Close window to return to Models menu

	Human Resources /Skills Required	Expenses	Sustainability	Scalability	Pros/Cons
Design/Setup	Relatively low. Install discussion list software	Host server, discussion list software (shareware available)	Very little change to initial setup required over time, occa-sional software upgrade	Can accom-modate large number of subscribers, depends on server space, line speed	Inexpensive and relatively simple to use
Maintenance	Moderator/list manager to manage subscriptions, monitor list for topic relevance, maintain archives	Server, line costs	Depends on availability of list moderator and server	Limit to reasonable number of list members, otherwise members and server can become overloaded with messages	Very low maintenance requirements
Security	Software can validate email addresses of new members	None	List moderator can monitor topics and remove disruptive members	Moderation becomes more difficult with more messages received	List may be open to subscription by anyone with valid email address, or "closed", i.e., all new subscriptions must be approved by the moderator
Content	All information contributed by list members	None	Depends on members' active interest in topics of the list	Archives require some sorting into threads for better retrievability of specific topics	Difficult to find specific topics in archives, even if searchable by keywords (many redundant messages).
Marketing	Post list address on Internet, in newsletters and other publications, mention at conferences	None or very low	If content of interest to potential audience, list will have regular subscribers and attract new ones easily	Moderator and/or members can publicize list existence to as wide an audience as they wish	Members often have problems subscribing. An online form on the Internet makes subscription easier

Close window to return to Models menu