Email and Discussion lists
While some lists are strictly for your reading pleasure only, most Email
and discussion lists shown here are hosted by specific organisations,
and accept contributions from subscribers which encourages an exchange
of views and information.
Either way, visit Netiquette to learn your
email manners, if you've not previously done so, and note that if you
have download limits on your email account, you may have to download
headers only, or choose digest summary format where it's available, as
some lists do allow large (200k plus) attachments*.
*A hint for those who post: if you do have a large file
you wish to share, it's preferable to post a message with an adequate
description and a url where the document can be downloaded, or to personally
email the additional file/s on request, as an alternative to sending
large file attachments via a newsgroup or discussion list, to large numbers
of people who may not be interested in them!
- AdventurePro - The
Australian & New Zealand Outdoor Adventure Directory An excellent
newsletter providing coverage of every aspect you can think of, for
the outdoor and adventure tourism industry in Australia and New Zealand.
- Caribbean Ecotourism
- Ecotourisme dans la Caraïbe - Ecoturismo en el Caribe The Cangonet
list is an electronic forum devoted to discussions and reference
exchange on Caribbean ecotourism issues. Posts are welcome
in French, Spanish and English.
- Centre for Science and Environment,
India
 "...
Sends out a fortnightly electronic news bulletin to our network of
friends and professionals interested in environmental issues." Revamped
web site with links to stories, issues and research of interest on
the subcontinent. A must visit!
- Green Travel
Email Conference Marcus Endicott is one of the original online "Green
Travel" networkers. Academia, operators and travellers providing
perspectives and swapping information. Monitored if not moderated.
- The
Electronic Traveler
 "Currently,
this is the original 1994 edition of THE ELECTRONIC
TRAVELER ...; be aware, it includes information that
is now out of date. It will gradually be revised online
here: out of date information will be deleted, revised
information will be included in italics, and external
links will be included." Ground breaking
original edition.
- From
the Balkans to the Baltics. Offers
a unique window into the momentous political
transformations occuring as Marcus travelled
through Eastern Europe. While some
of the info is now out of date, it also provides
some great tips and excellent advise to would-be
world travellers.
- H-Environment "networks
scholars and others interested in the rapidly growing field of Environmental
History. ... The field has been around officially since the organization
of the American Society for Environmental History (the co-sponsor of
this list) in the early 1970s. ... Scholars doing environmental history
come from disciplines such as historical geography, landscape architecture,
urban planning, archaeology and anthropology, agricultural studies,
sociology and natural sciences, such as biology and ecology, to name
a few."
- H-Travel "is
a network for the academic discussion of the history of travel and
tourism. It welcomes professionals in the field of history and also
those in other fields, as well as non-professionals, interested in
its subject. The focus is on the history of travel and tourism from
the earliest beginnings through the present and future, throughout
the world and beyond. The languages of communication for the list are
English, French, German, and Spanish."
- Mailbase is
a service which runs electronic discussion lists for academics and
researchers in the UK Higher Education community, with several lists
related to tourism.
- Tourism Talk - Australia A
valuable independant service to the Australian industry. "We are
not associated with or affiliated to any industry body or government
department. Our aim is to provide a much-needed and comprehensive service
to operators and practitioners within Australia's tourism industry." Free
Services plus "premium" subscriptions.
- Planeta updates Ron
Mader is a tour de force in ecotourism generally and Latin America
in particular. This list keeps you up to date about his site planeta.com and
is also a means of sharing news about environmental travel and ecotourism.
- See also Outdoor Recreation and Other
Tourism Resources
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Forums and Newsgroups
PHPBB Forums have taken over from newsgroups somewhat, and allow travellers,
operators, stakeholders and mutually interested parties to share experiences,
ideas
and help one
another. Forums
maybe moderated or monitored for inappropriate
or off topic posts and spamming, so read the
"Announcements" or "Read this first" post to familiarise
yourself with the netiquette of fora before posting yourself,
or you may find yourself "ignored" or even worse, banned.
- Planeta Forums International:
Ron Mader is a tour de force in ecotourism generally and Latin America
in particular, with
indexes for Global Conferences, Special Interests, World Guides and
a Planeta
Newsroom to keep you up to date about his site planeta.com
- EcoClub International: "If
you are serious about Ecotourism as a traveller, a professional, an academic,
a student, a job-seeker, or an eco-investor, join ECOCLUB,
a rapidly growing international ecotourism club with Members in over
50 countries already! Join a dynamic, global ecotourism community, to
find answers to your questions, and solutions to your problems. You will
receive
our personal attention, as well that of your fellow members around the
world." Judging by the activity on the private forums, ponying
up your €32 odd (for individuals, more for businesses and corporates)
to join is worthwhile.
- Tourism Talk-Back Australian:
Free access area to "Have your say on the latest industry issues."
Travel related Newsgroups
General guidelines* for posting to rec.travel. Newsgroups
"Travel newsgroups allows travellers to share experiences and ideas
and help one another. Inappropriate posts such as commercial or
off topic posts, multiple posts, cross posting to multiple newsgroups,
spamming, and unsolicited advertisements, are frowned upon or prohibited. Violators
of courtesy and netiquette may find themselves
bombarded by e-mail and flames from the supporters of the target group.
