Listservs

Emerging Issues:

As social workers we have developed a network of colleagues over the course of our professional lives that serve as valuable resources and personal supports. Cyberspace offers the opportunity to expand your network and use your current one more effectively through the use of listservs or mailing lists. A listserv is an electronic discussion group for people with similar interests. It allows you to electronically communicate simultaneously with a large group of people. This group can be other professionals across the state or country working in your field of practice, or the colleagues in your agency who are housed in multiple offices throughout the county. Joining a listserv is like subscribing to a magazine or a newspaper. You simply send your email address to a listserv and you receive back email messages regularly about that listserv’s topic. Unlike a magazine or a newspaper subscription it is free, and you can post your own reactions in response to the messages sent to you. You can even "publish" your own ideas, or ask other subscribers for information that you need. Listservs foster professional growth by providing ways to discuss new ideas, engage in debates about new practice and policy developments, and gather practice tips from others working in your field. Listservs can reduce isolation if you work in an agency where you are the only social worker.

Listservs have great potential for the profession since we work in many fields of practice and specialized areas. This technology affords the opportunity for groups such as geriatric social workers, child welfare workers, nephrology social workers, family violence social workers and other specialists to connect with each other around their unique needs as professionals. Listservs can also be used to learn about particular populations with whom you work or will be working with in the future. If your agency asks you to run a support group for women recovering from breast cancer, joining a list of breast cancer survivors can be very informative and better prepare you to address the group's needs.

The number of professional listservs related to specific topics has been gradually growing. Finding a list that fits your interest, however, does require some searching. Keep your eyes and ears open. Look for listservs mentioned in the professional literature, on websites of interest, or at conferences you attend. Ask colleagues. You can also search for listservs by topic at websites such as Listz: http://www.liszt.com; and Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists: http://paml.alastra.com. A list of social work related discussion lists can also be found on the SWAN, the Social Work Access Network’s website: http://www.sc.edu/swan/listserv.html. If you have access to a server, inquire about setting up a listserv related to your interest or for a professional group to which you belong. Listservs are wonderful for conducting business online and for keeping in touch between meetings.

Once you find a listserv that sounds like it might be of interest, you will need to subscribe or join it. In most situations, this means that you will need to send an email message to the server that manages the list using the list’s administrative address. To subscribe, you usually leave the "Subject" field blank and in the body of your message type in "subscribe <the name of the list> <your first name and last name>". Turn off any signature you use. Nothing but this subscribe message should appear in the body of your message. For a fictional example, if you wanted to join a listserv called "socialworkers" you would e-mail the administrative address: listserv@xyz.abc, leave the subject field blank, and then in the body of your message write "subscribe socialworkers Jane Doe" minus the quotes. This is the common way to subscribe if the administrative address for the listserv has the word "listserv" in it. Other mailing list software works slightly differently. If the administrative address has the word "majordomo" in it, your message should read: "subscribe ,<list name> <your email address>" minus quotes.

Once the list gets your subscribe message, you will be added to the list and sent a message that welcomes you to the discussion group and gives you information on how the list operates. These directions will include information on how to unsubscribe to the list. Read this message and then SAVE IT in an email folder or some place you are sure to find it if and when you need to refer to it later. Some mailing lists will send you a message asking you to confirm your subscription to the list before they add you to their list. This ensures that someone with a lot of time on their hands hasn’t decided to send a subscribe message on your behalf unbeknownst to you. If you get the confirm message just follow its directions and you will be added to the list.

Your welcome message will tell you how to post or send a message to the entire list. You will notice that this address is not the same email address you used to subscribe to the list. This posting address is referred to as the mailing address. It is used only to post messages. If you try to use it to manage your subscription to the list (for example, unsubscribe, halt your messages while you go on vacation, or to look at the list’s archive), you will frustrate yourself and the other members of the list by cluttering up their email with unwanted messages. Refer to that saved welcome message and you'll find directions.

Lists can be moderated or unmoderated. Unmoderated lists are the most common. These are completely automated and maintained by a computer that posts the messages people send and also responds to administrative requests like subscribing and unsubscribing to the list. Sending a personal message to the computer serving as an administrator will not get you a response from a real person. In contrast, moderated lists do have a human being administering them. This is a time consuming job since reading all the messages list members post and making decisions regarding whether or not to forward the messages to the entire list can take many hours of dedicated service. Most list owners or sponsors cannot devote the time to micromanage a discussion list so most lists are unmoderated.

