Kidlink's conferences take place by electronic mail using a technology known as mailing lists (also called discussion lists). A mailing list is simply a list of all participants' names and email addresses used for distributing messages to the members of a conference.
There are conferences both for kids and conferences for adults. For every kids' conference there is a conference for adults working with the kids' conference. If you are a teacher with students participating in one of the kids' conferences, you are expected to join the related adult conference.
Each mailing list has a unique name, and this name is also the name of the conference. Examples: Kidforum-Coord, and Kidcafe-Individual.
We use a software program called Listserv to administer all our mailing lists.

On this page you will learn

• How to join a conference
• How to join the discussion
• About participation rules
• Practical email hints

This is how you join a conference!

You join a conference by subscribing to the corresponding conference email list. To subscribe you have to:

1. Send a subscription request
2. Confirm the subscription request.
3. Save the subscription confirmation and welcome mail

1. Send a subscription request

A. We suggest you to subscribe using our subscription web services. Click on one of these links. Then select "Join": COORD - KIDCAFE - KIDLEADER - KIDPROJ - KIDFORUM - INTERACTIVE - NEWS - Who-Am-I? - I have a dream -  OTHER

B. As an alternative you may subscribe sending subscription requests by email. Click here to learn more about it.

2. Confirm the subscription request

The Listserv will send you a message asking you to confirm your subscription to this conference. We use this to protect you from being subscribed by a third person without your consent.
This can be done in two ways:

A. Click on the adress given you in the confirmation mail. The adress may look like this: http://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?OK=F215F400

B. Reply to the confirmation mail with an OK in the beginning of the text. Your confirmation email may look like this:

Important! Do not change the Subject line's text.

Advice: The request for subscription request confirmation will usually arrive within seconds. You should try to let the confirmations be sent the same day .

3. Save the subscription confirmation and welcome mail

Soon, the Listserv will confirm your subscription with two or three emails.

A. Save the email with the subject "You are now subscribed to the XXXXX list".

B. If you get one, save the email with the subject "Welcome to new subscribers"

These emails contains valuable information you may need one day, for example, if you want to signoff from the list.
Soon, the Listserv will start to send you discussion items from the mailing list you selected.

Joining the discussion

To send a message to all the people currently subscribed to a list just send your email to the list email adress. For example,  to send to KIDPROJ send to KIDPROJ@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU. All adresses are of the type
conference-name@listserv.nodak.edu. Read the subscription confirmation you got to know more about it.

Rules for participation

Each conference has a specific purpose. Discussions are expected to be related to this purpose.
The purpose is usually outlined in the individual mailing list's welcome mail to new subscribers, and in the mailing list's supporting web page. If such information is missing, please consult the Kidlink overview page.
For more about participation rules, please see Kidlink's Policy Statements

Practical hints

For information about how to leave a conference, read the subscription confirmation email you got, or click here.
If you get many mails. Dealing with an increasing amount of information is hard, but there are ways of reducing the volume, and temporarily stopping your mail when you go on vacations. Click here for practical hints.

Good luck!