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Chemical Information Sources/Chemistry Newsgroups, Discussion Lists, and Blogs

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Chemical Information Sources/Chemistry
Newsgroups, Discussion Lists, and Blogs
Introduction
This chapter introduces some of the new communication techniques that the Internet and World Wide Web have
enabled. In particular, the ability to communicate with people with similar interests is stressed. We are in a transition
state from paper to electronic. It is very important to understand that not all information found in printed materials is
also on the Web, nor is all of the material on the Web available for free. Nevertheless, the Web has enabled an
unprecedented level of communication, especially nowadays, with the increasing use of the social networking
software associated with WEB 2.0
[1]
. However, communication by chemists with similar interests using the Internet
has been going on for several decades using such tools as discussion lists (also called electronic mailing lists or
listservs) and newsgroups. These are tools for distributing a single message via e-mail to a targeted audience that
may reach in the thousands. Starting with the launch of services like Blogger and WordPress, blogs became quite
popular as a way of keeping up with important happenings in a field.
Blogs
A now common way of communicating in the Web 2.0 world of social computing is to maintain or subscribe to a
blog. A blog (short for web log) is a website where entries are made and displayed. The content may include
commentary or news on a particular subject, but some blogs function more as personal online diaries. The ability for
readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most blogs.
An interesting chemistry blog is Jean-Claude Bradleys appropriately named Useful Chemistry
[2]
blog at Drexel
which originally invited users to Post specific problems in chemistry that need to be solve". There are several
chemistry blog directories, including Chemical Blogspace
[3]
and Chemistry Blogs
[4]
.
Internet Listserves
The LISTSERV program has proven to be a very reliable and popular program for constructing discussion lists. a
catalog of public listserves that use the program is found at CataList
[5]
. There are many Listserves, Discussion Lists,
and Newsgroups for Chemistry
[6]
. The LISTSERV program has evolved over the years to include a Web archive of
messages that can be searched as any other database.
All LISTSERV-type programs provide a channel to discuss various issues with a potentially large group of people.
Some of the listserves are unmoderated, while others are private, with submissions only by the LISTOWNER, the
person who administers the list. Some lists have a lot of traffic, so some subscribers prefer to utilize the digest option
of the LISTSERV program. This allows one message per day to reach the recipient, and the single message contains
all messages sent to the list the previous day. Most lists have a few very active commentators, who act as magnets
for other people, some of whom prefer to remain LURKERS, subscribers who are not active participants in the
discussion topics.
CHMINF-L, the Chemical Information Sources Discussion List
A popular chemistry list is CHMINF-L
[7]
, the Chemical Information Sources Discussion List, which was started by
Gary Wiggins in 1991. CHMINF-L exists to serve as a forum for discussion of chemical information sources and an
information source for chemistry reference questions. It is currently sponsored by major chemical information units
of several professional societies (American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Special Libraries
Association). Typical topics of discussion on CHMINF-L include:
News about existing or new sources
Prices and availability of databases and other sources of information
Chemical Information Sources/Chemistry Newsgroups, Discussion Lists, and Blogs
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Search hints
Surveys on various topics
Sources of chemicals
Other reference questions.
Some typical postings are:
Where can I find information on polymer structure and data storage standards?
Where can I find a reference to the Pkheidzhe and Gagnaudze Reaction?
Google Groups, Facebook Groups, and Other Groups
You could use a Web service such as Google Groups
[8]
or Facebook Groups
[9]
to find or start a Web 2.0 group that
shares your interests.
Thousands of news groups were developed to be read through Unix news readers. They were distributed to
organizations only through network newsfeeds. Therefore, you may have to request that a subscription be added if
your organization utilizes newsgroups. The news feed is read by newsreader client software such as: trn, rn, nn, tin,
etc. or newsreaders included with network browsers. They have names that start with:
comp. - computer science and similar topics examples: comp.software.testing comp.os.linux
news. - news about Usenet itself
rec. - recreation, hobbies, the arts examples: rec.bicycles rec.heraldry
sci. - scientific research and applications, including many scientific, engineering, and social sciences disciplines
examples: sci.chem sci.polymers
soc. - social issues (loosely interpreted) example: soc.religion
misc. - materials that do not fit anywhere else
alt. - alternative ways of looking at things; discussion groups range from relatively ordinary topics to the bizarre.
Not all systems carry these Newsgroups. examples: alt.cd-rom alt.feminism alt.horror
biz. - business-related issues example: biz.jobs.
Summary
The use of e-mail and social networking tools that the Internet and World Wide Web provide has revolutionized the
way chemists communicate. Finding a partner or research group that shares an interest in the type of chemistry you
are doing is much easier now than it was even two decades ago.
SIRCh Link for Chemistry Blogs and Discussion Groups
Problem Set for this topic
[10]
References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Web_2. 0
[2] http:/ / usefulchem. blogspot. com/
[3] http:/ / cb. openmolecules.net/ blogs.php
[4] http:/ / www. chemistryguide. org/ chemistry-blogs.html
[5] http:/ / www. lsoft. com/ lists/ listref. html
[6] http:/ / en. wikibooks. org/ wiki/ Chemical_Information_Sources/ SIRCh/ Chemistry_Blogs_and_Discussion_Groups/
Listserves,_Discussion_Lists,_and_Newsgroups_for_Chemistry
[7] http:/ / listserv.indiana. edu/ archives/ chminf-l.html
[8] http:/ / groups.google.com/
[9] http:/ / www. facebook. com/ groups/
[10] http:/ / www.indiana. edu/ ~cheminfo/ C471/ 471ex1.html
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
Chemical Information Sources/Chemistry Newsgroups, Discussion Lists, and Blogs Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?oldid=2194134 Contributors: Adrignola, Gary Dorman
Wiggins, Tmvogel
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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