Table of Contents Preface - About This Manual Editorial Note - New Version Numbering LISTSERV Command Syntax Conventions Contacting L-Soft Section 1 About Mailing Lists and LISTSERV Section 2 Starting a Mailing List 2.1 Avoiding Duplication 2.2 Skills Needed to Start and Maintain a LISTSERV Mailing List 2.3 Creating a Mailing List 2.3.1 Naming Conventions 2.3.1.1 The "-L" Convention 2.3.1.2 Reserved Names 2.3.1.3 Reserved Characters 2.3.1.4 Maximum Length of the List Name 2.3.1.5 Making the List Name User-Friendly 2.4 List Header Keywords 2.5 Sending Commands to LISTSERV 2.6 Defining Personal Passwords 2.7 Retrieving the List Configuration 2.7.1 Who can edit the list configuration? 2.7.2 Retrieving the List Configuration by Email 2.8 Editing the List Header 2.9 Defining List Owners 2.10 Storing the List on the Host Machine 2.11 Fixing Mistakes 2.12 Security Options 2.12.1 The VALIDATE= Keyword 2.12.2 Controlling Subscription Requests 2.12.3 Controlling the Service Area of the List 2.12.4 Controlling Who Reviews the List of Subscribers 2.12.5 Controlling Access to the Notebook Files 2.12.6 Controlling Who Can Post Mail to a List 2.12.7 The "OK" Confirmation Mechanism 2.12.8 Explicitly Cancelling "OK" Cookies 2.12.9 Restricting Subscriber Privileges 2.12.10 Restricting the Number of Postings Per User Per Day 2.13 Setting Up Lists for Specific Purposes 2.13.1 Public Discussion Lists 2.13.2 Private Discussion Lists 2.13.3 Edited Lists 2.13.4 Moderated Lists 2.13.5 Semi-Moderated Lists 2.13.6 Self-Moderated Lists 2.13.7 Private Edited/Moderated Lists 2.13.8 Auto-Responders 2.13.9 Announce-Only Lists 2.13.10 Restricted Subscription Lists with Automatically-Generated Questionnaire 2.13.11 Peered Lists 2.13.11.1 Linking Two or More LISTSERV Mailing Lists 2.13.11.2 Moving Users From One (Peer) Server to Another 2.13.11.3 Special Commands For Peered Lists Only 2.13.12 Super-Lists and Sub-Lists 2.13.13 Cloning Lists 2.14 List Passwords are now Obsolete 2.15 Allowing/Blocking MIME Attachments 2.16 Content Filtering 2.17 DomainKeys Message Signing Section 3 Advertising Your Public Mailing Lists 3.1 List of Lists Maintained by LISTSERV 3.2 Adding HTML to a List Header for the CataList 3.2.1 Update latency 3.2.2 Inserting a Pointer to Another List 3.2.3 Restrictions on the Placement of Equal Signs 3.3 Defining Search Categories in a List Header for the CataList 3.3.1 Examples of Category Settings 3.4 Implementing the INFO <listname> Command 3.5 The Global List Exchange (GLX) 3.6 How NOT to Advertise a Mailing List Section 4 Managing Subscriptions 4.1 Adding and Deleting Subscribers to/from a List 4.1.1 Adding Users Whose Address and Read Name Exceed 80 Characters 4.1.2 X.400 and X.500 Addressing – Special Problems 4.1.3 Continuation Card Syntax 4.2 Finding Users Who Do Not Appear in the List 4.3 Converting Existing Lists from Other Systems to LISTSERV 4.3.1 Converting Mailing Lists 4.3.2 Converting Message Archives 4.4 Adding Subscribers to Lists in Bulk 4.5 Deleting Subscribers from Lists in Bulk 4.6 Using the QUIET Option with Commands 4.7 Dealing with Bounced Mail 4.7.1 What is a bounce, and what can typically cause one? 4.7.2 The Owner-Listname Address 4.7.3 What to do about several types of bounces 4.7.4 Redistribution and Forwarding 4.7.5 "Sender:", "From:", or "Reply-To:" Fields in Body Causes Bounce 4.7.6 LMail Error Codes 4.8 Delivery Error Handling Features 4.8.1 Auto-Delete Considerations for Holidays 4.9 Address Probing 4.9.1 Active Address Probing 4.9.2 Passive Address Probing 4.10 Subscription Confirmation 4.11 Subscription Renewal 4.12 Using the SERVE Command When a User is "Served Out" Section 5 Setting Subscription Options for Subscribers 5.1 Reviewing Current Subscription Options with QUERY 5.2 Setting Personal Subscription Options for Subscribers 5.3 Subscription Options 5.3.1 Mail/NOMail 5.3.2 DIGest/NODIGest 5.3.3 MIME/NOMIME 5.3.4 INDex/NOINDex 5.3.5 ACK/NOACK/MSGack 5.3.6 Options for Mail Headers of Incoming Postings 5.3.7 Putting the List Name into the Subject: Field 5.3.8 CONCEAL/NOCONCEAL 5.3.9 REPro/NOREPro 5.3.10 TOPICS 5.3.11 POST/NOPOST 5.3.12 EDITOR/NOEDITOR 5.3.13 REVIEW/NOREVIEW 5.3.14 RENEW/NORENEW 5.4 Setting Original Default Options with the Default-Options= Keyword Section 6 Moderating and Editing Lists 6.1 List Charters, Welcome Files, and Administrative Updates 6.2 The Role of the List Owner as Moderator 6.3 The Role of the List Owner as Editor 6.4 Setting Up an Edited List 6.5 Submitting Subscriber Contributions to an Edited List 6.6 Message Approval with Send= Editor,Hold 6.7 Using List Topics 6.8 The <listname> WELCOME and <listname> FAREWELL files 6.8.1 Creating and Storing the listname WELCOME and FAREWELL Files 6.8.2 Using the listname WELCOME File as a Moderation Tool 6.8.3 Using the listname FAREWELL File as a Feedback Tool 6.8.4 The Alternative to Using WELCOME and FAREWELL Files 6.9 Social Conventions (“Netiquette”) 6.9.1 Recognizing and Accepting Cultural and Linguistic Differences 6.9.2 Private Mail Should Dictate Private Responses 6.9.3 Flaming is (Usually) Inappropriate 6.9.4 Foul Language 6.9.5 Unsolicited Advertising and Chain Letters 6.9.6 Other Disruptive or Abusive Behavior 6.10 Spamming: “Don't Feed the Trolls” 6.11 Considerations for Appropriate Use Policies Section 7 List Archives 7.1 Setting Up and Managing Archive Notebooks 7.1.1 Indexing Available Archive Notebooks 7.1.2 Deleting Existing Archive Notebooks 7.2 Database Functions Section 8 File Archives 8.1 What is the File Archive? 8.2 Starting a File Archive for your List 8.2.1 On VM Systems ONLY 8.2.2 On Workstation and PC Systems 8.3 Filelist Maintenance (VM Systems Only) 8.3.1 Retrieving the Filelist 8.3.2 Adding File Descriptors to the Filelist 8.3.3 File Access Codes (FAC) for User Access 8.3.4 Deleting File Descriptors from the Filelist 8.3.5 Storing the Filelist 8.4 The listname.CATALOG System on non-VM Systems 8.4.1 Updating the Sub-Catalog 8.4.2 Indexing the Sub-Catalog 8.5 Storing Files on the Host Machine 8.6 Deleting Files from the Host Machine 8.7 Automatic File Distribution (AFD) and File Update Information (FUI) 8.8 File "Packages" 8.9 Where to Find More information on File Archives Section 9 Creating and Editing Mail and Web Templates 9.1 Using LISTSERV Templates 9.2 Getting Copies of the Default Template Files 9.3 Types of Templates 9.3.1 Mail Templates 9.3.2 Message Templates 9.3.3 Message Fragments 9.4 Naming Conventions for Message Templates and Fragments 9.5 Mail Template Format and Embedded Formatting Commands 9.5.1 Mail Template Format 9.5.2 Common Variable Substitutions 9.5.3 Template Commands 9.5.4 Conditional Processing 9.5.5 The .QUIF Command 9.5.6 Using 8-Bit Characters in Templates 9.6 Editing List-Level Default Templates 9.6.1 The INFO Template Form 9.6.2 DEFAULT MAILTPL Templates 9.6.3 Tips for Using Templates 9.7 Using the DAYSEQ(n) Function 9.7.1 Rotating Bottom Banner 9.7.2 Rotating FAQ via the PROBE1 Template and "Renewal= xx-Daily" 9.7.3 Calculating the Value for DAYSEQ() 9.8 Storing the <listname>.MAILTPL File on the Host Machine 9.9 DIGEST-H and INDEX-H Template Files 9.10 WWW Interface Templates and Template Forms 9.10.1 Web Forms (Static) Contained in DEFAULT MAILTPL 9.10.2 The WWW_ARCHIVE.MAILTPL File 9.10.3 The DEFAULT.WWWPTL File (Dynamic Templates) 9.10.4 The SITE.WWWTPL File 9.10.5 National Language Template Files (idiom.mailtpl) 9.10.6 Template Precedence 9.11 Serving Up Custom Web Pages for your List 9.11.1 A Practical Example: ADMIN_POST Section 10 Solving Problems 10.1 Helping Subscribers Figure Out the Answers 10.2 Loop-Checking Can Cause Occasional Problems with Quoted Replies 10.3 User Can't Unsubscribe and/or Change Personal Options 10.4 Firewalls 10.5 LISTSERV Won’t Store Your List 10.6 If I can't find the answer, where do I turn? Section 11 Using the Web Administration Interface 11.1 The Default LISTSERV Home Page 11.2 Logging In 11.3 Setting a LISTSERV Password 11.4 Logging In and Setting Preferences 11.5 The List Management Dashboard 11.6 List Configuration 11.7 The Administrator Task Wizard 11.7.1 Understanding Administrator Roles 11.7.1.1 What is an Owner? 11.7.1.2 What is an Editor? 11.7.1.3 What is a Moderator? 11.7.1.4 What is an Error? 11.7.1.5 What is a Notification? 11.8 List Maintenance via the Web Interface 11.8.1 Examining or Deleting a Subscription 11.8.2 Adding a New Subscriber to the List 11.8.3 Bulk Operations 11.9 Digesting and Indexing 11.9.1 What is a Digest? 11.9.2 What is an Index? 11.9.3 What is a Plain Text Digest? 11.9.4 What is an HTML Digest? 11.9.5 What is a MIME Digest? 11.10 Customizing Mail and Web Templates 11.11 Reports 11.11.1 List Reports 11.11.2 Subscriber Reports 11.11.3 List Activity Reports 11.12 Sending Interactive Commands via the Web 11.13 Mail-Merge 11.14 RSS Support for Web Archives Appendix A: Command Reference Card Appendix B: Sample Boilerplate Files Subscription Requests Sent to the List Sending Other Commands to the List or to the *-REQUEST Address for the List Unsubscribed User Still Getting Mail Quoted Replies Include Message Headers Causing them to Bounce Delivery Error with Unknown User Account Setting a User to DIGEST because of Bouncing Mail A Sample "Your List has been Created" Boilerplate
