What is a mailing list? It's a discussion group that converses by e-mail. Mailing lists cover a wide variety of topics, at all levels. Many lists have a moderator, who will check posts for suitability before go out to list members.

How do I find and join a list? Many lists are operated through Topica, Yahoo and SmartGroups list services. They all have searchable directories. You can join a list at list web page, or by e-mail. To join at web site, you'll need to take out free membership of service provider. If you join by sending an email, you don't have to worry about this step. You can find them here: http://www.topica.com http://www.groups.yahoo.com http://www.smartgroups.com

How do I know if list will interest me? If list you're interested in has public archives, you can take a look before joining. If not, you'll have to join first. If it doesn't interest you, you can unsubscribe, either at site or by e-mail.

How does discussion work? Lists have three options - individual, digest, or web-only. If you choose individual, you'll get an e-mail for every post that is made. Digest will send you one email a day with all posts for that day. Web-only doesn't send any mail - you'll have to log onto web site to read. This option is handy if you're going to be away from your PC, and don't want email piling up. You can switch between options whenever you want to.

How do I post? Send an email to posting address - this isn't same address that you use to subscribe and unsubscribe. Check rules for what you can have in your posts. Some lists don't allow HTML code, ads in your signature, or off-topic posts. I hope I don't need to say that they don't allow bad language, abuse of other members, or sp*m!

Free or Commercial Hosting. Which is Best?

Once you have created a Web site, whether it is a personal site or a business site, you will want to put it on World Wide Web, right? But where? You want best service at lowest price and you've been seeing free hosting advertisements. Free is good, but is it good for your website? FInd out now if a free hosting plan is a viable option by considering these facts;

There are two main types of web hosts.

• One is a free web host - a company who offers free space on their servers to post your pages and is usually used for personal Web sites.
• The second type of Web host is a commercial Web host - a company who charges you for Web space on their servers where you can post your pages and are usually used for business and professional Web sites.

Most people think that you need to get your Internet access and Web space from same company. Most Internet Providers otter Web hosting but your site does not have to be hosted by your provider. Shop around at different providers and host companies to find features you need at a competitive price. Depending on what type of Web host you are looking for, there are some main things to look for and be aware of...

Choosing a Free Web Host

Advertising

The main drawback to free hosts is that you will most likely have to display their advertisement banner on your site, or an advertising pop up window appears ever time a page is loaded. This is done to cover costs of providing your site with tree Web space.

Your Files

A very important issue is host's method of creating/uploading a site. Now, many of hosts offer templates and user-friendly methods for creating and uploading files for your site. If you do not have any HTML or design experience, this is way to go.

Amount of Space