1 March 1999
Initial Release

The reference number of this document is 9903-UD-02.

Table of Contents

Preface: LISTSERV Command Syntax Conventions

1. About Mailing Lists and LISTSERV

2. Starting a Mailing List -- The Basics

3. Advertising Your Public Mailing Lists

4. Managing Subscriptions

5. Setting Subscription Options For Subscribers

6. Moderating and Editing Lists

7. Overview of List Archives

8. Overview of File Archives

9. Customizing LISTSERV's Default Mail Templates

10. Solving Problems

11. Using the Web Adminstration Interface

Appendix A: LISTSERV Command Reference for LISTSERV® version 1.8d

Appendix B: List Keyword Alphabetical Reference for LISTSERV® version 1.8d

Appendix C: Sample Boilerplate Files

Appendix D: Related Documentation and Support

Appendix E: Acknowledgments

1 March 1999
Initial Release

All Rights Reserved Worldwide

The reference number of this document is 9903-UD-02.

Preface: LISTSERV Command Syntax Conventions

fformat	Netdata, Card, Disk, Punch, LPunch, UUencode, XXencode, VMSdump, MIME/text, MIME/Appl, Mail
full_name	first_name [middle_initial] surname (not your e-mail address)
listname	name of an existing list
node	Either: the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of an Internet host; or the BITNET nodeid or Internet hostname of a BITNET machine which has taken care of supplying an ':internet' tag in its BITEARN NODES entry;
host	Generally the same as node, but normally refers specificallly to the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of an Internet host rather than to a BITNET nodeid.
pw	a password containing characters from the set: A-Z 0-9 $#@_-?!|%
userid	Any valid RFC822 network address not longer than 80 characters; if omitted, the 'hostname' part defaults to that of the command originator

italic type	always indicates required parameter names that must be replaced by appropriate data when sending commands to LISTSERV
< >	Angle brackets may sometimes enclose required parameter names that must be replaced by appropriate data when sending commands to LISTSERV. Sometimes used for clarity when italic type is inappropriate
[ ]	Square brackets enclose optional parameters which, if used, must be replaced by appropriate data when sending commands to LISTSERV

1. About Mailing Lists and LISTSERV

2. Starting a Mailing List -- The Basics

2.1. Avoid duplication of effort ¹

LISTS GLOBAL search_string

 Excerpt from the LISTSERV lists known to LISTSERV@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
                            30 Aug 1996 12:50

                          (search string: IBM)

                Copyright 1996 L-Soft international, Inc.

L-Soft international, Inc. owns the copyright to this compilation of
Internet mailing lists (the "Compilation") and hereby grants you the
right to copy the enclosed information for the sole purpose of
identifying, locating and subscribing to mailing lists of interest. Any
other usages of the Compilation, including, without limitation,
solicitation, tele-marketing, "spamming", "mail-bombing" and "spoofing"
are strictly prohibited.

***********************************************************************
* To subscribe, send mail to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.NET with the following *
* command in the text (not the subject) of your message:              *
*                                                                     *
*                         SUBSCRIBE listname                          *
*                                                                     *
* Replace 'listname' with the name in the first column of the table.  *
***********************************************************************

Network-wide ID  Full address and list description
---------------  ---------------------------------
9370-L           9370-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL
                 IBM 9370 and VM/IS specific topics list

• Check the NEW-LIST archive on SCOUT.CS.WISC.EDU, where the NEW-LIST project (originally at North Dakota State University, now hosted by the Internet Scout Project) stores list announcements starting with July 1998². The NEW-LIST archive contains information about LISTSERV lists as well as about lists running on other types of servers. This information is accessible either via LISTSERV database searches or on the web at

  http://SCOUT.CS.WISC.EDU/scout/new-list/

• Get a copy of the Interest Groups List of Lists maintained by SRI on its server at sri.com. Note that this is a 500KB (or larger) file. As of 6 March 1998 this file had not been updated for two years.
  ftp sri.com
  user: anonymous
  password: your_user_id
  cd netinfo
  get interest-groups

• Check the Usenet newsgroups news.announce.newusers and news.lists , if they are available to you via your local news feed.

• Use one of the World Wide Web search engines such as Alta Vista or Yahoo! to search for matches to the name you want to use.

2.2. What skills do I need to start and maintain a LISTSERV mailing list?

2.3. Creating a mailing list -- Where can it be done, and Who can do it?

• First, find out if your computing center maintains a LISTSERV host.

