Internet discussion groups for volunteers

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internet discussion groups
for volunteers

This information was last updated on April 1, 2001

Many agencies have created e-mail-based discussion groups or newsgroups (USENET) for their volunteers, including the Virtual Volunteering Project. These groups allow agencies to easily make announcements to volunteers, and, sometimes, allow volunteers to interact with each other, get suggestions and feedback, and ask questions. These online groups can serve as a written record of participation, concerns, trends and issues for volunteers.

Since April 1998, the VV Project has solicited feedback from various agencies to see how they use their own e-mail group or newsgroups to interact with their volunteers. In addition, CompuMentor, San Jose Children's Musical Theater, LibertyNet, Boulder Community Net and the American Lung Association have been generous enough to let the VV Project staff join their lists and observe first hand how they are used to interact with volunteers.

In all cases, these lists are used by the volunteer manager to communicate volunteer opportunities and/or updates for the volunteers. Some of the groups do not allow volunteers to post to the list; it's an announcement/update vehicle, not a discussion group. Others do allow volunteers to use the list to post, ask questions of each other, etc.

There are pros and cons to both approaches. Any list, for volunteers or otherwise, can get out of control with off-topic posts. Ways to solve this is to remind off-topic posters about the purpose of the list, create a moderator function where all posts must be approved before they are posted, or, eliminate the ability of all but the volunteer manager to post altogether.

Some organizations have said they won't allow volunteers to post because of privacy issues -- they are very protective of the e-mail addresses of their volunteers. Some agencies have said they fear someone posting something confidential or negative about the organization to all the other volunteers. (more information about confidentiality in online programs).

On the other hand, allowing volunteers to ask questions of each other is a marvelous way to create a sense of community among volunteers, and promotes the idea of just how important their work is to the organization. Volunteers often help each other (and the volunteer manager) with various issues, and volunteers seem to really value hearing suggestions from other volunteers -- the people who have "been there."

A good example of an online discussion group for volunteers is PCORPS-L (which is gatewayed to the newsgroup bit.org.peace-corps). This is for people who have served or who are interested in serving in the Peace Corps. It is not sponsored by the Peace Corps itself, however, and they have no control over what someone says about the program on this list. Discussions on this list have included:

Peace Corps service effects on relationships
ways to ensure mail delivery while serving in the Corps
preparation for new volunteers from previous Corps volunteers
Peace Corps funding
locals' reactions to Peace Corps
reasons people volunteer, both in general and for the Peace Corps

Keys to the Success of List for Volunteers

The key to creating and maintaining a successful list for volunteers is to determine a mission/reason for the list, and express this mission clearly and effectively to potential participants. Why is this list necessary for your volunteers? What do you want the volunteers to value about the list? What do you want to happen as a result of the list?

A successful list also takes more than participants -- you will also need people filling these roles:

Facilitator, to keep the group focused, post items to generate useful discussions, remind participants of the ground rules or topics for discussion, and sometimes step in to calm nerves when online arguments get out of control. This person also promotes the group to others and explains it potential participants.
Administrator, to help with technical issues/problems, delete/add members, and archive the conversations.
A list may also may require a Moderator to actually filter content, to keep out inproper posts (jokes, advertising, insults, etc.).

VOLUNTEERS CAN FILL ALL OF THESE ROLES. Just as with any task, match volunteers to roles based on their experience and interest.

The list owner must make incentives obvious and valuable to increase and maintain volunteers' motivation to participate. Some groups require all volunteers to subscribe to a list. In addition, some groups also emphasize a sense of responsibility in members to post, making it part of their volunteer commitment, to maintain a certain level of participation in lists.

Other suggestions:

Participate in online discussion groups yourself to get the feeling for what they are like. You can find an e-mail-based discussion group or a newsgroup for just about any topic you can think of using these directories:
Make sure all participants have been told about the purpose and rules for the list prior to participation
Make sure all participants understand the role of the facilitator or moderator
If your list will allow volunteers to post, encourage participants to observe a list for a day or two before actually posting themselves
Encourage participants NOT to dominate the list conversation. This may mean sending out a regular reminder, or it may mean communicating directly with a particular participant.
Make archives of list discussions available via your Web site, and remind participants that their posts will be archived and reviewed by others
Consider the security and confidentiality of participants before allowing volunteers to post to the list themselves. Will participants be using real names and email addresses or aliases? If they use aliases, will the list moderator know their real names? May volunteers email each other offlist?
Realize that it will take time and some trial and error to make your list successful. Also realize that, as list members come and go, the culture of your list can change.

