February 24, 2004 A link to the old version of this page to show many of the various chat pages and mailing lists about the AT that have come and gone over the last few years is here.AT Mailing Lists, Chat Groups, etc. | A List for Women | Appalachian Trail Blog |
A.T. Mailing List Info
Ryan Brooks established the AT mailing list some time in the summer of 1995. It's known as AT-L. There are now about 500 subscribers on it (as of mid 2001.) I'd say it averages about 25-35 (or more) messages per day. (There seem to be a lot more messages per day - as of February 2000.) March 2002 - more like 250/day.
To subscribe to the AT list, go to www.backcountry.net.
If you should have trouble getting subscribed to or unsubbed from the list, write to: mfw@mindspring.com or ryan@hack.net.
The messages are mirrored here.
Ryan's National Scenic Trails Mailing Lists Page - has info about lists for the A.T., the P.C.T. and the Ice Age Trail as well as archives of the old messages on the lists - a great resource.
A number of Yahoo lists with a focus on the A.T. And another Yahoo one that for some reason is not listed list for folks planning a thru-hike in 2004.
Mark Holmes' Page of Pages of Folks on the AT-L mailing list
Some pics from Trail Days '97 in Damascus of folks from the AT-L mailing list.
Some Suggested Guidelines for Using the A.T. List (which can be applied to other lists as well) :
Please remember to not send messages to the whole list that are really meant only for one person. (I.e. no need to say "Thanks" to the whole list when you are thanking one person. Or chiming in with "Me, too" or "Good idea.") Many people want to be on specific lists, but cannot remain on them due to TOO HIGH VOLUME. This will always be a problem when the membership of lists gets to a high number, but you can at least do your part by trying to think before you post. Realize that your message is going to go into the mailboxes of several hundred people who will have to spend time with your message, either by reading it or deleting it. If you are new to the world of mailing lists, read up a little about them in an Internet book.Please make sure to include your email address in any message you post to the list. Some people's mailers cannot determine the addresses of individuals posting messages to the list.
And when you reply to a message, remember to remove as much as possible of the old message, allowing just enough so that people can follow the thread of the message. People are not happy to receive a LONG message, which consists of someone else's quoted message, followed by a one line response. (And if the one line response is going to be something like "Yes, I agree with that," please - don't send that to the whole list.....)
Also, if you subscribe to the digest form of the list, change the subject of your message if you make a reply to a portion of the digest. A message subject such as: "AT List Digest #55" is not a useful subject heading. I know I immediately delete all such messages, because no useful subject information has been given. (And, be sure to include a subject. Otherwise it will arrive in people's mailboxes with "No Subject Specified" - also very unhelpful.)
And, Please, change the subject of the message if the one currently in the thread is no longer the real subject of the message. It's sort of funny to see the message titles when you're just dealing with your personal email, to see how one topic has devolved into something altogether different. However, when dealing with a mailing list, it is highly advisable to give your message an accurate subject. Yes, it takes a moment to change the old subject, but, guaranteed, people will appreciate knowing what the subject really is...
Here are some URLs where you can do further reading about mailing list etiquette:
The archives of the list are kept here.
Women-only A.T. Mailing List
In late 1996, Dan Bruce (Wingfoot) established a women-only mailing list. To subscribe to that list, write to: majordomo@trailplace.com. Send the message (in the body of the message): subscribe watl (You may leave the subject blank.) - Note: this ceased operating in late 2001. There is now a list at Yahoo which replaces the old list. It is called WomenHikers
He has also started an additional mailing list about the A.T. (atml) I don't think this exists any longer, however, there are discussion boards on Trailplace at: http://trailplace.com/portal/forum_display.php?id=6