User:Garyvines/OzArch

=OzArch= OzArch (or Ozarch) is an electronic mailing list or discussion group whose purpose is to facilitate the exchange of information about research, conferences and employment in the field of indigenous and historical Australian Archaeology. It was formerly hosted on the Google Groups platform, and in 2021, was moved to Groups.io.

OzArch is the primary electronic discussion list for archaeological topics in Australia, in comparison to other email lists which are provided for specific membership groups including the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology, Australian Archaeological Association and Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists.

Origin
The group was established in 2009, to replace the previous, and similar electronic mailing list, AUSARCH-L, which was run from the Australian National University (ANU) computer system as a result of an initiative of Peter Hiscock at ANU and Peter Veth and David Roe at James Cook University (JCU). As JCU had no capacity to host computer email lists at this time, Peter Hiscock was able to get the list established on the ANU servers. The main reasons for establishing Ausarch-L were to overcome the relative isolation of archaeologists in Australian regional universities and to be able to share information, data and news with colleagues overseas (particularly those in New Zealand) working in the Pacific arena. Peter Veth ceased being a list manager when he moved from JCU and David Roe left shortly after. This list was pulled down due to threats of legal action over defamation allegations. ;

Etymology
The group takes its name from the common slang term for Australia - Oz and the beginning of the word 'archaeology'. By 2016, it had over 970 list members with approximately 100 posts per month and had become a major portal for exchange of information among professional archaeologist in Australia. The hashtag #ozarch is often used to identify social media of relevance to Australian Archaeology.

Impact
It has been noted in a survey of social media and archaeological communication in Australia and has also been used as a source for disseminating information and obtaining feedback on the state of the archaeology industry in Australia. The list has national coverage in Australia, and has "...confirmed that many more people read and value the discussions than actually post messages. During the Covid-19 crisis the list became an important conduit for maintaining links between archaeologist during lockdown.

Both AusArch and its successor OzArch have had a wide takeup among Australasian archaeologists and have been used to assist in developing survey metrics and survey. It is supported by the main archaeological associations and university archaeology courses in Australia.