How to set up a listserve?

[Steven Oppenheimer <Steven -at- OppenheimerCommunications -dot- com>]

I am about to self-publish a book (details to follow soon, once it's 
available on the Web).  In conjunction with the book, I'm setting up a Web 
site, and connection with both the book and the Web site, I am planning to 
set up a listserve.  The idea is to create a forum where people can come to 
discuss topics related to the subject of the book.  A few questions:

1.  First, I'm trying to decide whether to set up the discussion as a Yahoo 
group, or instead as a completely separate listserve.  It seems to me that 
that the advantage of Yahoo is, that Yahoo groups are typically the first 
place that *I* go when I'm seeking a discussion on some topic.  I'm 
assuming other people around the planet might think the same way.  Also, I 
know with Yahoo groups I can control membership, and moderate the group, 
and I don't know if that's possible with other listserves.

Can anyone suggest the benefits and/or disadvantages of setting up a Yahoo 
group, as opposed to a separate list like Techwr-L?  (By the way, and FYI, 
my new list is not related to the topics of TECHWR-L, and will not compete 
with TECHWR-L.)

2.  Assuming I want to set up a list like TECHWR-L, I have no idea how to 
get started.  I tried searching the Web info, and ran into the usual 
problem -- overload.  Way too many links, but none of them related to my 
question at hand.  If I wanted to set up a list like TECHWR-L, can someone 
steer me to a specific Web page or other resource with information?

And, you might let me know ahead of time, answers to a few questions:
(a)  Is a listserve something I have to pay someone to help me set up, or 
to host, similar to the way in which I pay my ISP to host my domain?
(b)  Is it something that, in fact, I set up through my ISP?
(c)  How does one advertise the existence of a Listserve?  Is there some 
central Internet directory of Listserves?
(d)  What other questions should I be asking, that I don't even know to 
ask, because I am such a newbie at this?

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Steven Oppenheimer, M.A.
Oppenheimer Communications
Technical and Business Writing:  From Complexity To Clarity
Steven -at- OpComm -dot- com   www.OpComm.com   (301) 468-9233


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