Guidelines for using discussion lists
The Cochrane Collaboration uses e-mail discussion lists as its main means of communication. A number of mailing lists exist, for example:
- Adminors - for Co-ordinators of Cochrane Review Groups (RGCs).
- AusInfo - for people in Australasia and South-East Asia.
- Authors - for contact authors of published Cochrane Reviews.
- CBDs - for Centre and Branch Directors.
- CCInfo - for members of The Cochrane Collaboration and other interested people.
- CLUG - Cochrane Library Users' Group, for improving the content and design of The Cochrane Library.
- Consumers - for those involved in the Cochrane Consumer Network.
- RevMan - for those preparing Cochrane reviews with the RevMan software.
- TSCs - for Trials Search Co-ordinators.
Discussion lists - how they work
Discussion lists are automated systems which make for efficient sharing of information among people with a common interest. Some discussion lists are 'moderated': this means that a message sent to a moderated list is seen first by a moderator, whose responsibility is simply to prevent junk or obscene e-mails reaching the list members. The moderator looks briefly at the message to make sure it is neither junk nor obscene, and then forwards it to the people to whom it was addressed. If you send a message to a moderated list of which you are yourself a member, the message will reach its destination directly without first being moderated. If you send a message to a moderated list of which you are not a member, you will receive an automatic response telling you that your message is "awaiting moderator approval". If messages are legitimate, the moderator simply forwards them on to the list members.
Each discussion list has two email addresses, and it is important that you select the correct address for your purpose:
- The system address: the address to which you send commands to interact with the system (e.g. to subscribe to or unsubscribe from a list, or to get information about a list).
- The list address: the address to which you send items intended for distribution to the other subscribers.
The system address
When you first subscribe, your email is handled automatically by the list server system. It looks for the 'subscribe' (or 'join') command and the name of the list you wish to join. It extracts your email address and your name. It adds these to the list of subscribers and sends an email to you to confirm your subscription.
Most listserver systems will respond to a range of commands which allow you to:
- choose whether you are sent a copy of items which you send to the list.
- choose whether you want all the items from the list each day packaged into a single email (the 'digest' option).
- tell the system of a change of email address.
- obtain a listing of all the other subscribers to a list.
- tell the system not to send you any items temporarily (e.g. while you are on holiday).
To find out what commands a system can handle, send an email to the system address with the word 'help' in the body of the message. The system will send back a list of commands and how to use them. The system addresses for the Cochrane lists can be found here.
The list address
If you wish to send a message to one or more of the registered entities within The Cochrane Collaboration, these are the relevant list addresses:
adminors@lists.cochrane.org (Cochrane Review Group Co-ordinators)
fields@lists.cochrane.org (Fields/Networks)
methods@lists.cochrane.org (Methods Groups)
centres@lists.cochrane.org (Cochrane Centres)
consumers@lists.cochrane.org (Consumer Network)
ccsg@lists.cochrane.org (Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group)
Guidelines
- When replying to an item from the list, choose whether it is more appropriate to reply only to the original sender or to the whole list. Check before you hit 'Send', and try to avoid adding to people's email overload by sending them unwanted or duplicate emails.
- When replying to the list, make the context of your reply clear by including relevant sections of the original message.
- Keep your language clear and simple - discussion lists are international
and English is not the first language of many subscribers.
- Be friendly, patient and positive. Those struggling to master email, and new subscribers to the list, will appreciate the friendly help of the more experienced. Take advantage of the list to build good working relationships.
- If your email address is out of action for some reason and mail from the listserver cannot be delivered, some systems will automatically cancel your subscription. If you suspect this has happened, subscribe again. The system will tell you if you are already on the subscriber list.
Adminors
The Adminors list was established to encourage efficient communication and support between Co-ordinators of Cochrane Review Groups. Contact The Cochrane Collaboration Secretariat (secretariat@cochrane.org) if you think you should be a member of this list, or should be removed from it (if you cease to fulfil the role of RGC).
AusInfo
AusInfo is managed by the Australasian Cochrane Centre and is the main list for news of Cochrane activities in Australasia and South East Asia. AusInfo is a moderated list (i.e. all items are checked for suitability before being distributed to subscribers), and contains announcements of training events, meetings, national and regional initiatives, funding opportunities, and items of local interest. Messages are compiled into a single digest and circulated every two to three months.
This list has a web interface which is the preferred means of subscribing.
AusInfo list web page: http://www.cochrane.org.au/ausinfo
To send a message to the list, address your email to: ausinfo@lists.cochrane.org
Authors (Contact Authors of Cochrane Reviews)
This list enables the Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group and its sub- and advisory groups to communicate directly with contact authors. The list is only used to pass on information - in that sense it is not a 'discussion' list. The email addresses of contact authors for the 'Authors' mailing list are currently taken from the Parent Database rather than from the Information Management System. They are updated every quarter, based on the information submitted through CRG modules. Only the Author representative on the Steering Group can send emails directly to this list; he or she screens all other messages addressed to the list. When this person sends a message to the 'Authors' list with a copy to the 'Adminors' list (the Review Group Co-ordinators' [RGCs'] list), the Secretariat collates any bounced email addresses and forwards them to the Nordic Cochrane Centre, which notifies the appropriate RGC so that those email addresses can be updated in the Group's module before the next module submission.