Before you post an article, stop to consider which of the rec.travel
subgroups are the most appropriate."
* General guidelines for posting to rec.travel groups
adapted here is courtesy of Anders Andersen, from the rec.travel.budget.backpack
Charter.
If you don't have a newsgroup reader, or Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape® or Opera web
browser installed on your PC, or your dial-up ISP doesn't carry them,
you can access newsgroups via the web at Google
REC.TRAVEL newsgroups. If you only want one or two groups occasionally,
this is the place to get free access. NB: As at 26/08/06, there
was a fair bit of spam or travel related PR in some groups,
and one instance of vulgarity in an active group
post, resulted in the poster being
"flamed" by other members.
Here are a few examples of newgroups.
- REC.TRAVEL
- PLACES;
for example: rec.travel.africa, rec.travel.asia, rec.travel.australia+nz,
rec.travel.caribbean, rec.travel.europe,
rec.travel.usa-canada, rec.travel.latin
america, others, and rec.travel.misc
(travel in areas or on topics not specified)
- MODES; rec.travel.air, rec.travel.cruises,
rec.travel.resorts, rec.travel.resorts.all-inclusive,
rec.travel.budget.backpack,
rec.travel.bed+breakfast.
- FOR SALE, FOR RENT & WANTED TO RENT OR BUY; rec.travel.marketplace.
- OTHER; misc.kids.vacation, rec.backcountry,
rec.boats.paddle, rec.boats.paddle.whitewater,
rec.outdoors.camping, rec.outdoors.rv-travel,
rec.scuba.locations,
other interests.
Hospitality related Newsgroups
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Search Engines, Directories & Databases
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- afrol News "is
an independent news agency, established in 2000. We exclusively
cover the African continent, in English, Spanish and in Portuguese.
... Our
Travel - Leisure News Page contains more features about Travel
- Leisure - latest news, in depth features and all the latest articles."
Also with tourism subcategories in Development | Ecotourism | Events | Infrastructure | Policy | Tourism. A
well designed, fast loading web site with lots of African
tourism and general news. Choose by country or topic.
- allAfrica.com: Ecotourism " AllAfrica
aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations,
plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their
own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify
allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by
AllAfrica." Excellent source for African resources.
- Agreements, Treaties & Negotiated
Settlements Project "The
Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements database (ATNS)
is an online gateway which links together current information,
historical detail and published material relating to agreements
made between indigenous people and others in Australia and overseas.
The ATNS database is designed for the use of indigenous and other
community organisations, researchers, government and industry bodies."
- All the Web Fast, clean results
based on Yahoo! database.
- AltaVista - Results,
based on Yahoo! database, with sponsored results (i.e. paid ads) above
the search results and related searches also available. Ideal
if you like Yahoo results but don't want to visit the Yahoo/media affliliate
cluttered home page.
- Ask If
your question is academic or educational, the results are excellent.
If you're looking for more "commercial" info.,
then the "natural"
results return individual sites, along with paid "Sponsored Web
Results", and options to narrow or expand your search at
a single click. Results look fresh and unlike other major SE's,
so try Ask if you want to see less of the "same 'ole, same 'ole".
- Google Clean home page with fast
results returned, often with "sponsored"
listings and paid keyword ad boxes appearing along side more popular
search results. Google
Australia offers Oz only or whole web results.
- The Travel & Tourism Destination
Meta-Guide "is
a powerful research tool, or discovery engine. It consists
of pre-programmed links to existing search devices, which
return dynamic - ever changing results. It provides a special
way of looking at the geographical world through the structure
of the Internet." From Marcus Endicott, the original
green traveller!
- The Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory"is
your guide to official tourist information sources: government
tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce,
and similar organizations that provide free, accurate, and unbiased
travel information to the public. Businesses such as travel agents,
tour operators, and hotels are not included." Simple,
fast loading web site, with drop down pick lists to quickly locate
a specific country's official tourism contact and/or web site.
- Trackstar -
An excellent resource for teachers Y4-12, TrackStar
helps instructors organize and annotate Web sites for use
in lessons, so students can explore a variety of sites
related to
a topic, based on preferences and research done by instructor.
- Vivisimo A meta search engine,
it provides search results, plus clustered keyword/subject/site
folders, with the search results showing the relative ranking on
other databases. You can previe the result, open it
in a new window, or stay in the Vivisimo frame so clustered results
are still available.
- WorldTourismDirectory.com ..."focusing
travel industry professionals, media, researchers, goverments,
educational and other institutions, libraries, business and pleasure
travellers, tourists. ... the updates ... provided by ministries
of tourism, national tourist boards, embassies etc. worldwide.
... currently with more than 100,000 entries within 330 countries
and territories." A
very comprehensive world wide directory of tourism and travel related
organistation, with lightening fast and easy to read display.
