Every month, WIRED! Philippines will feature a list of e-mail discussion groups you might find interesting to join. A brief description of the mailing list will be provided for you. If you know of a mailing list discussion group that you think will interest our readers, please provide us a brief description of what the group is all about and where to subscribe. Send your email to wired-editors@msc.net.ph with E-LIST on the subject of your email. Thanks!

Cebu Update is a mailing list for the Cebu Update newsletter that seeks to provide news, analysis, tsismis, and trivia about Cebu every 15 days. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to cebu_update-subscribe@egroups.com. This is a project of PR Works, your customized and cost-effective press relations alternative in Cebu, Philippines. Contact person: Doris Mongaya, general manager of PR Works; email - prworks@cebu.pw.net.ph

Jokes Every Day delivers five or so jokes every morning to your e-mail in-box. The jokes are all "clean," though some are mildly suggestive, and well copy edited. Subscribe by clicking http://www.jokeseveryday.com .

DEMOCRACYNEWS mailing list is one of many services and publications from the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1983 "to strengthen democratic institutions around the world." The list is moderated and dispatches come in digest form anywhere from two to six or so times per month. Newsletters feature breaking news from around the world regarding democracy issues, as well as reading lists, information on upcoming conferences, and reprinted articles from various publications. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to majordomo@free.ned.org . On the first line in the body of the message, type: subscribe democracy_news. You will begin receiving dispatches as well as a reply e-mail explaining how to post messages to DemocracyNews.

HUMOR AND POETRY mailing list delivers to you a daily dose of highbrow humor. Humor here is sometimes pretty dry and typically consists of an arcane poem from one of the classical writers with some sort of ironic relevance to current events. The list is moderated, and you'll get one dose of astringent satire per day. You can make your own submissions as well, but inclusion is ultimately at the discretion of the moderator. To subscribe, visit the home page at: http://www.highwinds.com/HWSite/MailForm.html.

Story Bytes is an ingenious little mailing list and e-zine specializing in "fast fiction"--stories between 2 and 2048 words. Submitted stories come along once or twice a week, with a full-featured e-zine digest version available monthly. In keeping with the theme of digital distribution, the word count for any given story falls on a power of two (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and so on, up to 2048.) Stories tend to be of the slice-of-life variety--short vignettes that suggest more than they tell--and many of them are unexpectedly moving. There’s a strong strain of Christian writing, but submissions are in no way limited to that. You can submit your own stories as well; writer’s guidelines are available. Check it out at http://www.storybytes.com

N-Games Mailing List is perfect for those who have lost a loved one to a console gaming system like Nintendo 64 or Sony PlayStation. If you’re already hooked, you may as well give in to it all and subscribe to the weekly N-Games mailing list, which tracks the latest news from the world of Nintendo gaming systems such as the Nintendo 64, GameBoy, and Super Nintendo. A typical dispatch includes upcoming release dates for new games, tips, cheats, FAQs, walkthroughs, and other such minutiae. As of now, much of the content consists of pointers back to the N-Games Web site, but an HTML-based newsletter is in the works. Sign up at http://www.n-games.com

Conspiracy of the Week is a monthly roundup of the covert and the covered up--those vast conspiracies that can only come to light through the ceaseless efforts of truth-seeking Web denizens assembled by a shadowy figure known only as Kenny J. You can guess the rest. Here you’ll find news, updates, and links regarding those worldwide military-industrial conspiracies that can be so hard to keep up with in our workaday world. For instance, there’s the insidious yet little-known fact that the cartoon Scooby Doo was a government experiment exploring the links between TV and crime. You better believe it, pal. You’ll also get updates on old conspiracy classics like "The Moonwalk Was Faked," "Atlantis Has Risen (but Is Being Kept Off the Maps by the Illuminati)," and the soon-to-be-classic "The Gay Teletubby." The truth is out there at http://members.tripod.com/~kenny_a_j/conspiracy

E-mail Problem Solver is a simple: a general all-purpose mailing list for solving those occasional minor problems that pop up during your day. Some recent queries include how to get poster putty out of the carpet or Coke out of the keyboard. Many of the problems, as of now, tend to be computer related--but as more folks join the list, questions and answers should get more varied. If another list member has an answer to your question, he or she can respond to the list serve for all to see, or just send you a private reply. This list is for your everyday dilemmas, mind you. Don't bother airing your existential grievances here. Find your answers at http://EmailProblemSolver.listbot.com

Lockergnome is a Windows 95, 98, and NT newsletter jammed to capacity with recommended downloads, Web sites, updates, patches, themes, and games, as well as extensive tips and tricks for the operating system you love to hate. A recent edition offered all the Easter eggs for Microsoft's latest Internet Explorer 5 browser. Available as a daily HTML attachment or a weekly text-based digest, Lockergnome is among the best independently produced mailing lists in operation. Say hello at http://www.lockergnome.com.

DVD Talk is a weekly newsletter that collects news and information about DVD. If you've recently bought a DVD drive, this mailing list if for you. The newsletter tracks sales and bargains from several online retailers and even offers limited exclusive coupons. Take it for a spin at http://www.dvdtalk.com

Tasty Bits from the Technology Front a weekly newsletter owned and maintained by writer, editor and "unelected pundit" Keith Dawson. The newsletter contains notable news from the computer industry, with an eye toward e-commerce and Internet issues. The newsletter does a great job of getting to the meat of the vast amount of technology news generated each week, and the tone is just right--"serious but not somber," as Dawson puts it. Subscribe via the Web site at http://www.tbtf.com

Pete Sampras mailing list is dedicated to the dominant men's tennis player of the 1990s. Here you'll find daily musings on the man and his sport, including reposted news stories and plenty of involved speculation. Why did Sampras drop out of the Australian Open earlier this year? Subscribe and you'll find plenty of opinions. You're also likely to find news here faster than in the sporting press--some apparent insiders post to the list, so you'll get, for example, advance match details for upcoming tournaments. The best reading comes from the detailed letters of rabid Pete fans who attend his matches and bicker with other spectators. To join, send an e-mail to Majordomo@crisny.org. In the body of the message, type subscribe sampras.

Skeevis Windows 95 and 98 E-zine is a strange but cool little mailing list that combines useful Windows tips with a playful selection of jokes, quotes, cool sites, and random giddiness. Yes, Windows mailing lists are a dime a dozen, but Skeevis is an efficient little one-man operation with a refreshing sense of the absurd. If nothing else, this is the place to find the latest computer jokes before they get reposted and forwarded to death. Example: "Microsoft announced today that the official release date for its new Windows 2000 operating system will be delayed until the second quarter of 1901." Old now, sure--but it was funny when I first read it. Check it out at http://skeevis.server101.com.

Bonehead of the Day list is (but of course) a daily dispatch of News of the Weird, concentrating on dumb things people do. Some of these sound suspiciously like urban legends, but ultimately who cares? Subscribe via the Web site at http://www.egroups.com/group/bonehead/info.html.

Free Pint list is a generous collection of tips, tricks, and articles on Internet research written by information professionals and assorted contributors. Recurring topics include the most effective way to use search engines and recommendations on the best sites for specific areas of inquiry. The newsletter and associated Web site are advertising supported, but intrusion is minimal. Each issue also has a Feedback section, so there's a nice sense of interactivity even though this is basically a one-way newsletter. Belly up to the bar at http://www.freepint.co.uk.