List Members FAQ

How do a I join an email list?

It varies, depending on where the list is hosted.

If it's at Yahoogroups, you can join either at the Yahoo website or by email. If you join at the Yahoogroups website, you have to have a Yahoo ID *and* link your email address to that ID (a separate step at the Yahoogroups website). If you don't want to mess with a Yahoo ID, you can join any Yahoo group by email, simply send an email (blank or not) to [listname]-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, changing [listname] to the actual name of the group. Yahoo will send back a confirmation email and you must reply to that to complete the subscription process. You can join by email even if you've already got a Yahoo ID.

If the list is at Topica or Smartgroups, it's a similar process but without the Yahoo ID. Instead, your email address is your ID. You can join lists at the Topica and Smartgroups websites and you can also join by email, by emailing [listname]-subscribe@topica.com or [listname]-subscribe@smartgroups.com and don't forget to reply to the confirmation email to complete the subscription process.

Then there's lists hosted on private servers, hosted on individual domains or other free services similar to Yahoogroups, Topica and Smartgroups. Those lists generally use some sort of packaged software, like Mailman, Majordomo, Lyris and others. Some allow subscription from a website, some by email and some use both website and email subscription. Since the subscription method varies according to each program, you would need specific instructions for the particular list you're joining.

After you join the list, you should get some sort of Welcome message, usually containing helpful info about how to unsubscribe (save this email!), list rules, website address if applicable, how to contact the listowner, etc.