Try Evaluating this Mailing List

Some general questions to ask about mailing lists and their archives:

• what is the purpose of the list?
• who is the list aimed at and what type of messages are acceptable to send?
• is the list moderated? (i.e. do messages have to pass the scrutiny of the list owner before they are posted to the list) If so what is the status of the moderator?
• how many members does the list have and what is their status?
• how much traffic is there on the list? (i.e. how many messages are posted a month?)
• is the list open (anyone can join) or closed?
• does the list have a home page?
• are archives of the list messages available? If so how far back do they go? Can they be keyword searched?

Try answering the following questions about the mailing list below:

Who is this list aimed at?

1. Anyone
   No, look at the description of the list again!
2. Students of latin american studies, researchers and library staff
   Correct!
3. Information isn't available
   The information can be found at the top of the list page.

Is there an archive of the messages available?

• Yes
  Correct.
• No
  No, Mailbase keeps archives of messages for up to 12 months.

Are the messages searchable?

• Yes
  Correct!
• No
  A search facility for the message archives is available.

Is the list open to non members?

• Yes
  Correct! Non members can send mail to the list.
• No
  No, non members can send messages to the list.

How many messages are posted to the list each month (on average)?

1. 0-10
   No, look again at the Total of messages to date.
2. 11-30
   No, look again at the Total of messages to date.
3. 31-50
   No, look again at the Total of messages to date.
4. 51-75
   Correct, on average there are 54 messages to the list a month.
5. over 100
   No, look again at the Total of messages to date.

Who would you contact to get more information about the list?

1. Mailbase
   No, only technical queries should be sent to Mailbase.
2. List owners
   Correct.
3. List members
   No, the list is an inappropriate forum for general questions about the list.

What conclusions do you draw about the quality of this site?