| --- |
| title: Community Development Mailing Lists |
| tags: ["communication","mailing-lists","contacts"] |
| --- |
| |
| Almost everything and everyone at Apache use email lists to get work done, including this Community Development project right here! When people |
| send email to a list, many other community members get the message, and |
| someone usually provides a useful reply. Every email list at Apache is archived: most lists are |
| [archived publicly][1]. That means that newcomers to a community can learn how |
| decisions on a project have been made in the past, because all the email discussions |
| a project has had are archived. |
| |
| If you have questions about anything at Apache, the first thing to do is |
| find the right mailing list - and then send your question! |
| |
| # Read This First |
| |
| [Detailed instructions][2] on how to use Apache email lists (subscribing, sending |
| email, reading the archives, and other technical steps) are available on our main developer site. You can email most |
| lists without subscribing, but some lists require that you subscribe first. Most emails |
| are moderated, so they won't show up on the list immediately. You may need to wait |
| a day, especially if you are new. |
| |
| Please be sure your [question is on topic for the list][3], and that you have at |
| least checked the relevant documentation first. Everyone at Apache is a volunteer, |
| and if you don't do your homework, we probably can't help you. |
| It's also best to follow our [email etiquette guidelines][4]. |
| |
| # Find The Right Email List |
| |
| Finding the right list helps get your question in front of people who will know |
| the answer. Each project at Apache uses their own dev@, user@, and |
| other email lists - so asking about Apache Tomcat on the Apache Cassandra |
| lists is likely going to be ignored. |
| |
| Most projects have a `Mailing Lists`, `Community`, or `Contact Us` link on their homepage, |
| so start there if you know which project you're asking about. If you don't know which |
| kind of list to ask on, consult our full list of all [Apache-wide mailing lists][5]. |
| |
| If you have **any non-technical questions** - or a question for us here in community |
| development - ask here by sending email to **`dev@community.apache.org`**! |
| You can also [read the archives of our dev@community][6] email list to see what other people have asked and learned. |
| |
| # Read The List Archives |
| |
| Almost every list at Apache is archived publicly. Browsing the archives is a great way to learn about |
| how a community has done things in the past, or to learn about *why* a project |
| operates the way they do. The ASF maintains an official archive and allows both |
| browsing and searching through all public email archives: |
| |
| * [https://lists.apache.org/](https://lists.apache.org/) |
| |
| |
| [1]: https://www.apache.org/foundation/public-archives.html |
| [2]: https://www.apache.org/dev/#mail |
| [3]: https://infra.apache.org/contrib-email-tips |
| [4]: /contributors/etiquette |
| [5]: https://www.apache.org/foundation/mailinglists.html |
| [6]: https://lists.apache.org/list.html?dev@community.apache.org:lte=12M: |
| [7]: https://mail-archive.com/search?l=all&q=apache&e=listname |