For more suggestions, visit The Moderator's Home Page, Resources for Moderators and Facilitators of Online Discussion, at http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~mpc3/moderators.html. This is a growing set of resources, mostly scholarly, for moderators of online discussions, including chats, listservs and newsgroups. This is an extensive bibliography of netiquette guides, sample editorial policies, using online discussion groups in classrooms, tips for moderating, and information on teaching online.

Safety in Online Volunteering Programs
Information to help your agency create general safety guidelines for all online volunteering programs, suggestions and examples for those managing programs involving youth as online volunteers, and suggestions for bringing together youth and adult online volunteers.

Also see Using Real-Time Communications With Volunteers, developed by the Virtual Volunteering Project. A growing number of organizations are using real-time communications -- usually called "chats" -- to hold online meetings with volunteers, or to allow volunteers to interact with staff, clients, or each other. This resource provides more information on chats -- what they are, how agencies are using them to interact with volunteers, tips to encourage and maintain participation in chats, and where to find chat software.

The Self-Help Sourcebook Online
http://mentalhelp.net/selfhelp/
Sponsored by Mental Health Net. If you are interested in starting or participating in an online or offline self-help group, this resource offers ideas for starting both online and offline groups, how to arrange online support group meetings on commercial networks, how to encourage participation in online support groups, a searchable database of hundreds of national and demonstrational model self-help support groups, and opportunities to link with others to develop needed new national or international groups.

Dr. John Grohol's guide to Starting a New Online Support Group is focused primarily on how to do the technical aspects of setting up a group via e-mail, USENET, a commercial chat site or your own web site.

Online Community Toolkit
http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitymanual.htm
A great set of tools regarding online communities, from what they are to how to facilitate them to sample online community guidelines, rules and member agreements. This collection of helpful articles are by Full Circle Associates Nancy White, Sue Boettcher and Heather Duggan.

WELL Community Guidelines, at http://www.thewell.com/conf/guidelines.html, are an excellent example of rules for online communities and moderators. Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (WELL) began in 1985, starting with a dialog between the writers and readers of the Whole Earth Review. The WELL is now a "cluster of electronic villages on the Internet." There are more than 260 Conferences open to WELL members, covering subject categories such as "Parenting," "The Future," or "Pop Culture." WELL members have founded advocacy organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and their experiences have been used to explore online culture and community (such as in Howard Rheingold's The Virtual Community.

List-Tips, at http://List-Tips.com/archives/, provides helpful information about list management, promotion, branding, "lingo" and resources -- from how to find a guest moderator to list-owner ethics

List-Etiquette.com, at http://List-Etiquette.com/, features the List Member's Guide to E-mail List Guidelines, Rules, and Behavior (and it's for List-Owners & Ezine Publishers also).

Profiles of Four Agencies' Volunteer Lists

Single Volunteers of DC

http://singlevolunteers.org

The reason the organization cites for the success of its listserv is that "the Internet is the only way to get involved with us." The biggest benefit of having this Internet discussion group for the organization is "I don't have to take phone calls. (smiley) I can reach all 600 plus members with just one email message. (smiley)" To other orgs who are considering using an online discussion group to communicate with volunteers, the org says "Get a LISTSERV mailing list and your job will be much easier. (smiley) The 'net mis a very powerful medium that can be used to promote volunteerism and organize activities. It needs to be used. (smiley)."

Since January of 1998, Bucknell University's Alumni & Constituent Relations Office has hosted a listserv discussion forum for Bucknell club presidents and their club board members. Participants find out about the forum via their offline newsletter for Bucknell alumni club leaders. As of May 1998, there were about 40 people on the list, which generates only about 5 posts per month. Any subscribers can post, and the list is unmoderated. Club leaders plan club events (social, networking, community service, etc.). They use the listserve to discuss problems and solutions for club issues.

