What is AnGenMap?
AnGenMap is a mailing list communication channel designed to serve as a
information sharing and discussion channel among researchers in the areas
related but not limited to, animal gene mapping, genetics, genomics, and
bioinformatics. See the User Guide
for more details.
Why the name "AnGenMap"?
It is an acronym from An(imal) Gen(e) Map(ping), a term popular in the early
1990s on genome mapping activities in the animal breeding/genetics community
as a reflection of the research focus at the time. The list name is preserved
although the genome research has evolved much beyond "mapping" in the
following years.
When did AnGenMap start and how does it work?
AnGenMap was started in late 1993 as an internet discussion group (a listserv
that sends group emails to members) within the U.S. Pig Genome community for
gene mappers and interested individuals.
It soon became a defacto discussion group among all animal genomics scientists
world wide. The list name ANGENMAP was originally designated for "animal gene
mappers". In 20+ years the animal genome research has evolved much beyond
"mapping" and the AnGenMap has been serving the livestock animal genomics/genetics
community as a public communication channel along. The list started with less than
a hundred people and now it has more than two thousand subscribers from over 60
countries/regions following a steady growth
during which a number of improvements were
made when a number of peripheral components were developed to ease the use of the
listserv: a mail archive, a web site to interface user activities, a member's
directory, a mail digest service, web posting forms, etc.
How can I subscribe to AnGenMap?
Register an account with AnGenMap Directory
and follow the web instructions to subscribe to the list.
You can sign up the AnGenMap Members
Directory and manage your subscription through your profile manager.
OR
Email a list command to the angenmap-request listserv to add your email
address to the mailing list. This is to simply email a key word "subscribe"
as its "Subject", to the listserv address, as in:
To: angenmap-request
animalgenome.org
Subject: subscribe
How can I un-subscribe from AnGenMap?
You can sign-off the list by changing options your profile in, or simply
delete your profile from, the
AnGenMap Members Directory.
OR
To unsubscribe from the list, simply send a key word "unsubscribe"
as its "Subject", to the listserv address, like:
To: angenmap-request
animalgenome.org
Subject: unsubscribe
Note, never send your "subscribe" email to the list address because that suppose
to send mails to thousands of people on the list and it does not actually
unsubscribe you. When you have difficulties to sub/unsub, email
"listmaster@animalgenome.org" to ask for helps.
What's the difference between "angenmap-requestanimalgenome.org" and "angenmapanimalgenome.org"?
AnGenMap is operated on listserv, which is a software that automates many
mailing list operations, such as subscription, unsubscription, process a mail
for distribution, retrieve a posted item from its archive, etc.
"angenmap-requestanimalgenome.org"
is an automated listserv deamon, that handles your subscription/unsubscription
and other requests. It ONLY ACCEPTS COMMAND KEY WORDS such as "help", "info",
"sub", "unsub", etc in the "Subject" or mail body to automatically process
your requests. All your interactions with the listserv are by emails of these
commands. It always responds to you faster than a human operator. Please
note that this address will treat every word in your email as a "command"
(See your subscription "welcome" message or
this help menu for reference. If you send a human-read email to this address,
the listserv will not process it (chances are that such mail will be forwarded to a
human list manager).
Some of the jobs by the -request daemon now can be done via web interfaced
user profile manager. See FAQ #27 for details.
If you do need to talk to a person for help on the list, email to the
listmaster.
"angenmapanimalgenome.org" is the
list address that takes your posts to distribute to all list subscribers. See FAQ
#8 and #29 for what can be posted on the list.
Who can post to the AnGenMap listserv?
All, and only, those legitimately registered users who are currently
subscribed to the list with a valid email address can post directly to the
AnGenMap list.
This helps to maintain the list free from spam emails (given all registered
users are with a good heart for the central theme of AnGenMap).
What can be posted on AnGenMap?
Given the scope of AnGenMap (see #1), this list is dedicated
to genomics/genetics RESEARCH TOPICS and related activities. Some hints
on the subjects:
- Scientific questions, replies and discussions
- Research problems, frustrations, and solutions
- Information sharing (conferences, meetings, workshops, short
courses, position openings, etc.)
- Related issues that may worth to share with the community
- This is NOT a study room. REFRAIN FROM posting
questions that can be solved in a Genetics/Genomics 101 classroom
(see #29
for more hints)
- This is NOT a job-seek or personal career
development forum. DO NOT post your personal information, resume, or similar
materials.
