Parkinsonian links - the Listserver (listserv)

The listserver (often called just "listserv") is a phenomenon based on the Internet. Simply put, it is an address to send e-mail to. When you do, that e-mail will be broadcast to the addresses of all people subscribed. So if the list contains 100 people, your letter addressed to the listserv goes to all 100 people. And when somebody replies to you and sends their reply to the listserv, that reply goes to that same 100 people - including you.

Complicating things a mite, the listserv must have an administrator, it must have protocols for getting on and off, and it must have rules - but most of the time these are pretty well invisible to the listserv member.

The phenomenon is that on the Parkinsn (note the spelling) listserv, all sorts of topics are discussed relating to Parkinson's disease. Almost any question posed or problem divulged by a listserv member will find an answer from one or more of the other 1600 people on the list. Technically, it's called the Parkinson Information Exchange; it is based at a computer at the University of Toronto; and it is administered by Barbara Patterson at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and John Cottingham. From the very fact that it is based in Canada and has most of its users in the United States, you can tell that it is an international effort. Other list members come from over 30 countries around the world.

The listserv has among its members a number of "regulars" who are there all the time. Some of these regulars contribute answers regularly; others are lurkers, people who read the letters (posts) but rarely, if ever, contribute. Other people join the list just to try it out or to get a specific question answered; then they leave.

A very significant feature of the listserv is that it is archived. News forwarded today, problems solved today, and answers given today will be available for you to look up in the archives next year, if that's when you have the need to know. Even if you never intend to join a listserv (and I don't know why you wouldn't want to), the archives can be useful to you. Link to the archives by clicking here.

More can be written about the listserv, but possibly it is appropriate to say, "Try it." Here's how:

Replace (Yourfirstname) with your first name and (Yourlastname) with your last name.

When you are logged onto the list, you will get an e-mail back that gives further instructions, etc. Don't lose this. You'll need it sooner or later.

Once you've joined the listserv, you'll find that the others on it are concerned, knowledgeable, helpful, witty, and deserving of other good adjectives as well. It is certainly an experience very much worth trying; it may prove worth sticking with as well.

A Social Net

For Parkinson's disease patients, both updated information and social interactions are key factors in battling the disease. Though patients seek these through traditional means such as their doctors, families and friends, many are turning to the Internet.

Patients can compare notes on Parkinson's issues and stay in touch with others with the disease by subscribing to an Internet Parkinson's mailing list. Some of these lists deal with Parkinson's as one of a number of neurological disorders. Others focus on caregiving. One list that is an open forum just for Parkinson's patients is called "PARKINSN."

Maintained at the University of Toronto, PARKINSN gives patients a place to pose questions or just let off some steam. A recent scan of the list revealed messages about exercises that can relieve some Parkinson's discomfort, surgery success stories, reviews of books about the disease, poems, even some Parkinson's jokes. One list member announced that he is marrying his doctor, and he invited everyone on the list to his wedding.

It is a sad fact that every web page like this must add "Disclaimers apply."
Revised 17 February, 2004

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