PRINCIPIA CYBERNETICA WEB - ©

Author: F. Heylighen, C. Joslyn,
Date : Feb 13, 1996 (modified); Oct 14, 1993 (created)
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Principia Cybernetica Mailing Lists

The Principia Cybernetica Project uses two mailing lists for quickly distributing information about the project by electronic mail: PCP-news for announcements, PRNCYB-L for discussions.

PCP-news: announcements

PCP-news is a newly created mailing list, maintained at the Free University of Brussels, which automatically distributes announcements to all subscribers. This list is meant to be low-volume, and only carries messages with general information for all people interested in PCP, e.g. conference announcements, Calls for Papers, new publications or PCP Web pages, new services, etc. This makes it easier for subscribers who don't like to get a lot of email, but still want to be kept informed about important events connected to the Principia Cybernetica Project. The list is moderated: only messages explicitly approved by the listowner are broadcasted. Replies by default go to the individual who sent the message, and not to the list.

If you prefer a more frequent and interactive mailing list, you may apply to join our non-moderated list PRNCYB-L (membership conditions are minimal). All messages to PCP-news are simultaneously transmitted to PRNCYB-L (but not the other way around), so in any case you need only one subscription. PCP-news will carry not more than 2 or 3 messages a month, while PRNCYB-L fluctuates around 40-50 messages a month.

Unlike PRNCYB-L, you can automatically subscribe yourself to PCP-news by sending a simple command to the mailing list program (Majordomo). You will then get an introductory message about the mailing list, and start receiving all broadcasts on the list. You can unsubscribe in the same simple way.

PRNCYB-L: discussion

PRNCYB-L is a LISTSERV discussion list run from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. It provides an open forum for all participants in the project, allowing direct discussions about all issues related to PCP. Subscribers are encouraged to send replies to the whole list (this is the default), and not to individuals, so that everybody can participate in the discussions. Participants who wish to contribute to PCP can post their ideas to PRNCYB-L. Proposals for new nodes or comments on existing nodes are best discussed there.

At present, some 90 people, representing the five continents, subscribe to PRNCYB-L. The mailing list is of moderate volume (about 2-3 messages per day on average), but like all discussion lists this can fluctuate very strongly. Messages can be long and informative. Some topics that have been discussed include: entropy increase and self-organization, causality as covariation, thermodynamics and evolution of mortality, memetics and the evolution of cooperation, formal expression, criteria for reality, values and religion, definitions of "control", complexity and the edge of chaos, Robert Rosen's theory of anticipatory systems, etc. A selection of relevant information (e.g. congress announcements, publications; on hypertext, electronic publishing, evolution of the brain, ...) from other electronic forums is regularly cross-posted on PRNCYB-L.

Bruce Edmonds maintains an HTML archive of PRNCYB-L messages, sorted according to topic, date and author, going back to the beginning of 1995. This includes a searchable index.

PRNCYB-L is not meant for casual discussion or uninformative technicalities. Nor is it meant as a general forum for discussion about cybernetics and systems science: other mailing lists, e.g. CYBCOM, already exist elsewhere. Whereas these lists are open to anyone with an interest in cybernetics and systems, PRNCYB-L is restricted to active participants and those who wish to be informed about the specifics of PCP.

How does it work?

The functioning of the list is very simple, and does not require any technical knowledge. If you are subscribed to PRNCYB-L, you will automatically and immediately receive at your email address all messages sent to either PRNCYB-L or PCP-news. Once subscribed, if you wish to contribute yourself, you just send an electronic mail message to the list address PRNCYB-L@bingvmb.cc.binghamton.edu, and it will be automatically broadcasted to all others who have subscribed. In that way you can mail out e.g. questions, proposals, or reactions.

For more detailed procedures on how to operate the PRNCYB-L server, check the common LISTSERV commands (note that these commands can only be used by people who have been manually subscribed to the list).

If you wish to join PRNCYB-L, please send in the subscription form. You will then be added to the mailing list, and receive initial instructions on how to operate the LISTSERV software (as subscription is done manually, this may take several days).

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