Keep in mind that when you post, you are talking to over 3000 people. Thus
please keep your message brief and to the points. DO NOT
simply "reply" to a previous post to pop up something else when you do not
really meant to do so.
Why I cannot post a recruitment advertisement AnGenMap list while some others can? Is there a charge?
There is no charge for posting a recruitment advertisement, but it has to be
posted by those who directly hire (employer). The reason is that we deem the
direct hirer as part of the community, while posts from the head hunters are
commercial activities.
How can I post to AnGenMap list?
You have to send your post to the list as an email. The posted mail has to
come from your emailbox which is currently subscribed to the list.
If your post to the list does not go through the list smoothly, please see
items 12-16 below.
What's the official language on AnGenMap?
We have not set an "official language" on AnGenMap. However, while you may
write to AnGenMap in any language, please be aware that the majority of the
list members reads English. Non-English posts will take longer to be
processed by the list moderators if possible at all.
The list morderators/maintaners will communicate with subscribers in English
only.
I have multiple emailboxes. I wish to posts from any of them
but don't want to receive multiple copies of list mails. Is that possible?
Surely it's possible. You can subscribe the email address you want to receive
list mails (this will be called your "primary address"), and add all other
email addresses as "alternative addresses". This can be accomplished by
managing your AnGenMap Directory
profile. Or, you can email all your alternative addresses to the
listmaster for us to add them
to a grace list for you.
Why the listserv does not allow attachment in the posting mails?
This is part of our efforts to eliminate malicious attachments that may be
passed on to hundreds of users, as well as to accommodate all email reading
software on the internet (e.g. "pine", "mutt", "elm" among others can only
open plain text (ascii) files. Complete plain text mails are also easier for
database archive/ searches.
If you DO have a need to forward a PDF file or a template in DOC or XLS
file format, the preferred practice is to put the file on a web site, and
cite the URL in your mail (e.g. Use the NAGRP File Sharing Platform. See FAQ
#14 below for details).
In rare events where a non-plain-text document is necessary to aid the
discussions such as a graph or picture, we can accommodate on case by case
basis.
I need to share a PDF (or .doc, .ppt, etc) file as part of my
post to AnGenMap but email attachment is not allowed on the listserv. What can
I do?
Yes you are correct, that email attachment is not allowed on posts to
AnGenMap. However now there is a good news - we have developed a web based File
Sharing Platform in 2010 to facilitate the sharing of files. Here is how to
use it with AnGenMap posts in 2 simple steps:
- Go to
https://www.animalgenome.org/cgi-bin/util/fileshare
Upload your file
(it will return you a unique URL for downloading it)
- Copy and paste the URL into your email to AnGenMap.
Users reading your email will be able to follow the link (URL) to get the file.
Why the listserv does not allow font formatting in the posting
mails
This is called styled text or hyper text (html formatted) mail. HTML content
is often sent as attachment in addition to a regular mail body by some mail
software. The attachment is found the number one vehicle to blame for spreading
computer virus and worms. On a mailing list, even one passage of such mail
would mean a large bad effect. The duplicated email body also adds to the
internet traffic bandwidth.
How can I disable the styled text in my email software?
Usually you can disable such behavior by changing its default settings as in
the most popular email software:
Each email software has a way for users to make this choice. If above
suggests does not solve your problem or your email software is something else,
see "Configuring Mail Clients
to Send Plain ASCII Text" for more information. Or, you may need to consult
your software manual for specifics.
Why my post to the list always gets returned, complaining that my
mail contains "attachments" although I didn't use any attachment?
If you did not send attachment but the listserv complained so, it is most
likely that your email software duplicated the mail body as HTML ("styled
text", or "hyper text") and sent as "attachment" in addition to the normal
plain text mail body.
Sometimes you may not realize but if you have a signature formatted in style
which will be sent as attachment (.html or .doc)
See #16 for helps.
What is "hypertext"? I got a complaint from the listserv - is
it because I have a URL in my email?
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer with references (hyperlinks) to other
text that the reader can immediately follow by a mouse click. A hyperlink text
is usually embedded surrounding target key words, thus you don't normally "see"
them directly. Hypertext may also contain images, styles (bold, color,
italicize, ...) and presentational devices (movie, music, etc).