You send a message to the list in the same way that you send an email message to an individual. You use the list’s mailing address in the TO field, fill in the Subject field, and then compose your message. Your message will be forwarded to everyone on the list including you. ALWAYS LOOK AT THE ADDRESS BEFORE SENDING YOUR REPLY! When you reply to a message posted on the list, use the reply feature and your reply message will be sent to the entire list. If you want to respond only to one person on the list you would use the forward feature instead. Most lists function this way, although some may occasionally be configured in such a way that you would use the reply and forward features in the reverse order with reply going only to the individual who posted a message and forward being used to reply to the entire list. You can find out how your list operates by hitting the reply feature and checking the address that appears in the TO field. By checking on the address you can avoid embarrassing yourself through sending a personal note to the tens or hundreds of other people on the list!

You will be happiest with a list that not only addresses your professional needs and interests, but also has a volume of traffic that is manageable for you. Listservs vary tremendously in their traffic load. Some are heavily trafficked and may send you 25-100 messages a day. Others may send you only a couple of messages a week. Some may seem dead for weeks, and suddenly come alive. When you join a list you have no idea how heavy the traffic will be. If you get a slew of messages in the first couple of hours after subscribing to a list, you might want to unsubscribe immediately before you get buried in messages. Many lists also allow you to get a digest version. Once a day you get a single message containing all messages posted over he last 24 hours or so. You can skim this digested version at your leisure. Directions on how to request a digested version would be found in the original welcome message.

Practice Tips:

As a member of a list you will need to follow certain standard protocols. Since it’s never wise to just barge into a conversation of strangers, spend some time lurking (just reading the messages without responding) when you first join a list. You will want to observe what types of topics are discussed and what the tone of the list is. Some lists are formal and polite. Others may be quite confrontational. Lurking first ensures you do not violate the list’s culture. When you decide you are ready to participate, send a short introduction message telling the other members about yourself and your interests. Postings should respect the list’s tone.

Post only messages that relate to the list’s topic. Posting a message about a Headstart program on a list of substance abuse professionals will annoy the other members of the list. Also, listservs vary in terms of the level of sophistication of the discussions. Asking a rudimentary question about adoption on a list of child welfare specialists that engage in discourse around recent adoption research and policy changes can frustrate the long time members of the list. When you do post to the list, keep your comments brief. Most people scan and chuck lengthy postings. A screenfull of text is plenty!

When replying to a message, use only the parts of the message to which you are addressing your comments. Respond to other members’ requests for information when you can. Avoid chit chat that most of the list members won’t be interested in reading. You can do that with individual members of the list, not the entire list. Never use a list to promote commercial enterprises, especially your own. This is a form of "spamming" and a quick way to lose friends.

If you do not follow the above listserv etiquette, you will probably be sent either some polite messages informing you of the list’s norms, or you might be sent some cryptic messages about your list behavior.

When people violate a list’s norms they are often permanently dropped.

As a social worker participating on a listserv you will be expected to follow the Code of Ethics in your relationships with other list members. Avoid flaming (sending attacking, sarcastic comments that are emotionally charged). This can cause harm since people are sensitive to what is written publicly to and about them. Resist the temptation to respond to others that bait you with provocative statements. A tit for tat scenario can turn a discussion group into a war zone. Members often unsubscribe when a list is engaging in a flame war. Consider the environment as a staff meeting or family interview. If you find yourself angry at a list member, cool off first before you reply. Remember, your reply can be forwarded by any individual list member to anyone else in the world. You might have to live with your words a long time. While these admonitions may seem unnecessary, some social work lists have had major problems. Two excellent listservs, the Clinical Social Work Federation and NASW's Advocacy listserv were discontinued because of flame wars.

Lastly, lists are not places to discuss confidential information even when the members are all professionals. Using a client’s name or even describing the details of a client’s situation can violate confidentiality. Posting to a professional list is not the same as discussing a client in an agency staffing. Remember email is never secure. Limit discussion of clinical scenarios to general hypothetical situations. It is a small world, and listservs make it even smaller.