Email Lists

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Email lists are used for many purposes in fandom and convention running.

Discussion and Announcement Lists

Clubs and other organizations may have discussion lists or announcement lists about their activities, which may include the convention. Conventions may have discussion or announcement lists particular to them. The distinction between discussion and announcement lists is that typically anyone subscribed to a discussion list can post to it, whereas an announcement list is moderated or password-protected so only a few people can post to it. Announcement lists have substantially less traffic than discussion lists. Any of these lists are valuable vehicles for dispensing information about your convention, as well as solicitations for input or volunteers.

Usually people are free to subscribe or unsubscribe themselves from these lists. Make sure directions for doing so are easy to find.

Concom Lists

Sometimes lists like the above host considerable discussion about how a convention ought to be run or who the guests ought to be, etc, but you should also create a list that is solely devoted to that topic, for use by your convention committee. This facilitates communication to no end, though it becomes less useful and more of a burden to your committee if it carries a lot of off-topic traffic or detailed debates about specific policies or procedures that not everyone needs to be concerned about, especially if those debates turn into flame wars. Unless you have a Minister of Communications it is typically up to the Conchair to moderate discussion on the concom list.

You should be understanding if members of your concom do not wish to be on the concom list due to the volume or nature of the list traffic, and make sure they still receive important information, such as the concom directory and meeting schedule.

Subscription to the concom list is generally run through invitation or management by the conchair or technical support personel. Members may include staff or former concom members who are not, strictly speaking, on this year's concom.

Software

While event planning software like Grenadine and Zambia may include email functionality you might need to use external software like Groups.io