences) on topics of interest to
scholars.  E-conference is the umbrella term that includes discussion
lists
interest groups
e-journals
e-newsletters
Usenet newsgroups
forums
etc.  We have used our own judgment in deciding what is of
scholarly interest
and accept any advice or argument about our
decisions."
ACADLIST (from Kent State University) is an annotated list. The
entries are placed into categories according to the academic subject
area of the e-conference. ACADLIST consists of 8 separate text files.
Please note that the first four files contain several subject areas
arranged in alphabetical order. FILE1 is titled: "Anthropology-
Education"
this means that it contains all the subject areas that
fall alphabethically between A and E! The list is also available as a
two file HYPERCARD stack and as a one file MS WORD document (MAC
version!).
ACADLIST is available:
-by anonymous ftp from KSUVXA.KENT.EDU in the directory "library" (get
acadlist.readme
for more information).
-by email from LISTSERV@KENTVM.BITNET ("GET ACADLIST README" for more
information).
NEW-LIST
========
The NEW-LIST mailing list at LISTSERV@NDSUVM1.BITNET provides
announcements of new mailing lists. To subscribe send the command "SUB
NEW-LIST Yourfirstname Yourlastname" to the LISTSERV. The mailing list
is gatewayed to Usenet as the newsgroup "bit.listserv.new-list".
The NEW-LIST archive is the principal source for list searches. It
contains three databases in a searchable format:
-lists    - the LISTSERV list of lists
-intgroup - the Internet "interest-groups" list
-new-list - the archived contributions to the NEW-LIST mailing list.
From Marty Hoag's "Some lists of lists":
For example, to search of both these databases for lists on
bicycles" you would send the statements
//DBlook   JOB   Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD *
Select bicycle in lists
index
Select bicycle in intgroup
index
Select bicycle in new-list
index
/*
in the text/body of the mail to LISTSERV@VM1.NoDak.EDU or on BITNET
just LISTSERV@NDSUVM1 . These statements would search the global
LISTSERV list of lists ("in lists")
and the local copy of the SRI-NIC
Interest Groups ("in intgroup")
and the archives of the "new-list"
list ("in new-list")."
To get more information subsequently submit the following job
(substitute "list-number(s)" by the numbers of the lists of interest
found in the first job
separated by spaces):
// JOB Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD *
Select bicycle in lists
index
print list-number(s)
Select bicycle in intgroup
index
print list-number(s)
Select bicycle in new-list
index
print list-number(s)
/*
Send LISTSERV the command INFO DATABASE for more information.
LIST SEARCHES ON THE INTERNET
=============================
Many sites provide a searchable version of one or more lists of lists
via gopher. To find them
connect via gopher to a Veronica-server
(usually
you'll get there by choosing something like "Other gopher
and information servers" in your main menu) and search for "-t7 list
lists" "-t7 mailing lists" and/or "-t7 interest groups". The "-t7"
addition assures that you'll get searchable versions only. A search
for "list lists" will give you about 20 links
interest groups
about
30
mailing lists
more then 100
and "lists" more then 4
000.
However
this method has several drawbacks. The most important one is
that you can never be sure that the lists are regularly updated. There
are sites that provide a version of February 1992! Another is that
many of those links point to the ghosts of once existing databases
(e.g. to lists.src or mailing-lists.src).
The Lund University Library Services (Sweden) provides a searchable
WAIS-based version of ACADLIST ("academic_email_conf.src"). There are
several ways to access this database:
-By means of your own WAIS client
-There are more then 60 gophers linked to this database (use Veronica
to find one).
-Several gopher sites provide a general gateway to WAIS (e.g. the
gopherhome in Minnesota).
-Telnet to one of the following servers:
quake.think.com (login: wais)
nnsc.nsf.net (login: wais)
swais.cwis.uci.edu (login: swais)
sunsite.unc.edu (login: swais)
info.funet.fi (login: info)
ADDITION (15 May 1993)
=======================
The Association of Research Libraries publishes a hardcopy "Directory
of Electronic Journals
Newsletters and Academic Discussion Lists"
(ISSN: 1057-1337)" edited by Diana Kovacs and Michael Strangelove.
This directory is derived from network-accessible files. The section
on scholarly discussion lists and interest groups is derived from
ACADLIST mentioned above. The section on journals and newsletters is
derived from Strangelove's "Directory of Electronic Journals and
Newsletters". This directory is available from several sources
e.g.
from LISTSERV@UOTTAWA.BITNET by sending the commands "get Ejournl1
Directory" and "get Ejournl2 Directory". To order the ARL directory
contact Gloria Haws
Publications Manager of the Association of
Research Libraries
email: osap@cni.org. The prize of one copy is USD
42 plus postage
shipping and handling charges.
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