Getting the word out quickly

Listservs have become an easy way to disseminate information, but some question appropriateness of postings

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

With the click of a mouse, the message raced through cyberspace.

Two children in North Potomac had been approached by two men in a white van, it said. The men were looking for a lost dog. The children got scared and the men ran off. Police were called.

Was it an attempted kidnapping? Neighbors were on the alert.

Two days later, another electronic message went out. It was a false alarm. The men were contractors working in the neighborhood and they really were looking for a lost dog.

The scenario illustrates both the benefits and disadvantages of electronic mailing lists and other types of technology that community groups are increasingly using to communicate information to many members at once. The tools allow the quick distribution of information. But sometimes that ease of communication can be a drawback.

‘‘E-mail is a handy way to provide rapid and timely communications to a large group with minimum effort,” said Catherine Randazzo, one of the parents who received the e-mail about the alleged kidnapping attempt — in an e-mail that she sent The Gazette from her BlackBerry.

At the same time, parents in North Potomac worried needlessly that kidnappers were on the loose in their neighborhood.

In a more recent incident, on Thursday, a message was posted to Thomas S. Wootton High School’s PTSA listserv about a missing North Potomac girl, causing a frenzy among some parents. The message was also posted on the Frost Middle School’s PTSA listserv.

But by the time the messages were posted, the girl had already returned home on Wednesday — the day before.

In some ways, cyberspace has become the new town square, where community members increasingly turn for information about what is going on in their neighborhoods. But unlike the town square, cyberspace comes with its own set of rules, including who is allowed to participate and how.

Electronic mailing lists allow users to e-mail messages to the entire list at one time. Users subscribe and then can send messages to the list and receive e-mails that others have sent. List owners or moderators maintain the lists. Sometimes they control the information that gets posted. Other times, the lists are not moderated.

LISTSERV is the name of one type of electronic mailing list software, but many people use the word to describe electronic mailing lists in general.

‘‘A listserv has the appearance of being a purely virtual entity,” said Matthew Kirschenbaum, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland English Department who specializes in digital media and online technology. ‘‘But in reality, a listserv is a piece of software. Who is the individual or entity or organization that is maintaining the computer that runs the listserv?”

List moderators can choose what messages will be distributed to a list and who can subscribe to it. The control is not necessarily as heavy-handed as censorship, Kirschenbaum said. A listserv is no different than any other thing, he said.

‘‘Somebody owns it, somebody controls it,” he said.

Pat Elder, a parent with a daughter at Walt Whitman High School, saw that firsthand when a message he tried to post to the PTSA’s listserv never showed up. The message was meant to let parents know that students who were taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test at the school could have their personal information released to military recruiters if the student or the school did not choose a special privacy option, Elder said.

‘‘This is an egregious case of censorship,” he said.

A similar message that another parent tried to post was delayed, he said. When it finally did appear, it came with a moderator’s note attached that contradicted some of the points made in the message, Elder said.

But Whitman PTSA President Kathie Weinberg said the messages weren’t censored, they just weren’t posted to the proper list.

Whitman has two separate school listservs, she said. Whitnet, the official PTSA listserv, is a moderated forum meant to distribute specific, school-related information.

‘‘We don’t want to have political or opinion postings on that listserv,” she said. ‘‘The goal on Whitnet is to keep postings limited and minimal.”

The other listserv, Whitcom, is not moderated and is meant to be more of a forum where people can post opinions and have discussions, she said.

The reason for having two listservs was because many parents only wanted the crucial information about school, such as whether it closed early, or about events going on, she said.

Elder said his message was posted on Whitcom, however he was unsatisfied because fewer people subscribe to the list.

Nearly 80 percent of the parent body subscribes to Whitnet, Weinberg said. A much smaller population is on Whitcom, she said.

Having two lists has worked well for the school, she said.

‘‘I think people are comfortable with the fact that Whitnet is going to be very specific and we continually repost the rules,” she said.

Groups need to figure out what works for them when it comes to listserv rules, Kirschenbaum said.

‘‘If the list becomes too polarized, should a moderator step in? There’s no easy answer to this,” he said.

Most lists have etiquette or conventions subscribers are supposed to follow that are agreed to when a subscriber joins the list.

‘‘Listservs are tools for social organization,” he said. ‘‘Just like any club or group, they’re not wide open. There are procedures and protocols.”

Despite some of the kinks in using listservs, community groups continue to see their benefits.

Kensington Town Councilman Al Carr founded the ‘‘Kensingtown” listserv for Kensington residents nearly four years ago.

‘‘It’s been a great way to tie people together,” he said. ‘‘People use it for many things. They use it as an electronic water cooler, to find contractors to find baby-sitters.”

Carr first found out about listservs several years ago, when he used local electronic mailing lists to track down a thief who stole his wife’s purse.

‘‘We were trying to find some help in the community and get some response,” he said. ‘‘I posted messages and found out there were other victims.”

Through the listservs, Carr got help and advice. He was even able to track down the thief, who was put in jail.

‘‘I saw the power of these listservs to connect people and share information,” he said.

He said the Kensington listserv has been useful.

‘‘A lot times technology makes people’s lives more complicated,” he said. ‘‘[Listservs] use technology to really bring people together.”

Know your‘Netiquette’

Dave Ottalini, moderator of Montgomery Blair High School’s PTSA listserv, provided some rules for proper listserv conduct.

*Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life. Be honest, respectful and polite.

*If you disagree, criticize the idea, not the person.

*Avoid offensive language and personal attacks.

*Be conscious of your choice of language. Sarcasm and sardonic humor do not translate well into writing.

*Avoid generalizations about entire groups of people, including racial, ethnic, religious, gender, sexual preference or other stereotypes.

*If your message is directed at one specific person, reply to that individual.

*Know what you’re talking about and make sense. Do not post rumors or information that you have not personally verified.

*Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes. Assume people mean well, and that any omissions or offensive comments were inadvertent.

*Respect other people’s time and bandwidth. Keep your postings short.

*Make sure your subject line is appropriate to your message.