A URL or any web link is not a hypertext by itself. Just like any other text,
it can be sent normally as long as they are put as is. For example, mouse-over
the two lines below to see the difference:
When this hypertext is viewed for "page source" on a browser, this will appear
like:
<a href="https://www.animalgenome.org">https://www.animalgenome.org</a>
Some email software automatically embed URL or email address as hyper text if
you don't specifically set your outgoing mail to be in plain text mode. On the
other hand, some email software or mail agent don't know how to deal with
hypertext, therefore simply display the source text like the example shown
above, presenting a problem for users (see #16 for HOWTO
avoid this).
What is "plain text"? What's the best practice to format plain
text emails?
In contrast to "hypertext", "plain text" is pure text that does not contain
any text formatting characters. Plain text is our old friend -- it is usually
mono-spaced, type-writer styled. See
HOWTO Edit Messages for many useful hints. If you want to make your post
writing more impressive and effective, please read
How to Write Effective Mailing List
Email and Mailing List
Manners.
Briefly, if you wish to let your text appear in the format as you typed, these
tips may be useful:
- Always separate paragraphs with an empty line
- Start a bullet-point line with a space, or any of these symbols (
o , or
- , or
= , or
+ , or
_ , or
* ) as in:
o Last day for online registration: July 28, 2008.
o The deadline for abstract will be March 5, 2008.
- Abstract must be in English
- Abstract must be within 250 words
- Precede your signature block with a line that contains only two dashes
("--") at the begining of the line,
as in:
--
Nick Jr., PhD
Senior Investigator,
Blue's Clues Club,
Animal Kingdom Institute
- You could also keep your paragraph to appear "as is" by leaving two (2)
empty lines before it.
- Do not use underscore ("_")
to form a decorative line, as that's often seen in commercial mail foot
appendix which will be removed by the server.
I sent my post in plain text. But the mail body look screwy
when distributed through the listserv, why?
Traditional plain text format on a computer screen allows 80 characters per
line. Lines longer than 80 characters may or may not be wrapped depending on
the displaying software.
Your text editor may automatically wrap lines when it's longer than your
applications window width when you typed them. In other words, the
line-breaks are not at where it appear on your screen ("soft-break"; it's on
your local viewer only) but at where you hit the "return" ("hard-break";
it's part of the text string). Internally they are sent as long lines with
hard-breaks and shown on other computer screens applying their line wraps while
also displaying your hard-breaks. If the user's text viewer does not implement
a line-wrapper, they will show as longer lines.
To help solving the problem the listserv implemented a line wrapper to remove
"hard-breaks" within a paragraph and implement new breaks pursuing default 80
character per line window width. They should be displayed as plain text only.
Follow tips in #18 to format a better mail body.
Why mails returned from the list contain strange characters, while everything looked fine on my computer when I sent them to the list?
The most probable cause for strange characters in a mail otherwise looks normal
is that the characters (letters, numbers, symbols) making up the mail are not
uniformly encoded in the same character set. For example part of a mail body
might have been coded in Western European (iso-8859-1 standard) or in UTF-8
(Unicode), CP1251, while the rest in standard ascii. This usually happens when
you copy and paste text from a rich-character support software like Microsoft
Word, especially on a computer that supports non-US standard ascii char sets.
AnGenMap listserv supports the US standard ascii char sets (English; 7-bit).
Often, the listserv receives posts containing greek letters, euro (€),
yuan (¥) signs among other characters that could be 8-bit coded (non
US-standard English keybord). The listserv normally transmits mails "as is"
but sometimes odds can occur when the mail has to be process through a few
software for posting where only US-standard char sets are supported.
Sometimes some seemingly common characters can be coded differently by different
operating systems. For example
single (') or double (") quotation marks are shown as 'Â and Ã, bullets are shown
as black diamonds (�; Other strange symbols like ’, Â, â, ½,
¿, «, etc.). The worse can happen when attempt is made to edit the text
on or near them - lines can get "wobble", and question marks (?) often shows up
where there suppose to be text.
TO SENDERS: You can effectively avoid these by spelling out non-US ascii
characters, letters,
or symbols, e.g. "alpha" for 'α', "euro" for '€', etc. One useful
method to "clean out" your text is to use a primitive plain text editor, such
as MS Notepad, Apple's TextEdit, Unix editors like nano.
