Module Two - Lists vs Discussion boards

What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards?

Email lists
I belong to a few email lists/groups on yahoo.

The benefit of yahoo groups is that you can choose whether or not to receive emails, an individual email, a daily digest, or to just have web access only. see image below


This is an image of a group (Southern Cross Quilters) I belong to click on image to see details


Discussion boards
A discussion board/forum is usually web-based. It can have several different areas. Usually you need to be a member to post, but can often view boards/threads without being a member or logging in.


Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?

I feel discussion boards are best suited to technical interests, web design etc. where you need a dynamic interaction. Or if you are actively looking for information.

Module Two - Email tasks 5

5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

My email folder structure is based on sender, content & recipient.

Some senders have their own folder so that any emails from them are immediately apparent.

Depending on the content, some email will go into an appropriate folder.

Depending on the recipient ie. my children receive email which comes into my inbox. Their emails go into their folder, alerting us that they have an email.

Module Two - Email tasks 4

4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

Most of my filters are based on recipients or content. see below

see the filter for curtin as below

any emails from curtin go directly to the curtin folder, and at a glance I know if I have any new, unread emails regarding my studies.

This is the same for any emails that have filters.

Module Two - Email tasks 3

3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?

This first of all depends on the situation.
Is it business, what type of document are you trying to send? To what purpose will the document be put?

If sending to a collegue in the same company, they will have the same programmes you have.
If it is an external business contact, you would communicate with them on the format they require.

If it is a personal contact you would still check to see what ability they have to receive any sort of document. What is their level of IT skill.

If the recipient has a modern machine, it will most likely have the basic free utilities, such as Adobe Reader for PDF's, WinZip for unzipping large files, some type of Office software, and a browser of some type.

If your recipient has Microsoft Works, save & send your documents as .rtf or .txt for word documents, or Text (Tab delimited) for spreadsheets & databases.

Jpegs and Gifs will open in any browser, presuming your recipient is sighted.