• If not, you might consider a commercial LISTSERV site. There are a number of such sites, including L-Soft's own EASE^SM service. You can get more information on EASE^SM by pointing a WWW browser at

  http://www.lsoft.com/ease-head.html

!	which can be confused for "bang-path" addressing, e.g., UUCP
@	which is a reserved character
#	which can cause problems with some mail software which uses it for addressing
$	which may have a special meaning to the unix shell
%	another addressing character that could cause problems
&	is sometimes reserved by non-unix systems (specifically on NT it has a special meaning to the shell). However, please note that use of this character in the name of a list or in a sendmail alias for a list will cause LISTSERV on unix to choke. Note that it is possible under unix to create a list with a "&" character in the name quite easily, and it is also possible to create a sendmail alias with a "&" character in the alias. That does not mean it will work.
*	is, of course, the wildcard character.
()	Parenthesis are generally reserved and can't be used in file names.
+	The plus character should be avoided because recent versions of sendmail deliver mail addressed to "user+whatever@somedomain" to "user@somedomain." Whether or not this is an intelligent thing to do on sendmail's part is left as an exercise for the user, but it can affect mail being sent to a list with a "+" character in the listname.
/	The slash character is reserved and can't be used in file names.
.	Although on some systems it is physically possible to create lists with a dot character in the name, in general LISTSERV will not accept this nomenclature. The only place a dot can or should be used is before the word "LIST" in the PUT command; e.g., PUT MYLIST-L.LIST is equivalent to PUT MYLIST-L LIST.
"	Double-quote characters are not allowed.

VM:	8 characters
Non-VM:	unlimited (starting with 1.8c)

2.4. List Header Keywords and what they do

2.5. Sending commands to LISTSERV

2.6. Defining Personal Passwords

• Personal Passwords. LISTSERV can store a personal password in its signup files corresponding to your userid. This password not only can be used for list maintenance operations, but also protects your FUI (file update information) and AFD (automatic file distribution) subscriptions (if available on your server) and must be used to store your archive files, if any, on the server.

• List Passwords. Beginning with 1.8c, list passwords are obsolete (we are mentioning them here only because users upgrading from earlier versions will be aware of their existence). You should define and use a personal password for all protected operations.

PW ADD newpassword

PW RESET

PW CHANGE newpassword [PW=oldpassword]

2.7. Retrieving the list -- some considerations

GET listname (HEADER

• Issue the UNLOCK listname command (if you decide no changes are needed)

• Send the list back to the server with the PUT command.

GET listname (HEADER NOLOCK

• Don't use the (NOLOCK switch if you are not the sole owner of the list. This prevents conflicting GETs and PUTs by different list owners. For instance, Owner(A) GETs the list without locking it. Owner(B) then also GETs the list. The owners make differing changes to the list header. Owner(B) PUTs his changes back first. Owner(A) then PUTs his changes back, erasing every change Owner(B) made. If Owner(A) had not used the (NOLOCK switch, Owner(B) would not have been able to GET a copy of the list until Owner(A) either unlocked the list or PUT his copy back. (Owner(B) could also unlock the list himself, but it would be advisable to ask Owner(A) if he was finished editing the list header before doing so.)

• Don't use the (NOLOCK switch if you get the entire list rather than just the header. You will erase all subscriptions for users who subscribed between the time you GET the list and PUT the list back. It is easier to deal with questions as to why they got the "listname has been locked since time by list-owner" message than to explain why they got a subscription confirmation and now aren't getting list mail.

DELETE XYZ-L "/ADMD=ABC/PRMD=DEF/...../@X400.SOMEHOST.COM"

GET listname (options PW=password

GET MYLIST-L (HEADER NOLOCK PW=MYPASSWORD

2.8. Editing the list header

GET MYLIST (HEADER PW=MYPASSWD

PUT MYLIST.LIST PW=XXXXXXXX
* The Descriptive Title of My List
*
* Owner= NATHAN@LSOFT.COM (Nathan Brindle)
* Notebook= Yes,E:\LISTS\MYLIST-L,Monthly,Public
* Errors-To= Owner                  Send= Public
* Subscription= Open,Confirm        Ack= Yes             Confidential= No
* Validate= No                      Notify= No           Reply-to= List,Respect
* Review= Public                    Default-Options= NoFiles,NoRepro
*
* This list installed on 96/11/02, running under L-Soft's LISTSERV
* for Windows NT.
*
* Comment lines...
*

• Cut and paste the header from your mail program into an ASCII text editor such as vi, emacs, or Notepad. Edit the various keyword values and set the password in the PUT command appropriately. Finally, cut and paste from your editor into a new mail message addressed to LISTSERV and send the message.

• Cut and paste from your mail program into the body of a new mail message addressed to LISTSERV and do your editing in the mail program.