Organizer Jennifer Johnston says "The internet helps speed communication about the planning of these events. We hope the listserv will encourage club volunteers who live in geographically separate regions to share information about the planning of these events in order to help all volunteers who do this work." Since Bucknell alumni clubs are national and international "the listserv is helpful for timely discussions."

The factors identified as having impeded the success of this Internet discussion group is lack of postings from volunteers.

Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.net/volunteer.html, runs a volunteer listserv for its volunteers, and has been using online communications to communicate with its volunteers since 1971 (when the Internet was still called DARPANet).

According to Project Director Michael Hart, most people find out about the organization and, subsequently, its listserv, through word-of-mouth from other volunteers, searching for Etexts, and through the organization's biannual request for volunteers via the Internet. Members can automatically subscribe to the group.

As of May 1998, there were about 1,000 people on the list, which generates only a few posts a month. The group is moderated, so off-topic posts don't make it to the list. Volunteers from all over the world use the list to find books, proofreaders, copyright info, scanning, etc.

Peace and Environment Resource Centre, http://www.perc.flora.org, in Canada uses a number of internal communication mechanisms, including a listserv, to keep volunteers up-to-date.

Centre representative Michael Kaulbars says the listserv is administered by a volunteer, and is used by volunteer leaders of 14 different committees and working groups for org-wide announcements, things the volunteers think may be of broad interest ("but discretion encouraged to prevent over-load") and "social chit chat." The group is unmoderated, but since only leaders of the group's committees know about the list, Michael says there's not a problem with off-topic posts. The Centre also has a different listserv that serves as its issues discussion group for volunteers.

Online Discussion Groups For Volunteers You Can Observe

For most lists for volunteers, you must be involved in the appropriate project or program, live in a certain area, or be a member of a particular organization to be involved. However, some groups will allow you to subscribe to their volunteer lists without actually being a volunteer for the agency. We are listing some of these "open" lists here:

NEWSGROUPS

Also called Usenet groups, newsgroups are Internet discussions, each dedicated to a particular topic. Newsgroups can be accessed via a news reader or via many Web browsers, such as Netscape. Messages are "posted" to the newsgroup, for everyone who subscribes to the newsgroup to see (it is free to subscribe to most newsgroups).

To access newsgroups, your ISP must carry them. If you get an error message when you click on one of these links, your Internet provider does not subscribe to that particular newsgroup; or, you cannot access newsgroups via your Internet browser; try accessing the groups via DejaNews.

misc.emerg-services
This is for anyone who is working as a volunteer or a professional in EMS, fire or public safety.

soc.org.service-clubs.misc
A newsgroup for members of service clubs (Lions, Rotary, Junior League, etc).

LISTS

These are Internet discussions via email. Email messages go to a central point and are then "reflected" automatically back to all who subscribe to the list. It is free to subscribe to a mailing list. However, please note when you subscribe to any of these lists that the address for subscriptions is DIFFERENT than the address for posting comments and questions. Also, NEVER write anything else in the bottom of your subscription message other than what is called for.

If you find that any of these lists are discontinued, please e-mail us.

ACLIST

majordomo@etr-associates.org

gutvol-l
Project Gutenberg Volunteers Email List. To subscribe, send the message SUBSCRIBE GUTVOL-L to
listproc@prairienet.org

PCORPS-L
PCORPS-L is for current volunteers, returned volunteers, and other interested people to discuss the "Peace Corps experience" and other subjects of interest to volunteers serving outside their home country. To subscribe, send the message SUBSCRIBE PCORPS-L to
listserv@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu
or access the group via its newsgroup gateway (see above)

VISTAnet
An on-going discussion group for VISTAs, former VISTAs, AmeriCorps folks, and anyone interested in national service and social issues. To subscribe, send the message SUBSCRIBE VISTAnet (Your Name) to:
listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu

List Services
Overview of platforms and service providers (including information on free list hosts).

If you use this material to help your organization, please let us know!

Virtual Volunteering Resources
How to find and involve volunteers working from home or work computers, online resources for volunteer managers, advice for individuals who want to volunteer virtually, etc. These pages are updated and added to each month.
How Your Agency Can Utilize the Virtual Volunteering Project
Tips on how to use this Web site, information about our offline services, and how we can help you introduce or expand virtual volunteering in your agency.
Virtual Volunteering Project home page

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