List Review Service v1n08A, "ANTHRO-L" (May 25, 1992)
URL: ftp://ftp.lib.ncsu.edu/pub/stacks/lrs/lrs-v1n08a


                      LIST REVIEW SERVICE         ISSN: 1060-8192

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Vol. 1, No. 8A     ANTHRO-L (General Anthropology)    25 MAY 1992
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Published bi-weekly, when school is in session, by The University
of Missouri, St. Louis Libraries. Raleigh C. Muns, editor.

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SYNOPSIS OF ONE WEEK'S ACTIVITY -
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Name of List Reviewed:        ANTHRO-L
Location:                     LISTSERV@UBVM (Bitnet)

Listowner:                    Ezra Zubrow, Hugh Jarvis
                              BITNET: ANTOWNER@UBVM


Number of Subscribers:        409 users in 24 countries


Period Monitored:             13 MAY 92 - 19 MAY 92 (inclusive)

No. Messages Week Monitored:  19
No. Queries Posted:           03  (16 % of total activity)
No. Non-queries Posted:       16  (84 % of total activity)

Lines Sent (w/o headers):     1019 (app. 44 screens of 23 lines)
                              Note: one message 608 lines long

Msgs. Posted Prev. 3 Months:  862

Searchable Archives:          Yes

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REVIEW -
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ANTHRO-L, self-described as a "General Anthropology Bulletin Board,"
focused primarily on issues of an administrative nature during the week
monitored. Sample topics were

                Governmental oversight of academic research.

                The scheduled demise of the anthropology department
                at San Diego State University.

                Queries and answers about the heads of various
                anthropology departments.

More than half of the text received came from a single message
via the Asia Watch people regarding the abuse of East Timorese laborers
by the Indonesian government. The 608 lines of text supplied chronology,
names, and background. The message also contained three appendices
consisting of source documents (e.g., statements, petitions, signatories)
from Timorese involved in the labor abuse. Such a message is the sort to
file away to impress non-net colleagues as to the quality of information
available in the aether.

Nonetheless, the overall tone of the list failed to arouse my prurient
interest. I explored the indices of the list's archives in order to
expand my knowledge about the list's subject scope. (Like a restaurant
reviewer, I'm aware of the methodological pitfalls in assuming that one
bad pizza is representative of the menu each and every day.)

Pepperoni and anchovies abound in ANTHRO-L as I found, and explored, in
the list's archives the following topics:

                        Excision & Cliterodectomy

                        Liklik tok

                        Pidgin vs. Doodspeak (aka cyberspeak, aka ...)

                        Deviance Syllabus

There's nothing like eavesdropping on correspondence on fascinating
topics amongst experts in their field to recharge one's fascination with
LISTSERVs! Some of the Deviance Syllabus reading list has already been
incorporated into my recreational reading plans for the summer.

Speaking tentatively as a non-anthropologist, ANTHRO-L looks like
a good bet for the unconnected professional to take the computer net-
work plunge. Speaking confidently as an information junky, this list is
a very, very good read.


-R. Muns

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SUGGESTED USES FOR LIST -
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        1)     Eclectic education for undergraduate anthropology
               students.

        2)     Contact tool for academic anthropologists.

        3)     Anthropology problem solving tool (e.g., "Where is ...")

        4)     Entertainment.


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BITNET SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION -
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Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer and do not
represent the views of the University of Missouri, St. Louis.

Copyright 1992. Raleigh C. Muns (Reference Librarian)
Thomas Jefferson Library, University of Missouri, St. Louis
8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63121 (ph:(314) 553-5059)

BITNET ADDRESS: SRCMUNS@UMSLVMA