Donde están mis virtual vecinos?

December 2, 2010 6:28 AM

Does a Spanish conversation listserv exist... or anything that would gather people interested in conversation and discussion of the language?

A long-time listserv example is the GAEILGE-B listserv ([e-mail]) that I've set to receive messages from. I love the ability to have these sent directly to email and would prefer this format to visiting a web site. While the forums at WordReference are amazing, I find it tedious to click through all the links and it's difficult to build a sense of "community" when the user base is so large. A listserv seems more intimate and conversational, I suppose.

posted by mcarthey to Writing & Language (2 answers total)

Have you considered that your vecinos virtuales could be hanging out in google groups or yahoo groups, also delivered straight to your mailbox? I haven't joined an honest-to-goodness listserv in at least fifteen years...

Try searching these in Spanish for things that interest you (fotografia, musica de los anos ochenta), as well as general conversation groups. Some will be free for everyone to join, and others will require a note to the moderator (but don't let that put you off: quiero aprender mas y platicar en espanol!). You might also add your location to the search - some of these are linked to real-world groups you could eventually meet up with.
posted by whatzit at 6:50 AM on December 2, 2010

Response by poster: I tried some searches a while ago and had found a MeetUp group but wasn't impressed with the level of interaction and given my time tight time schedule it's not convenient to meet with people. This is why I'd like to find a simple email-type list that would let me browse at my convenience. I will check the Google and Yahoo groups, though. Thanks!
posted by mcarthey at 9:22 AM on December 2, 2010