Interesting Listservs and their Usage

Something that has been helpful to me is membership on several interest specific e-mail lists. What are these lists anyway? Though there are various "styles" they all are basically mailing lists that you activate membership in yourself. Since you need to sign yourself up for them it is better than the junk mail you receive at home although it can still be a burdon if you aren't careful. Before signing on several lists I would encourage you to consider joining a list, try it for a while then sign on another if desired. One friend that I interested in listservs left the office on a business trip and came back to around 100 messages. What made things worse is that he had no way to identify the work related messages from the list messages. This meant that he had to look at each message (to verify it was not something requiring action) and then delete the irrelevant ones. I have come home from a trip to find 150+ messages in my mailbox. So caution is advised.
That having been said I would like to introduce you to what is called a listserv. To access a listserv you must first have an e-mail account. With an e-mail account you have the ability to send messages and files to individual e-mail addresses all over the world. The type of list that I will focus on is one that receives any member's message and then jetisons it back out to ALL of the members' e-mail addresses. This allows for a conversation, of sorts, to occur between the members regarding topics of interest to them all.
As an example, I am a member of the Training & Development List. To join, all I had to do was send an e-mail message to LISTSERV@LISTS.PSU.EDU. You don't have to email much in order to join a listserv list. The Training & Development List requires that you just type subscribe trdev-l firstname lastname in the body of the message, the listserv does the rest. You will receive a confirmation e-mail from the listserv telling how to set certain parameters regarding the treatment of your messages and how to sign-off the list. Be sure to read and save this informational message.
You will start receiving messages from the listserv whenever a message is posted to the TRDEV-L listserv (unless you select the "digest" option which causes you to receive an aggregate of ALL of the e-mails posted to the listserv on a periodic basis, normally daily). In order for you or any list member to post to the listserv you need to send the message to TRDEV-L@psuvm.psu.edu not the address you used to sign-on. I would encourage you to lurk for a while prior to doing your first posting. Each list has different rules and definitions of what is considered acceptable behavior. Expect to receive a flaming message or two from other individuals on the list when you don't follow what they perceive the rules to be...it's OK. I have received more than my fair share (maybe we can compare). Enjoy!
For more professional information regarding listservs and how to use them click here to access Cornell's discussion of them. Please realize that I do not subscribe to all of these and therefore want your feedback as to any that should be added or removed. Also, remember that there are listservs coming and going on a regular basis. If you are looking for a listserv discussion group or topic not listed try one of the listserv search engines found on the Web. Four that I would suggest you to consider would include: Liszt, the mailing list directory, Search List of Discussion Lists, The List of Lists, List of Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists and Tile.Net. Below, please find my list of some of the many HR-related listserv discussion groups that I have "heard" of.
After repeated requests, we are now hosting an HR discussion list as well.  To join The Human Resource Professional's Gateway to the Internet HRPros discussion list read the subscription methodology for HRPros detailed below.

