C471 Exercise 1: CHMINF-L and CICOURSE
Updated: 29 July 2003
Key Points: Listserves are important ways that people communicate with each other
on the Internet. CICOURSE is one such e-mail list that has been used for many years in teaching
the C471 class. CICOURSE will continue to be a primary means of communicating with the class via
e-mail this semester.
Another listserve,CHMINF-L, has been a viable discussion list for a virtual
community of over 1250
chemists, librarians, and chemical information professionals in various
occupations since 1990.
C471 students are required to spend at least one week on CHMINF-L and to
remain on CICOURSE throughout the semester.
The LISTSERV program permits the creation of a searchable archive of postings, so the Web archives of past
communications on the two lists can be searched as databases. In that sense,
the archives are knowledge bases, that is, archives of the collective wisdom of many
people. One part of this exercise requires you to
search the CHMINF-L archive.
Finally, you must identify one other listserv in an area
of chemistry that looks interesting to you.
1. Join CICOURSE and CHMINF-L. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:
- Send the e-mail message:
SUBSCRIBE CICOURSE yourfirstname yourlastname
OR
SUBSCRIBE CHMINF-L yourfirstname yourlastname
(substituting your first and last names, of course)
- to: listserv@listserv.indiana.edu
You may choose to signoff CHMINF-L after one week, but you must stay on
CICOURSE throughout the semester. CICOURSE will be the major means
of communication outside the classroom in C471.
2. Look at the CHMINF-L
archives. Find the June 1999 press release announcing the
availability of STN on the Web. What is the URL for STN on the Web in
North America?
3. Link to the guide Listserves,
Discussion Lists, and Newsgroups for Chemistry
and select one discussion list that looks as if it would interest you. Which one
did you select (CICOURSE and CHMINF-L do not count here!)?