There are many directories on the Web where you can search for mailing lists by keyword or browse them by topic. This section covers the popular directories and how to use them to find a list. We start with Topica and try several others on the next page.
Topica.com (www.topica.com)
Topica is THE biggie. It joined forces with three established mailing list directories, Liszt, Tile.Net, and PAML, providing Topica a huge database of mailing lists - both discussion lists and newsletters.
Users can set up a personal account called My Topica where one can keep a list of all the mailing lists subscribed to, view the number of messages in each, and specify the delivery method of each. Topica even provides a way to easily create your own mailing list.
Find a List at Topica
Let's look for lists that discuss science fiction at Topica.com.
- Browse the full directory by clicking on the More... link in the short topic list on the home page.
- Follow Humanities / Books / Genres / Sci Fi, Fantasy & Horror. Or use the search box and enter - "science fiction" - keep it very simple and enclose the phrase in brackets so you don't get thousands of results just on science or fiction.
- You will be pointed to categories which include science fiction and several specific mailing lists.
For information about a mailing list click on its name. Topica will tell you
what it knows about the list such as number of subscribers and activity. There
will be basic instructions for subscribing or getting more information. Take
special note of those marked with a red check as a Topica Pick
Topica Merger Topica acquired the databases of Liszt, Pam-L, and Tile.net. These were all pioneers as directories to mailing lists. Pam-L and Tile.net still operate as individual services. (PAM-L) Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists: Stephanie da Silva has maintained PAML since 1992. This is a valuable collection, though eclectic and sometimes exotic. It will often have the smaller discussion groups. Tile.Net: Has mailing lists, but the search interface is very poor. |
Where to next?
Topica doesn't have everything. There are more mailing-list directories that carry high quality listings.