Finding a Mailing List

How can you find out if there's a mailing list on the topic you want to discuss?

Many Web sites maintain searchable databases of publically-accessible mailing lists:

Liszt (at http://www.liszt.com) lets search for mailing lists based on the list's names and descriptions, or based on words in messages in list archives. Liszt also categorizes hundreds of recommended lists.
Topica (at http://www.topica.com) is a newer list site, combining Liszt's searchable database with a free mailing-list hosting service. Topica sorts the results of search by category, which makes it easier to find the list you are looking for.
Tile.net (at http://tile.net/lists/) includes an alphabetical listing of lists by name and by domain (that is, the computer on which the list is hosted). You can also search lists by keyword.
PAML (Publically Accessible Mailing Lists) (at http://www.neosoft.com/internet/paml/) is one of the oldest lists of lists. It's maintained by Stephanie da Silva.
Prodigy has an index to its lists at http://www.goodstuff.prodigy.com/Mailing_Lists/index.html.
ForumOne has a site that lets you search for Web-based bulletin boards (not mailing lists) at http://www.forumone.com/.
OneList, eGroups, ListBot, Cool List, and other free list-hosting sites let you search among the lists hosted at that site. Lists hosted at Web-based sites are usually not included in the Liszt, Topica, and Tile.net databases, so it's a good idea to search some of the Web sites, too. Not all Web-based sites let you search for lists by keyword, though.

TIP: When searching for a mailing list, think about what words or phrases might appear in the list's description. For example, if you want to talk about cats, you can search for "cats", but you won't find a list named "CAT-LOVERS" or "FELINES". On the other hand, if you search for "cat", you'll find zillions of lists whose descriptions include the words "category" or "catalog". You might want to specify something like "cats or feline" -- try your search several different ways if you don't find interesting lists the first time.

Once you find a mailing list that looks interesting, the Web site may include instructions for subscribing, or a form you can fill out to subscribe. Click here for more information about how to subscribe to a list.

Copyright 1999-2000 Margaret Levine Young, one of the Internet Gurus.
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http://lists.gurus.com/finding.html page last changed on January 13, 2000.