Forum FAQ:

Informix Newsgroup and eMail Discussion Lists

This listing provides an overview of electric forums and explains some of the finer points of posting and reading messages.

The text is organized into a series of questions and answers. The questions discussed are:

1. Overview: What are electronic forums?
2. What kind of information should be posted to a list?
3. How do I post an original message to a list?
4. Do I need to include any special information in a posting?
5. Do I need to format my message in a particular way?
6. How do I reply to the author of a message?
7. How do I post a follow-up message to the entire list?
8. What is the Informix-List Usenet gateway?
9. Is there an archive of past list messages?
10. Is there a technical FAQ listing for Informix?
11. How do I join the list or unsubscribe?

1. Overview: What are electronic forums?

Do you have an Informix problem that's got you stumped? Why not discuss it electronically with thousands of other Informix users from the comfort of your own terminal or PC? That's what subscribers to the Usenet newsgroup comp.databases.informix and the Informix email discussion list informix-list do every day.

comp.databases.informix is part of Usenet - a the collection of thousands of computer systems world-wide that run software known as netnews, or simply news. This allows them to act as a large distributed bulletin board system. Subscribers read and post news articles on their local systems, while background software controls the distribution of articles to other news sites. Discussions are grouped into subject areas called newsgroups, which are analogous to individual discussion forums on a typical small BBS.

Informix-List is one of a number of email discussion lists on the IIUG List Server. The IIUG list server is essentially a mail forwarding service that allows participants to send a message to a special email address and have their message forwared on to each subscriber address on the mailing list. Using a mailing list does not require any special software, other than a standard email client program.

The newsgroup comp.databases.informix is gatewayed with the mailing list informix-list. This means that all messages posted to comp.databases.informix with a distribution that reaches the home site of informix-list are automatically posted to the mailing list. Likewise, all messages sent to the mailing list are posted to the newsgroup. Thus the newsgroup and mailing list are in reality just different delivery vehicles for the same discussion forum.

The Informix mailing list was started in February of 1991 at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Within six months, the list was reaching an estimated 700 people. This rapid growth, coupled with the increasing size of the only database-related newsgroup at the time, comp.databases, led to the formation of a separate newsgroup dedicated to Informix. In September of that year, the newsgroup comp.databases.informix was voted into existence as the first sub-newsgroup of comp.databases. In early 1998, the list was moved to iiug.org, the home system for the International Informix Users Group.

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2. What kind of information should be posted to a list?

The various lists are forums for the discussion of Informix database management software and related subjects. Topics include all aspects of using and supporting the various Informix offerings, from C-ISAM to Wingz to NewEra, as well as other products designed to operate in an Informix environment.

Membership in IIUG sponsored lists is open to IIUG Members. In general, the lists are unmoderated, so members are solely responsible for its content. All contributions are welcome, so long as they emphasize substantive information.

The question of whether a particular posting is appropriate for a list is sometimes difficult to answer. While the main focus of the list concerns the technical aspects of using Informix products, news and discussions related to the availability or support of those products are also welcome.

Often, it's not so much the subject, but the approach to it that will dictate whether a posting is appropriate. For example, a brief technically oriented announcement of a new product with an address for more information would probably be welcome on the list. However, an extravagantly worded press release more than likely would not be well received.

Geography should also be considered. The mailing list is distributed world wide via direct email addressing, aliases and mail/news gateways. There is no way to restrict the distribution of an individual message. So, if a topic is of interest to only a limited region, it's probably not a good candidate for posting to the list.

Since most of these considerations are subjective, there are no hard and fast rules. The best idea may be simply to be conservative if you are in doubt whether to post a particular message, especially if you are new to the Net. If you're concerned that a message might not be appropriate, you may contact the list manager at informix-list-manager@iiug.org to discuss it prior to posting to the list.

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3. How do I post an original message to the list?

To post a message to the entire list, send a normal email message to the address "informix-list" on the system "iiug.org". When it reaches iiug.org, it will immediately be sent out to each member of the list and through the gateway to Usenet (see #8 below).

4. Do I need to include any special information in a posting?

Technically, no. However, as a matter of etiquette you should include your email address within your message to help others reply directly to you. Many people put this information in a standard signature block that they include at the end of each outgoing message. By convention, this block should be no more than 4 lines long. Also, some mailers may want this block preceded by a line consisting of "-- " (dash, dash, space).

5. Do I need to format my message in a particular way?

Usually, the format of the message text is up to you. However, you should be aware that your message will be viewed on a wide variety of display devices. Consider how any internal tabs, automatic line wrapping, windows that are wider than 80 columns, or other characteristics of your environment might translate to other systems.

6. How do I reply to the author of a message?

If you want to send a reply to the someone who originated a message, you should send mail directly to their email address. The "reply" command in your mailer should work correctly, but it's always best to check the reply address to make sure it's correct.

7. How do I post a follow-up message to the entire list?

If you want to post a follow-up message to the list, send it like you would an original message, as outlined in question #3 above. Before doing so, consider whether a follow-up to the entire list or a reply to the original author is more appropriate. The answer to question #2 may help in this consideration.

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8. What is the Informix-List Usenet gateway?

A two-way bridge, or "gateway," has been established between the Informix-List and the Usenet newsgroup comp.databases.informix. All messages sent to the mailing list are automatically posted to the newsgroup, and all articles that are posted to the newsgroup with a Distribution that reaches Emory University are sent to the mailing list. This enables email and news reader participants to communicate with each other and greatly increases the reach and effectiveness of both forums.

9. Is there an archive of past list messages?

This site houses a searchable archive of all messages posted to the CDI Archive. The archive can also be browsed at ftp://ftp.iiug.org/pub/informix/comp.databases.informix/volumes/ and reached via anonymous FTP to ftp.iiug.org. No other lists are archived.

10. Is there a technical FAQ listing for Informix?

Yes. This file is the FAQ listing for the mailing list. There is also a much larger FAQ Listing of technically oriented questions about Informix itself. It is maintained by David Williams, djw@smooth1.demon.co.uk.

11. How do I join the list or unsubscribe?

IIUG members can subscribe by visiting the Upgrade your Profile page and selecting Informix-list as an option.

Remember that if you have access to comp.databases.informix on Usenet, you do not need to join the list since all information posted to that newsgroup is automatically sent to the list, and vice versa (see #8 above).

If you have any further questions about sending or reading email, ask your email administrator or contact informix-list-manager@iiug.org.

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