Some HR Related Listservs

List Name

Brief Description

Subscription Address

Content Required to Subscribe
ADA-LAW Focus on issues related to the legal aspects of ADA listserv@ndsuvml.bitnet subscribe ada-law firstname lastname
Affam-L Affirmative Action list listserv@cmsa.berkeley.edu subscribe affam-l firstname lastname
AIINT-L Norway-based HR management through the Norwegian School of Management, Sandvika, Norway listserv@vm.bi.no sub aiint-l firstname lastname
AIES-HR Human Resources Information for AIESEC at Texas A&M listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu sub aies-hr firstname lastname
BANKING-SIG Human resource information management with a banking focus, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. banking-sig-request@ihrim.org subscribe
BENEFITS-L Focus on issues related to employee benefits listproc@frank.mtsu.edu subscribe benefits-l firstname lastname
BLINDJOB This list is intended as a discussion on any and all aspects of employment as it relates to blind people. Blind job-seekers are encouraged to post a "cover letter" to the list, for potential employers to read. Potential employers are encourage to post job openings which might be of interest to subscribers. listserv@sjuvm.stjohns.edu subscribe blindjob firstname lastname
BPR Focus on issues related to business process re-engineering mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk join bpr firstname lastname
CAHRS Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies list. Membership is limited to individuals who are employed by companies sponsoring Cornell's CAHRS program Send an e-mail to Jo Poole at jap7@cornell.edu N/A
CARDEVNET The CarDevNet focuses on Career Development issues cardevnet-request@world.std.com subscribe end
CareerNet CareerNet focuses on career research and the practice of career management listproc@credit.erin.utoronto.ca subscribe careernet firstname lastname
CUPA-COMPSIG Stands for College and University Personnel Association (CUPA) Computing Special Interest Group and is a benefit of open only to CUPA members. More than 1,100 members currently subscribed. listproc@carbon.cudenver.edu subscribe cupa-compsig firstname lastname
Dispute-res Alternative Dispute Resolution list listserv@listserv.law.cornell.edu subscribe dispute-res firstname lastname
DIVERSITY-FORUM Diversity Forum is open to the public and hosted by the National Association for Diversity Management. It is available through a web interface, news group, or an email list. subscribe-diversity-forum@telelists.com Simply send your e-mail address and name to the address above or visit their website at http://www.nadm.org to learn more about it.
ERNET Devoted to Employee Relations Issues, sponsored by the PERC Network. ermgr@perc.net join ernet firstname lastname
Futurework Focus on issues related to the future of work and all that is associated with it listserv@csf.colorado.edu subscribe futurework firstname lastname
GSIG Human resource information management for global focus, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. gsig-request@ihrim.org subscribe
H-Labor Focus on issues related to labor history. listserv@uicvm.uic.edu subscribe h-labor firstname lastname
HEALTHCARE-SIG Human resource information management with a healthcare focus, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. healthcare-request@ihrim.org subscribe
HESIG Human resource information management for higher education focus, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. hesig-request@ihrim.org subscribe hesig your e-mail address
HR-OD-L Human Resource and Organizational Development and Change Network discussion list. listserv@ksuvm.ksu.edu subscribe hr-od-l firstname lastname
HRD-L Less active regarding general HR planning & development issues majordomo@hr.trends.ca subscribe hrd-l your e-mail address
HRIM General human resource information management focus, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. hrim-request@ihrim.org subscribe
HRIM_UK Human resource information management for UK companies focus, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. hrim_uk-request@ihrim.org subscribe
HRIS-L Focus on issues related to the changing nature of information systems in HR and payroll (Canadian). Acronyms and technospeak of interest to list members would include: HRMS, HRIS, HRIM, and Internet/Intranet for Human Resources issues. majordomo@hr.trends.ca subscribe hris-l your e-mail address
HRNZ-L Human Resources in New Zealand list listproc@list.waikato.ac.nz subscribe hrnz-l firstname lastname
HRPros "FLAME FREE ZONE" discussion list that focuses on HR issues, not marketing of products or services, or discussions about the list's "dynamics" and "culture". imailsrv@list.hrprosgateway.com subscribe hrpros firstname lastname
IERN-L Focus on industrial relations and HRM issues listserv@ube.ubalt.edu subscribe iern-l firstname lastname
IOOB-L Industrial psychology discussion group listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu subscribe ioob-l firstname lastname
IPMAAC This is a listserv established for IPMAAC members and other professionals interested in issues of personnel selection and assessment to exchange ideas and opinions. Sponsored by the International Personnel Management Association's Assessment Council. Click here to be taken to IPMAAC's online registration form
IRRA Industrial Relations Research Association listserver@relay.doit.wisc.edu subscribe irra firstname lastname
JOBANALYSIS Job Analysis discussion list listserv@listserv.vt.edu subscribe jobanalysis firstname lastname
Job-tech Job technologies list listserv@uicvm.uic.edu subscribe job-tech firstname lastname
JOBS Job postings from the IHRIM website, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. jobs-request@ihrim.org subscribe
Labnews Labor News in the U.S. list listserv@cmsa.berkeley.edu subscribe labnews firstname lastname
Labor-L Labor network listserv discussing the North American labor movement listserv@yorku.ca subscribe labor-l firstname lastname
Learning-Org Focus on issues related to systems thinking and the learning organization majordomo@world.std.com subscribe learning-org firstname lastname
LEGAL-SIG Human resource information management with a law firm based HRIS focus, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. legal-sig-request@ihrim.org subscribe
MGTDEV-L Focus on management and executive development issues listserv@miamiu.muohio.edu subscribe mgtdev-l firstname lastname
NWAC-L Focus on issues related to the changing nature of work listserv@psuvm.psu.edu subscribe nwac-l firstname lastname
ODCNET-L Focus on issues related to organizational development listserv@psuvm.psu.edu subscribe odcnet-l firstname lastname
ODNET The National Organizational Development Network sponsors this mailing list majordomo@lists.tmn.com subscribe odnet
PAYHR-L Focus on issues relating to payroll and HR listserv@listserv.okstate.edu subscribe payhr-l firstname lastname
PRIR-L Focus on issues related to industrial relations in Australia and New Zealand listproc@list.waikato.ac.nz subscribe prir-l firstname lastname
PRIVACY-SIG Human resource information management with a privacy focus for law firm HRIS practitioners, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. privacy-request@ihrim.org subscribe
PS-Ops Weekly email newsletter which highlights currentcurrent opportunities in the PeopleSoft contract and permanent arena by Brenda Sherwood at Magellan Consulting, Inc. majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com subscribe ps-ops your email address
TRDEV-L Very active Training & Development issues with around 5,000 subscribers! listserv@lists.psu.edu subscribe trdev-l firstname lastname
Union-d European trade union discussion group listserv@wolfnet.com subscribe union-d firstname lastname
UNITE US based labor network ftpserver@cougar.com subscribe unite firstname lastname
WAR Human resource information management with a workflow analysis and reporting focus, sponsored by the International Association for Human Resource Information Management. war-request@ihrim.org subscribe
WORK-LIFE Non-promotional forum for the exchange of information on work/life benefits. work-life-request@dcclifecare.com Simply send your e-mail address and name to the address above or visit their website at http://www.dcclifecare.com/list.html to learn more about it.

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