From DAVID HARTLAND
Mike Holderness’s article (Review, 9 May), which outlines some of the
services offered by the Joint Academic Network (JANET), omits an important
facility which bridges the gap between electronic mail and bulletin boards
– the distribution list. This service allows groups of individuals with
a particular specialist interest to communicate quickly and easily using
electronic mail.
The Mailbase Service, developed by the Networked Information Services
Project (NISP), aims to be easier to use than previous systems. At present,
Mailbase maintains 118 lists covering subject areas such as chemical modelling,
engineering design and psychology. NISP is funded by the Information Systems
Committee of the University Funding Council and is therefore effectively
free to the British higher education community. Anyone interested should
contact the NISP Team at: The Computing Laboratory, The University, Newcastle
upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
David Hartland University of Newcastle upon Tyne
