How to sign up for the email group
In Southwest Portland there is an email group focused on public safety and crime prevention. So far, this group has not been used to its full potential, and I would like to see that change by attracting more members to the group. This article explains the function of the email group (also known as a list serve), and how to sign up for it.
The SW Public Safety email group is designed to help neighbors and businesses in Southwest Portland discuss crime prevention and public safety issues amongst themselves and with police and crime prevention personnel. City personnel use this group to pass along information, statistics, and crime alerts, and to answer questions. Neighbors and businesses may use this group to ask for information, compare notes, and strategize to improve safety and security in our Southwest neighborhoods.
For those of you unfamiliar with list serves, here is a primer: a list serve is simply an automatic email distribution list. When you belong to a list serve, you can exchange messages with the other members of the group simply by sending an email to the list serve’s email address.
Here are the steps to take to sign up for the list serve:
A. Send a blank email to: swpublicsafety-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
B. An email will be automatically sent to you asking you to confirm your email address and interest in the list serve. You do this by simply replying.
C. After you have confirmed your email address, you will get another automatic email, this time from me, explaining the purpose of the group and how to use it.
D. At this point, you are signed up and will begin receiving emails. You will also be able to send email to the group by sending to: swpublicsafety@yahoogroups.com
E. You don’t have to do anything else to belong. However, some people want to adjust the details of their membership, such as how often messages are delivered to them. If this is the case, when you receive this second email that comes from me, click on the link to the group’s website.
F. Once at the group’s website, you will be asked to enter your Yahoo ID. If you already have a Yahoo ID, you can just use the one you have. If you do not have one, you will need to select one, and the website will coach you through this. A Yahoo ID consists of a login name that is unique to you and a password. Once you have signed in with your Yahoo ID, you can change the setting for how often email from the list serve is delivered. Some people like getting each email as it comes in. Others prefer to receive a digest of the whole day’s emails.
So far, the emails have consisted of crime alerts and notices of meetings and trainings related to public safety in Southwest Portland. Right now, the volume of email on this list serve is only about 3-5 per month. I hope that with more members, the discussion will pick up. I hope to see you on the SW Public Safety List Serve soon!