Email List Server and Discussion groups

The Northwest Stone Sculptors Association, NWSSA, provides an email list sever that distributes mail to others in the association. This email list is our main way to send and receive email throughout the association. It is useful for announcements and for discussions, but we usually refer to it as a discussion group because all of us can use it. However, due to requests, the server is set up to reply to the person who sent a message rather than to the whole group. This avoids idle chit chat which people stated they did not want to receive. So far the email list traffic is usually announcements and an occasional question. With a little facilitation and encouragement, we could see more discussion.

Additionally there is a similar international email list, but with more of a discussion group flavor. It is described below. One difference from the NWSSA email list is that a reply to their email messages goes, by default, to the whole group. This approach encourages dialog for all to share. Of course, everyone has to be alert and not send private responses to the whole group.

NWSSA discussion group mail list

The NWSSA sponsored discussion email list has subscribers mostly in western US and Canada. There are usually over 200 members, mostly people you may have met at one of our symposiums. You can send out an announcement, ask a question, or just make a comment. We are a friendly crowd, even if there isn't much traffic on the list, though sometimes there is a flurry of messages. You don't have to be a member of the association to join. Anyone involved in stone sculpting is welcome (excepting spammers of course).

Subscribing to the NWSSA mail list:

Enter your email address and press the subscribe button:

What happens then:

  1. You will get a confirmation request email from the mail system. You then reply to it to verify that you want to subscribe. (this insures that it is your email address making the request)
  2. Then, the list administrator will put you on the list.
  3. You will receive an email message welcoming you to the list.

An alternative way to subscribe to the list is to send an email directly to the mail list administrator ra@nwssa.org to request that your name be added to the NWSSA mailing list.

Unsubscribing and other options

To unsubscribe from NWSSA, get a password reminder, or change your subscription options, go to the subscriber administration page.

Stone Conversations Discussion Group

Stone Conversations is an email discussion group sponsored by About Stone. About Stone is an international, non-commercial, information and contact resource for people who work with natural stone.

The discussion group can get lively and usually has posts every day or two, with occassional lulls. Nice mix of knowlegable insights and friendly exchange. From their site:

Conversations is an open email discussion group -- the only place on the Internet which brings together people who work with stone from different countries, cultures and endeavours. Our international membership includes sculptors, carvers, stonemasons, architects, geologists, quarry workers, artisans, students, professionals -- all learning from each other. The main focus of discussion is stone as a physical material (eg: comparative properties, geological formation, methods, tools, techniques) but also as a component of our working lives (eg: quarries, suppliers, markets, workshops, training), and as a material with cultural connotations (eg: landscapes, architecture, art). We invite everyone who works with stone, whether by hand, eye or imagination,

It is easy to subscribe to this discussion group at the hosting site Freelists website. Enter your email address. Select subscribe. Click "go".