Idea Builders, Checkers, & Resources

@ccess on the Web offers anyone who wishes to complete their background on matters of sustainable transport a considerable range of valuable working tools. These include, in addtion to the resources that you will find immediately in this site:

  • The specialized @ccess sites and programs (see menu to left),
  • The multiple Search & Find functions,
  • The Quick Translate engines, and
  • Links to and interactions with a growing set of first-rate specialized sites, groups, lists and expert fora working in a number of related areas, including the following which are among our most used and most useful sources...

    • @ccess Information and Querying Resources

    (If you intend to work more extensively in any of these sites, we suggest that you right click in order to call them up in their own working window.)

    Transportation E-Mail Mailing Lists

    Mailing lists are e-mail distribution lists typically operated by an individual or company that has a particular interest in a subject or product. Mailing lists serve a wide variety of research and education interests, from coin collecting to nuclear physics. A mailing list automatically routes mail message that it receives to all of it s subscribers. Because individual messages are immediately bounced to all subscribers, a single message is distributed very efficiently. Plus, the broad distribution o f mailing lists provides an organized means for individuals on the Internet to identify others with similar interests.

    Most mailing lists are automated, using mailing manager software such as listserv, majordomo, and mailbase. These mail servers are capable of automatically distributing messages among thousands of mailing list subscribers. To subscribe to a listserv or listproc mailing list, you send the word "subscribe" the name of the mailing list and your name (your first name, a space, and your last name) all on one line as the entire body of the e-mail message. For systems that use majordomo, you send the word "subscribe" the name of the mailing list and your e-mail address all on one line as the entire body of the e-mail message (the latest version of majordomo does not require you to send your e-mail address). When subscribing to a mailing list, the "Subject:" line of the subscription message should almost always be left blank."

    Discussion List Etiquette

    The following cautionary remarks come from our friends at pednet, a majordomo mail-list for those interested in improving the conditions for walking in human settlements.

    Not surprisingly, pednet is a civil and friendly place, as those who walk are people who believe in the value of sharing public places. Most posts are responses to others' posts in a certain "thread" (topic - your newsreader should show the thread in the subject field in your in-box). Pednetters should avoid both the adulatory responses ("Great. Me, too!") and the ad hominem attacks that refer to the motives of others. We also don't appreciate reference to your own or others "qualifications": all people walk and probably all members of pednet are quite thoughtful and analytical about it.

    Other guidelines to keep in mind:

    • 1) Proof-read your submissions. The time you take is magnified 300-fold in time savings by readers in trying to understand your points.
    • 2) Don't send very long messages, papers, or binary files to the list; rather, post a summary in straight text, offering to send to those requesting it the longer or coded document. Such requests should always be OFF-LIST (to the personal offering it, not the whole list). Another popular alternative is to point people to a website with your material.
    • 3) If you feel yourself getting heated about what another has written, consider sending that to only that person, not the entire list. This keeps the recipient from feeling as defensive and possibly escalating the exchange into a conflagration.
    • 4) When referring to research or statements, try to cite them, either a bibliographic or web reference.
    • 5) In a reply, don't include the entire contents of the other's message, only the part you are commenting on. If your point is more general, consider only restating in summary point the comments of another (be careful to be accurate and not self-serving). Also, make sure you are replying to the correct party, the whole list (probably what your mail program will assume when you hit the "reply" button), or to the individual, which will require you to clip the sender's e-mail address before hitting "reply" and then pasting it in over the pednet address before starting to compose your reply. Remember, there is no feeling so "sinking" as when a personal message goes instead to 300 people.
    • 6) After joining, don't post for a couple weeks, so that you can get a sense of the style of the list. Your first post might contain a short (one para.) introduction of yourself, but this is not required (when lists first start, introductions are the best way to get things started).
    • 7) When passing on something from your word processor, please avoid the straight cut-and-paste approach, as you will bring non-standard characters and spacing with it, especially lines that are too long. Rather, change to courier 12-pitch type and then save it to ASCII format (*.txt), closing it, and then using the Notebook editor to bring it onto your screen again. Quickly proofread it for format, and then cut-and-paste it to your mail-program screen.

    Your Recommendations

    If you have suggestions or lists which you feel might be worthy of the others' interest, this is the place to let us know about them.

    Back to top

    @ccess Home @ccess Forum Post Office
    Copyright © 1994-2000 The Commons , Paris, France. ® All rights reserved.
    Updated 10 December 1999