For many of us, the best part of going online is connecting with others like ourselves. But rather than join someone else's "community" online, why not create your own? There are three easy ways to build your own Web community: mailing lists, threads and live chat. This column will tell you about the software you need to setup these Web services. All of these community-building tools require a dedicated connection and a dedicated server, meaning a line and a machine that are always connected, and running the software, respectively. You'll have to decide between having your connection to the Internet going all the time (and using your computer as the "server" that runs the software), or having a Web service provider run the program on their servers while you manage the list remotely. Mailing Lists Creating a mailing list is a great way to bring people together to discuss like-minded topics, and it's relatively easy, too. It's all done through e-mail and there are three types of lists: Announcements, which provide information by sending it to the list members as an e-mail that they view. Open Discussions, which allows a member of the list to send a message that everybody who has subscribed to the list will see. Moderated lists, which are like Open Discussions except that the messages first pass through a "moderator" who approves of what he/she sees first. Majordomo (latin for "Master of the House") is a software program you can download for free. It's written in the "Perl" programming language, and so runs under UNIX (using a command-line interface) which most Web servers use as their operating system. You'll need a bit of expertise with programming to set it up, but once done, Majordomo can be remotely controlled. It supports various types of lists (like those noted above) and can do things like archive messages (putting them together for later retrieval), create digests (sorting various e-mails together), and confirm subscriptions to the list. Listserv is another mailing list program. It's widely used to create and manage electronic mailing lists, and has been around even longer than Majordomo has, so you know that it's been through the wringer (and that means you can get help from various sources online as to working with it). Besides running under UNIX, there are also versions to use for Macintosh and Windows NT and 95 (a shareware version for Windows95 can be found at L-Soft). Lyris differs from the other list programs because once it's been set up, it can be controlled directly through your Web browser (unlike Majordomo and Listserv). Subscribers to the list can also choose between using e-mail or their Web browser to read and reply to messages as well. Lyris can also create "Auto-responder" robots to send e-mail automatically in response to specific message requests. Lyris can be used cross-platform, and a Windows95 version is available. Just recently made available is Letterip, a program designed to run on any 68030 or greater Macintosh. It requires a full-time internet connection, and uses a graphical interface to do all the creation and managing of the lists. It can handle lists with few (under 100) or many (over 100,000) subscribers, and automatically generates digests of mail lists. Non-programmers: your best choices are probably Letterip and Lyris. Threads: Great as lists are, there's no immediate response, no sense of intimacy. For that, you need to have people going online and participating live. And that means you're making it happen on a Web site. Webthreadsis designed to handle discussion forums on a Web page, with users posting their message and then seeing it appear online. It's simple to install, runs on any Windows NT, Mac, or UNIX Web server, and takes all of the messages in each "thread" and stores them on a single Web page. Focus Point is similar, but in this case you use their Web server; the company sets up the conferences site and maintains it for you. You manage your discussions from your own desktop, controlling the look, and whether it's a public, private or moderated conference. Webforums, meanwhile, creates interactive message boards that can quickly be put up on your Web site. You access the company's Web server with your Web browser and use their online editing tools to create discussion forums by filling out a series of "forms." Live Chat: Should you wish to go whole hog, there's the Palace, which lets you use graphics, animation and sound as part of the online chat experience. A Personal Server edition (PC, Mac, UNIX) has just been made available, and it lets you host your own virtual world -- with up to 40 users being able to go there simultaneously -- using their Web browsers. AOL is also getting into the act with their new Virtual Places software. The software lets you create an "avatar" (a cartoon representation of yourself) and then, as your avatar, you can either build a custom Virtual Place, or chat with other VP users using any URL as a background (a plug-in that works with your Web browser recognizes sites that will support a Virtual Place). To host your own 3-D chat space, you'll need the Virtual Place software (which is free). Install it, and then just have folks meet at your Web page and start interacting. Of course, Tripod's Personal Chat also lets you host chat rooms on your Tripod home page. Regardless of how you do it, just remember that should you create a list or a Palace room, you'll be the Mayor of the Community and therefore, responsible for keeping everything running smoothly, and you'll play a major role in shaping what happens. Creating an online community can be an awesome task, but you reap the benefits of giving friends both old and new, far and wide, a place to meet, greet, and gather. The results are well worth it. Marshal Rosenthal is a writer and photographer based out of New York City. His reports and features on technology and digital entertainment can be found in online/print publications both in the States and abroad.