TO VIEWERS: Enable your OS to support more char coding systems.
Are there alternatives that I can post to AnGenMap without going
through all the problems with my email software
Yes. In 2007, we developed a web-based post submitter as an alternative to
emails for you to post to AnGenMap. Your post will be displayed "as is" as
shown on the submitting form. You need to login at
https://www.animalgenome.org/community/angenmap/dir
to use it online.
In 2013, web posting forms are available on multiple pages on the AnGenMap
web site. Any user can submit posts as long as his/her email address is
subscribed to the list.
A long URL in my post got truncated, why? What can I do?
Sending long URL in email can be a problem not only on AnGenMap, but also in
common email transports, where the "clickable URL" may be truncated, or some
strange characters or new line breaks got inserted, that causes your browser
to display errors such as "not found".
Often you can "recover" the URL by copy and paste to piece it back into one
single line from multiple lines for your browser (be sure to take out all white
spaces if there are any). (Very rarely, on some
old browsers, you may need to manually change escaped URL codes back to what
they represent, for example, '%3D' back to '=' sign,
'%7E' back to '~' sign, etc.
See
"URL Encoding" for more details.
Since this is a common problem for many, there is a convenient utility on the
internet called TinyURL (
http://tinyurl.com/) which can help you to safely alias a long URL
into a short one to put in your email. What it does is simply to forward the
aliased short URL call to the real page location. For example by using
"http://tinyurl.com/5uql59f" you will come back to this page.
Here is a form to do so:
We also try to fix the archived copy for problems like truncated or broken URL.
Users may find it useful to check out the archived post on the
AnGenMap archive server:
I signed up AnGenMap Directory, however I cannot login, and it always complains my login/password incorrect. Why?
When you first sign up the AnGenMap Directory, your account is registered but
not activated until you login to complete your profile/settings with a temporary
password the system send to your email box. If you fail to get that confirmation
email (eg. if your email address was not typed correctly, or the mail went to
your spam folder, etc), please ask the
Helpdesk for help.
I receive AnGenMap list mails. But when I tried to logon the
Member's Directory, it says my email address does not exist, why?
Note that the AnGenMap mail listserv and AnGenMap Directory are two separate
services although the AnGenMap Directory has functions to support user
interactions with AnGenMap mail listserv
It is is most likely you subscribed to the listserv by email to the
"angenmap-request" address, not through the Directory forms.
The Member's Directory is a parallel tool to the listserv, their functions are
coupled in several aspects, but not fully integrated. You will
need to register on the Member's Directory and start to use the web tools to
manage your profiles following
this link.
If you indeed registered with the Member's Directory and are also receiving
list mails, it's most likely that your email address receiving email is
different from the one you registered to the Directory. Please be aware that
even if you use only one single emailbox, your email address to the outside
world may show up in different variants (see #25 above for
more details).
I subscribed to AnGenMap list and receive list mails alright.
But when I try to post to the list, it complains that I am not a subscriber,
why?
It's most likely that your mailbox may have multiple email address identities,
and your mailbox receives mails on both but sends outgoing mails on only one of
them. If that's the case, your out-going mail address may not be identical to
the one you subscribed to AnGenMap. For example, these two email addresses
smrogerwisc.edu
smrogervetpath.wisc.edu
are valid for your mailbox "smroger", however, the sendmail program may use
smrogervetpath.wisc.edu in
your "From:" mail header of your out-going mails, while you have only
smrogerwisc.edu on the AnGenMap
list.
To solve the problem, you may want to find out which one is currently on the
list, and add the alternatives to the list so the AnGenMap list will recognize
both (see #11 above for more details).
How can I change my email address on AnGenMap list?
If you manage your listserv subscription via your AnGenMap Directory profile, you
can change your email address by
Step 1: Login AnGenDIR with your
current (old) email address;
Step 2: Change the "Primary email" to your new email address
Step 3: Check "subscription" box on the lower part to have the new address subscribed.
Now you will have to login with the new mail address.
If you did not sign up the AnGenDIR but directly subscribed to AnGenMap listserv, you
can change your AnGenMap subscription email address (only) in these two
simple steps: (1) send an "unsubscribe" email to the listserv from your
old address, and (2) send a "subscribe" email to the listserv from the
new address (see #4 and #5 as how to do this).
