9.   Mailing lists and Newsgroups

9.2   How do I start a new newsgroup?
The traditional answer has been: if you need to ask you're not ready to do it. It's something not to be embarked on lightly.

First ask yourself the following questions:

  • Is there no other group already covering the topic?
  • Would the group attract enough posts for long-term viability, or would a mailing list be a better option?
  • Where should the new group go - in the main Usenet hierarchy, under alt or under uk?

Then, to find out how to go about it, lurk in news.announce.newgroups and news:news.groups, alt.config, or uk.net.news.announce and uk.net.news.config, as appropriate. See also the FAQ How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup posted at intervals to news.announce.newusers.

Useful documents on UK newsgroup creation can be found at: http://www.usenet.org.uk/

If you want to try the easier route of setting-up your own mailing list, a good starting point is the Mailing List Management Software FAQ, posted monthly to comp.mail.list-admin.software, or at: ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.answers/mail/list-admin/software-faq.
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