Clicking on to APsaA's E-Lists

Occasionally, members post the same message to more than one of APsaA's E-Lists, in hopes of reaching the widest possible audience. This is unnecessary and only leads to those on the less subscribed list receiving more than one copy in their e-mail box. Here is why.

The Openline (including its digest version) has approximately 680 subscribers, the Members list 1050 and the Brainstorming list 1040. Anyone subscribed to Openline is likely to be subscribed to Members, and anyone subscribed to Members is likely also to be subscribed to Brainstorming. There are some exceptions, but fairly few.

How Do the E-Lists Differ?

APsaA set up a variety of lists in order to accommodate the differing interests and tastes of its members. The Openline is set up for unlimited posts by members, whereas the Members list is restricted to two posts per member per week. Also, any posting by or on behalf of candidates running for office is restricted to the Openline.

This has had the general effect of moving more controversial discussion over to the Openline, while keeping the Members list for announcements, referrals, mention of psychoanalysis in the media, and topics likely to generate less interactive discussion. The Openline is analogous to a Speaker's Corner, and sees many more messages than do the other lists.

Brainstorming is conceived differently. It always has a particular topic up for “brainstorming,” guided by a facilitator, and all posts should be directed to that topic. Recent topics have included “Candidate Demographics and Recruitment,” “Governance and Reorganization,” and “Cultivating Intellectual Vigor in Psychoanalysis.”

In addition, there is a list called Association that is used by the National Office and the Executive Committee to post official communications of the Association. And there is an Affiliates list, exclusively for affiliate members, with 540 subscribers. Each of these lists is also available in a digest version. The digests do not abridge the correspondence in any way, but save it, and distribute it periodically, in one long scrollable message.

How to Subscribe to the E-Lists

Members may subscribe to any one or any combination of the lists. To the more than 2300 members who have not subscribed to any of APsaA's lists, I urge you to give them another look. You can always delete what you do not have time or interest to read.

The automated system makes it easy to subscribe and then unsubscribe, after trying it out.

To subscribe, you must first make sure APsaA has your e-mail address in its roster. If you receive any of these lists, it is. If you do not receive any of the lists, you can also check whether your e-mail address is in the APsaA roster by directing your Web browser to , clicking “Find an APsaA Member,” and seeing whether an e-mail address is listed under your entry.

If you find your e-mail address is not listed, send it to Brian Canty at the National Office. ()

Then, send an e-mail addressed to:

In the body of the message, type the commands (e.g., “subscribe,” “unsubscribe”) followed by the name of the list. On the next line, type “end.”

For example, if you wanted to switch from Brainstorming to its digest version, and also start receiving the Openline, you would type:

unsubscribe brainstorming

subscribe brainstorming-digest

subscribe openline

end

Then send it and you should soon receive an automated reply.

The available listnames are: Openline, Openline-digest, Members, Members-digest, Brainstorming, Brainstorming-digest, Affiliates, Affiliates-digest, and Association.

Should you run into any problems, e-mail me, . I will be happy to assist you.

2003-2004 APsaA Fellows