For your information, if your old email account is terminated and you don't
have access to it, the listserv will automatically remove it from AnGenMap
list upon receiving certain number of bounces.
I already subscribed to AnGenMap by email to the "angenmap-request",
can I switch to managing my subscriptions with the Members Directory web tools?
Yes.
If you already subscribed to the list but not yet on the AnGenMap Members
Directory, you can signup the web
form using the same email address, and start to manage your listserv
subscriptions through your profile web interface.
Tips: How to write effective emails on AnGenMap?
Consider there are over 2000 members on the AnGenMap list, to write effective
discussion emails would help to maintain a useful email forum for everyone as
well as to meet your goals more effectively. Your own email style is perfectly
fine as long as it matches the level of formality of the AnGenMap audience you
are familiar with. For new, especially first time users of this forum, here are
a few tips that may be useful:
- Make a descriptive and meaningful subject.
- Write with focus and show your expectations.
- Be specific, avoid primitive questions.
- Post questions when you exhausted your own resources. Clearly
describe how you approached the problem will help others to focues on the actual
problem rather than guessing what was asked (few would have time to do so).
- Consider use of proper greetings and a signature to show respect.
Properly identify yourself helps to get replies.
- Show respect and restraint.
- Format your mail for clarity.
- "Reply" only to follow the same topic; Don't start a new
topic by replying on a unrelated post. In addition, quote only in context
with your post.
What is spam email and how AnGenMap deals with it?
Cyber spam are known as unsolicited bulk, junk, or commercial emails. AnGenMap
has zero tolerance on such posts. Since only legitimately registered users can
post to the list, we want users to be aware that, any offending user will be
PERMANENTLY removed from AnGenMap AND PROHIBITED from future registration to
the list.
What is the listserv moderated mode and how it affects my posts?
A mailing list can be in unrestricted, restricted, or moderated
mode in terms of the degree of freedom of user's subscription OR posting activities
on the listserv. Currently the AnGenMap list is in post moderated mode,
meaning that any user can freely subscribe and send posts to the list, however, all
post must be reviewed and approved by a list moderator before they can be distributed
to list members.
A moderated list is better controlled for improved post quality against unwanted
mails. Since the list moderation is performed by people, users may expect some
delays before a post is actually posted depending on the availability of the
moderator(s) at the time.
Please note 
that
the list moderators reserve the right to
remove minor inappropriate lines without effecting the integrity or the key
messages carried in the post when it does not seem to worth a process
to reject the already-well-drafted message for re-submission only because of
thoese lines. Examples of such "inappropriate" lines include but are not limited
to commercial slogans, excessive advertising texts, lengthy and useless legal
claims (e.g. claim of privacy while knowingly all posts on this list are in
public domain.), etc.
I registered to the AnGenMap Members Directory, why I cannot see
a list of all other members? 
The AnGenMap Members Directory information is for members to look up someone
of particular research interests and contact information for possible personal
interactions with scientific merits. The member information within this
Directory is not for download or viewing all at once. This policy is to protect
member's information from being abusively used.
What is Mail Digest on AnGenMap and how can I use it?
For those of you who do not wish to receive instant email posts on the
listserv, a new (Feb. 27, 2013) Mail Digest
function is available for you.
i.e. You can choose to receive weekly post summary instead.
To use this function, login the AnGenMap members directory:
https://www.animalgenome.org/community/angenmap/dir
- go to "update your profile"
- put your email address in the "Digest Email" box (in the middle section)
- put your email in "Alternative Email" box (if you wish to be able to post to the list)
- choose to Unsubscribe AnGenMap (at the bottom of the form)
- submit the form
Once the form is submitted, allow 24 hours for the new setting to roll
into the system. The "digest" summary will be sent every Friday.
Note that the new AnGenMap Digest is different from the traditional listserv
digest functions where all digested mails are piled to make a huge mail body.
The AnGenMap Digest is only to send you a summary of the new posts, and relay
your reading of the mails to the mail archive with a web link.
How can I reference ANGENMAP?
To cite ANGENMAP, for example, you may consider:
National Animal Genome Research Program (NAGRP) (2024).
"AnGenMap Listserv: Animal Genetics/Genomics Research Information and Discussion Forum."
URL: https://www.animalgenome.org/community/angenmap/,
Created: October 10, 1993; Last updated: December 20, 2024
Currently membership: 3167.