- Yahoo! Australia Now affliliated
with TV channel Seven, home page content is what's on the box.
Search select from Australia,
New Zealand or global Yahoo! is useful for finding new sites.
- See also other
Libraries and Bookshops, Tourism
Research Resources, Regional
Tourism and Travel Sites and Travel & Destination
Guides about Australia
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Web - Mastering
Isn't the world wide web a great place to enjoy and learn? Here are
a few of the places where I got to know a bit more about how it all works,
got valuable advise, or picked up some free public domain material.
- Netiquette
Guidelines There is such a thing as Netiquette and you ignore
it at your peril. This link is to the original RFC (Request For Comment)
from 1995. Information for "newbies", veterans and administrators.
- Avoiding
Plagiarism - The OWL at Purdue."There
are few intellectual offenses more serious than plagiarism
in academic and professional contexts. This resource offers
advice on how to avoid plagiarism in your work." Just
because it's on the web and in the public domain, doesn't
mean it's free for you to use without permission. Stealing
or copying someone else's work and passing it off as your
own is not an auspicious way to further your career (or web
site!). An excellent resource for students and academics. See
also "Guide
to Plagiarism and Cyber-Plagiarism" from
the University of Alberta, Canada.
- Basic Mailing List Management
Guidelines for Preventing Abuse, from Mail Abuse Prevention System
LLC (MAPS). "A not-for-profit California organization whose
mission is to defend the Internet's e-mail system from abuse by spammers.
Our principal means of accomplishing this mission is by educating
and encouraging ISP's to enforce strong terms and conditions prohibiting
their customers from engaging in abusive e-mail practices."
- Spambot Beware: "There
are many ways of hiding your email on a web page. Most of the tricks
described here can be combined, and all of them will benefit from
some CGI tricks as well." Thanks to Greg Sabino Mullane for
providing a well laid out site explaining the many aspects of spam,
what to do and as importantly, what not to do in combating it!
- World Wide Web Consortium,
or W3C. The overlords and arbiters of common web language, style
and behaviour. If you design/write web pages you should visit occasionally
to ensure your code is up to date so we all get to see your pearls
of wisdom. Much technical sysadmin stuff, but also a number of
tools to test your code against the current standards. A good
place to get an overview of who, what, where, when, why and how.
- The Web Design Group "was
founded to promote the creation of non-browser specific,
non-resolution specific, creative and informative sites
that are accessible to all users worldwide. To this
end, the WDG offers material on a wide range of HTML
related topics." A must visit, and it
most likely won't matter which browser you use (yes,
there's more than one!) or how slow you connection
is, you'll enjoy this site, and get some excellent
tips on simple and effective page layout and coding.
- The
CSS Shark "Cascading Style Sheets is a means to separate
the presentation from the structural markup of a web site. By applying
a CSS style
you have the ability to keep the structure of your document lean
and fast, while controlling the appearance of the content." If
you've heard about CSS and wondered what it is and
why you should get to know it, then the CSS Shark is a good introduction,
and a primer on how to convert your pages from bloated code heavy
behemouths,
to lean, faster loading and easier to update files. Visit
now!
- Celine's
Original .GIFs. "All graphics here ...
are placed willfully and knowingly in the public
domain. ... -- backgrounds, wallpapers, lines/bars/dividers,
bullets, arrows/pointers, menubar icons, and
misc. icons -- are completely original, ...
Use is granted to personal and professional web
pages alike, as well as print newsletters, etc.,
and you don't need to ask permission before use." If
you want a background or other graphics to spruce
up the look of your site, a visit here is a must. There
are many beautiful graphics, and they are well
and truly in the *free* public domain, so you
don't have to ask for permission. Thanks
Celine!
- Backgrounds
Archive - high quality backgrounds! An old
favourite, the name says it all. Backgrounds
are mostly in the free public domain, and from
contributors as well, so check the copyright
here..
- Sizzling
HTML Jalfrezi (UK) Everything you need to know
about HTML listed alphabetically on one site, plus
tips and hints galore. And a friendly, helpful Webmaster
as well. Great, fresh looking, fast to load site, and
easy to navigate with frames, with mirrors in Australia, Austria, Czech, USA
- WebReference.com The
Webmaster's Reference Library - Web Authoring Tips & Tutorials
for Developers, an internet.com site.
- The Web Robots
Pages How to allow or prevent search engines and
spiders (the polite ones at least) from indexing pages,
directories or whole sites.
- High Rankings. If
you want to learn how simple it is to get into the top 10-30 results
on a search, then a visit to Jill Whalen's site is a must. She's
been out there longer than just about anyone, and knows all the
tips and tricks of the trade, without having to resort to the sneaky,
underhanded, ignorant and just downright stupid things people think
(or believe) they can get away with in order to get a top ten position
result. Services, examples and a weekly newletter with
all the useful info. you can put into practice to get results.
- The Search Engine
Report Useful for everyone who uses SEs to find stuff,
and and also to stay abreast of SE developments as a webmaster. "...
Is a monthly newsletter that covers developments with search
engines and changes to the Search Engine Watch web site."
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