CBDs - Centre and Branch Directors
General information
This discussion list, for Centre and Branch Directors (CBDs), is for sharing questions and ideas, and making announcements.
Who should subscribe?
Directors of all Cochrane Centres and Branches are members of this list. Centre and Branch Directors may also wish to subscribe an additional person, such as a Co-Director, Associate Director or similar, to the list.
To send a message to the list, address your email to: cbds@lists.cochrane.org
If you prefer to subscribe by email rather than use the web page, send an email to cbds-request@lists.cochrane.org
In the body of the message put: subscribe
If you want to specify a particular email address, the command is
subscribe address=<email-address>
(fill in your email address, eg: subscribe address=fred@abc.edu)
That's all. Don't fill in the subject or add a signature. Send it.
CCInfo
CCInfo is the primary mailing list for The Cochrane Collaboration, and is used to distribute a bi-weekly newsletter. CCInfo offers an excellent means of keeping members of the Collaboration well informed about its activities and policies. The goal is that every Cochrane participant with access to email will subscribe to this list.
CCInfo is a 'distribution' rather than a 'discussion' list – this means that only the official newsletter is distributed through the list. You will not receive personal discussion messages or junk email. This means you can subscribe with the confidence that you will not waste time reading irrelevant material.
To subscribe, go to the following web page: http://lists.cochrane.org/mailman/listinfo/ccinfo
- When you want to share information with the other subscribers, send an email to
the Editor, Cheryl Arratoon, at cochrane@uottawa.ca.
Your message will be reviewed and included in the next issue
of the CCInfo newsletter.
- Should you ever want to change your email address, modify your subscription preferences or remove yourself from the CCInfo list, you can also perform these tasks on the CCInfo subscription page.
If you are involved in The Cochrane Collaboration, make it a priority to subscribe to CCInfo.
If you have any questions about CCInfo, please contact Cheryl Arratoon at the Canadian Cochrane Centre (email: cochrane@uottawa.ca).
Cochrane Library Users' Group
Your opinions and suggestions are welcomed, via this list, for improving the content and design of The Cochrane Library. To subscribe to the CLUG list, go to the following web page: http://lists.cochrane.org/mailman/listinfo/clug and add your name and email address as instructed.
Consumers
The Consumers list serves all those involved in the Cochrane Consumer Network.
This list has a web interface which is the preferred means of subscribing, unsubscribing, accessing the list archive, and setting options.
Note: postings to the list are still delivered to you by email.
Consumers list web page: http://lists.cochrane.org/mailman/listinfo/consumers
To send a message to the list, address the email to: consumers@lists.cochrane.org
If you prefer to subscribe by email rather than use the web page, send an email to
consumers-request@lists.cochrane.org
In the body of the message, or in the subject line, put: subscribe
If you want to specify a particular email address, the command is
subscribe address=<email-address>
(fill in your email address, eg: subscribe address=fred@abc.edu)
That's all. Don't fill in the subject or add a signature. Send it.
RevMan
The RevMan list serves those using RevMan software to prepare Cochrane systematic reviews. Subscribers are kept up to date with new releases, warned of recently discovered problems, and given the opportunity to seek help from other users and the program developers.
This list has a web interface which is the preferred means of subscribing, unsubscribing, accessing the list archive, and setting options. Note: postings to the list are still delivered to you by email.
RevMan list web page: http://lists.cochrane.org/mailman/listinfo/revman
To send a message to the list, address your email to:
revman@lists.cochrane.org
If your message involves a query about RevMan, indicate which version of RevMan you are using.
To subscribe to the list by email rather than using the web page, send an email to
revman-request@lists.cochrane.org
In the body of the message, or in the subject line, put:
subscribe
If you want to specify a particular email address, the command is
subscribe address=<email-address>
(fill in your email address, eg: subscribe address=fred@abc.edu)
That's all. Don't fill in the subject or add a signature. Send it.
TSCs
General information
This list is for Trials Search Co-ordinators (TSCs) to share questions and ideas and to make announcements.
Who should subscribe?
TSCs for each Cochrane Review Group (CRG), Field and Centre are encouraged to subscribe. In addition, it is recommended that another member of any entity without a dedicated TSC be identified to join the list, such as the Review Group Co-ordinator or Centre Co-ordinator. One member of each entity is strongly encouraged to join this list. Announcements relevant to searching and the transfer of search results may only be made to this list.
To send a message to the list, address your email to: tscs@lists.cochrane.org
If you prefer to subscribe by email rather than use the web page, send an email to tscs-request@lists.cochrane.org
In the body of the message put: subscribe
If you want to specify a particular email address, the command is
subscribe address=<email-address>
(fill in your email address, eg: subscribe address=fred@abc.edu)
That's all. Don't fill in the subject or add a signature. Send it.
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