About Scouts-L.org

This site is a web front-end to the Scouts-L mailing list. It lets users view messages, (but not post them).
About the Scouts-L List

This page is a short version of the official Scouts-L about page:

Scouts-L is the oldest and largest internet email discussion group (not counting newsgroups like rec.scouting.usa).

What makes Scouts-L unique?

  • Size. Thousands of scouters in the US and across the world are members of Scouts-L
  • Rules. The list is designed to provide maximum utility for volunteer scouters. To that end, there are a few rules that members follow.

    • Scouts-L Rules

    Use plain text email. Modern email clients can send email with fancy fonts, colors, etc. Unfortunately, not everyone has such an email client, and not all email clients understand each other. Always use plain text.

    Don't quote entire previous emails. Email threads can get long and confusing. When replying, only include snippets of the previous message if they are short and relevant.

    Avoid the 3 G's. (short for God, Gays, & Girls). Other scouting discussion groups have suffered from extensive arguing on these topics. While the listowner and moderators don't like censorship, this rule has proven to be necessary. It's analogous to having a rule against holding a heated debate in a crowded theater. It might be a worthwhile debate, but it shouldn't disturb folks who came for the movie.

    There's also a scouting issues yahoo group
    Scouts-L Moderators

    Here's who to contact if you have questions about Scouts-L.

    But please read the official Scouts-L about page first. It answers many often-asked questions.

    Kyna Hendra (Moderator)
    Lloyd Dalton (Moderator)
    Mike Walton (Question Answering Person)
    Jon Eidson (Listowner)

    Other Lists & Groups

    Scouts-L is far from the only electronic scouting forum. There are many, many others--most dedicated to a particular niche of scouting:

  • The US Scouting Service Project hosts several lists, incuding Cub-L, Philmont, Camporee-L and Venturing

    There are also many scout-related discussion groups (not necessarily mailing lists):
  • Many are hosted by smartgroups.com
  • Many are hosted by yahoo.com

    There are also severaly scouting-related Usenet newsgroups.
    These are not moderated or restricted in any way--anyone can post. Browse at your own risk.