Start or Join a Neighborhood Listserv

What do bagels, neutered cats and plumbers have in common? They are all topics of sometimes intense, often delicious, occasionally obsessive, discussion on my neighborhood e-mail listserv. Interspersed among the requests for names of pediatricians, recommendations of house cleaners and warnings to avoid a local painter, you find postings of recent burglaries and posts like, "Desperately seeking videotape of last week's episode of 'Glee.'"

Peggy Robin and her husband Bill Adler started an email list for D.C.'s Cleveland Park neighborhood in 1999 by distributing flyers and becoming more active in neighborhood organizations to spread the word. At first they had only a couple hundred members whose messages went up automatically. In a recent conversation with Peggy, she told me membership is now over 10,000, the largest neighborhood listserv in the country.   

As someone who worries about everything and who works at home, I have found the listserv to be not only a source of referrals but also a source of companionship (an improvement over the Microsoft Word paperclip "office assistant" who pops up when he thinks I need help). One neighbor apparently sought her own companionship when she asked for an electrician, adding that she would also like to meet a single man.

Through the daily list of messages I receive from the Listserv (among other ways to read messages is to search the archives), I've gotten to know some neighbors by only their email addresses and their interests, such as one who lets us know when a baby animal is born and the National Zoo, which is only a short stroll away. Sometimes a post asks if anyone wants to join a new walking group.

Several years ago, when cicadas surfaced for their once-in-17-years visit, I loved following the upbeat banter on the listserv. For instance, someone shared a reminiscence from years earlier; his mom received a compliment on her brooch from a shopkeeper and the "brooch" turned out to be a live cicada that she hadn't realized was sitting on the shoulder of her suit jacket.

In the past 12 months, I have received advice on everything from which Apple laptop to buy to tips regarding hip surgery. One member emailed that he had a walk-in bathtub, which helped his recovery; I was welcome to come have a look. An hour later I was standing in his bathroom.

Peggy Robin shared some insights with me for those who want to start a listserv in their own neighborhoods.

How do you start a neighborhood list serve?

"Yahoo Groups makes it simple. You don't have to be that tech-y," says Peggy. Now that the Cleveland Park Listserv has grown so large, maintaining it has become a full-time job for Peggy and Bill. However, during the first few years, they spent only a half-hour or so a day managing it.

At first, messages posted automatically. But, through trial and error, rules about what is or isn't acceptable have emerged. Peggy, Bill or a volunteer reviews each message in advance of posting it. Members are asked to sign each message and you may not advertise your business. We can now pay to advertise on the listserv as well as donate to support it.

The Cleveland Park Listserv homepage provides links to rules and faq. To start your own group, try the link on the Yahoo Groups Website.

What are the most popular uses of the listserv?

Peggy says the most common messages relate to recommendations of specialists or service providers, such as electricians or babysitters. Other popular uses of the listserv are buying, selling and giving away thing as well as discussing parking, traffic, city council issues, and crime.

What are the joys for you?

"It started as a labor of love," says Peggy. It keeps her and Bill connected with their neighbors. Something new and interesting always crops up.

What are the 3 worst headaches?

Peggy tells me that shilling is a problem. People send in fake recommendations for contractors, etc., which are essentially ads. By monitoring neighboring area listservs, they often catch the culprits and delete the messages.

Unkind personal remarks can also be problematic. For example, a couple who posted a message about a lost cat, received an off-list nasty email from someone who accused them of being irresponsible for not being more careful with their pet.

What Peggy hates most are the rare occasions that people use email addresses from the list to send out spam emails to members. As a member, however, I almost never notice this.

What does it take to maintain the listserv?

After the first 1,000 members, it gets a bit more complicated, according to Peggy. "That's when we began to moderate; before that we had instant posting and would take down spam after the fact."

The listserv receives an average of 50 messages a day and posts an average of 25 a day. Every day, too, an article appears among the messages, for example, the weekly tech column.

What else should readers know, if they are thinking of starting a neighborhood listserv? 

"DO it," says Peggy. "It's fun and rewarding, and if it gets to be too much, recruit volunteers!"

I welcome your thoughts about and experiences with neighborhood listservs.