Frequently Asked Questions

Can you tell me...where to find citations...who I can get funding from...what some good case studies are...who is working on certain topics...etc.?
I have an idea for something that I think should be posted on the ECN web site. Would you be willing to post it?
Can you change my subscription to the ECN LISTSERV?
Why can't I search the archives of the ECN LISTSERV?
Can you send me a list of everyone who is subscribed to the ECN LISTSERV?
The ECN is a free service, so how is it funded?
Then what's with all those badges on every page?
How does your search feature work?
Why do all the pages on your web site look the same?
Where do the icons on your web site come from?
What software do you use to maintain the ECN web site?

Can you tell me...where to find citations...who I can get funding from...what some good case studies are...who is working on certain topics...etc.?

I might be able to, but as they say, 'many heads are better than one!' In other words, you'll get better results if you put your question to the ECN LISTSERV instead of just to me. This is the most frequent type of question I get...someone looking for help with a specific topic or problem. Sometimes I can help, but the collective knowledge of the LISTSERV susbscribers is considerably more powerful.

I have an idea for something that I think should be posted on the ECN web site. Would you be willing to post it?

If it is a resource relevant to environmental communication, then the answer is probably yes. Send me a detailed email about what it is and how you see it fitting into the ECN site.

Can you change my subscription to the ECN LISTSERV?

When you change email addresses, I really would prefer that you take care of unsubscribing your old address and subscribe to the list with your new address. The instructions are readilly available and by doing it yourself, you ensure the correct address gets into the list. Occassionally you may no longer be able to unsubscribe from your old email address. In those cases I can delete the old address. Just let me know.

Why can't I search the archives of the ECN LISTSERV?

As a rule, I tend to favour privacy on the Internet. For that reason, posts to the ECN LISTSERV are not available for review after the fact. I archive all the ECN mail as part of my regular email archive, so if there is something specific you desperately need that you know you saw on the ECN list, then get in touch with me and I'll see if I can find it.

Can you send me a list of everyone who is subscribed to the ECN LISTSERV?

Again, privacy is the rule. The ECN list cannot be reviewed to see who is subscribed, nor will I provide that information to anyone (unless compelled to by law for some reason). If you want to contact the subscribers, then join the list and post a message to it.

The ECN is a free service, so how is it funded?

Yes, the ECN is maintained as a free service, so no one has to pay anything for it. I maintain the web site and run the mailing list as part of my contribution to the field of environmental communication and the community of people interested in the field. The web server and LISTSERV functions are provided at no charge by SUNY-ESF and Syracuse University respectively because I am a faculty member at SUNY-ESF. All in all, it's a strictly sweat-equity operation.

Then what's with all those badges on every page?

Aside from the W3 badge which suggests my web pages follow proper coding standards, those other badges are merely links to online news sites that I recommend as alternatives to the mainstream news media. I have no formal relationship with them and get no money for linking to them. I just think you'll find them cool.

How does your search feature work?

The search is powered by the almighty Google.

The ability to search the ECN web site is a feature of the SUNY-ESF web site being searchable using Google. SUNY-ESF hosts the ECN web site and uses Google for its own search function. This has a couple of implications.

First, the search results will only be as up-to-date as Google's last indexing of the site (the last time their crawler software visited the site). Anything that has changed since the last indexing will not show up in the search results because the Google system will not yet be aware of it. It is not possible to know exactly how recently it was indexed, but it is likely to have been in the past two months. That said, you'll still find the search helpful, but just be aware that it is no substitute for trying to directly find what you are looking for by working your way through the various pages on the web site.

Secondly, you won't be able to search the site if you are dialed in to the Syracuse University (SU) modem pool since it does not allow connections to parts of the Internet that are outside the Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF domains (and the Google search engine resides outside those domains...). I expect this will not be an issue for most of you and quite frankly, I don't think it's even possible to dial into the SU modem pool any longer.

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