• If you use the 'mail' or 'mailx' programs under unix, you can save the header into a text file (for instance, named myheader.txt) and mail it back to LISTSERV with the command line syntax

  mail listserv@myhost.com < myheader.txt

PUT MYLIST.LIST PW=MYPASSWD
* The Descriptive Title of My List
*
* Owner= NATHAN@LSOFT.COM (Nathan Brindle)
* Owner= Quiet:,nathan@linus.dc.lsoft.com,ncbnet@linus.dc.lsoft.com
* Notebook= Yes,A,Monthly,Public          Auto-Delete= Yes,Full-Auto
* Errors-To= ncbnet@linus.dc.lsoft.com    Subscription= Open,Confirm
* Ack= Yes                 Confidential= No              Notify= No
* Validate= Yes,Confirm
* Reply-to= List,Respect   Review= Public                Send= Public
* Default-Options= NoFiles,NoRepro
*
* This list installed on 96/11/02, running under L-Soft's LISTSERV
* for Windows NT.
*
* Comment lines...
*

• You sent the header back from an account which is not defined as a list owner

• You used the wrong password or didn't specify a password in the PUT command

• Your mail program indents paragraphs by default, such that each header line does not start in column 1 and LISTSERV does not recognize your message as a list header

• You sent the header file back as an attachment rather than as plain text in the body of the message.

• Your mail client wrapped the lines of the header so that LISTSERV received header lines that did not begin with "*" and attempted to treat them as subscriber addresses. In this case you can probably solve the problem by increasing the right margin setting in your mail client so that messages at least 80 columns wide do not get wrapped.

2.9. Defining list owners

• Non-Quiet list owners receive mail sent to the listname-request address, and will receive error messages if Errors-To= Owners.

• Quiet list owners will never receive delivery errors or other administrative mail from LISTSERV.

* Owner= NATHAN@LSOFT.COM (Nathan Brindle)
* Owner= nathan@linus.dc.lsoft.com
* Owner= Quiet:
* Owner= ncbnet@linus.dc.lsoft.com,cheng@linus.dc.lsoft.com

2.10. Storing the list on the host machine

2.11. Fixing mistakes

2.12. Security Options

* Service= bitnode1,bitnode2,some.host.edu
* Confidential= SERVICE

* Local= bitnode1,bitnode2,some.host.edu,another.host.com
* Service= Local
* Confidential= Service

• Send= Editor forwards all postings to the list editor (see the Editor= and Moderator= keywords). This setting allows the editor to make changes before forwarding the message back to the list. Note that your mail program must be capable of inserting "Resent-" header lines in your forwarded mail--if it is not capable of this, all such posts forwarded to the list will appear to be coming from the editor. Check with your system administrator if you are not sure whether or not your mail program inserts the "Resent-" headers.

• Send= Editor,Hold forwards a copy of the posting to the editor but differs from Send= Editor in that LISTSERV holds the posting for a period of time (usually 7 days) until the editor confirms the message with the "OK" mechanism (see below). Unconfirmed messages simply expire and are flushed by LISTSERV, so there is no need to formally disapprove a posting. This method of message confirmation is well-suited to lists where it is not often necessary to modify the text of a posting, and also is an excellent workaround if the editor's mail program does not generate "Resent-" headers in forwarded mail.
  Below is a sample of the editor-header for a list set to Send= Editor,Hold:

  Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 10:47:21 -0500 From: "L-Soft list server at PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (1.8d)" <LISTSERV@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM> Subject: B5-L: approval required (9723A0DD) To: Joe ListOwner <joe@PRUNE.EXAMPLE.COM> This message was originally submitted by jack@UNIX.FOO.COM to the B5-L list at PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM. You can approve it using the "OK" mechanism, ignore it, or repost an edited copy. The message will expire automatically and you do not need to do anything if you just want to discard it. Please refer to the list owner's guide if you are not familiar with the "OK" mechanism; these instructions are being kept purposefully short for your convenience in processing large numbers of messages. ----------------- Original message (ID=9723A0DD) (13 lines) -------------------

  Figure 2.5. The editor-header for a list set to Send= Editor,Hold

• Send= Editor,Hold,Confirm is identical to Send= Editor,Hold except that postings coming directly from an editor must be confirmed (with the "OK" mechanism) by the editor who sent the message. This is the recommended setting for any moderated list or announce-only list as it protects the list from hackers who might try to forge mail from a legitimate editor address.

* Send= Editor
* Editor= userid@host,(listname)

Date:         Wed, 5 Aug 1998 09:50:06 -0400
From:         "L-Soft list server at LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM (1.8d)"
              <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM>
Subject:      Command confirmation request (5C019D91)
To:           joe_user@EXAMPLE.COM

Your command:

                             PW REP XXXXXXXX

requires confirmation. To  confirm the execution of  your command, simply
point your browser to the following URL:

         http://listserv.example.com/scripts/wa.exe?OK=5C019D91

Alternatively, if  you have no WWW  access, you can reply  to the present
message and type  "ok" (without the quotes) as the  text of your message.
Just the word "ok" - do not  retype the command. This procedure will work
with any mail  program that fully conforms to the  Internet standards for
electronic  mail. If  you receive  an error  message, try  sending a  new
message  to  LISTSERV@LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM  (without  using  the  "reply"
function - this is very important) and  type "ok 5C019D91" as the text of
your message.

Finally, your  command will be  cancelled automatically if  LISTSERV does
not receive your confirmation within 48h. After that time, you must start
over and resend the command to get a new confirmation code. If you change
your mind and decide that you do  NOT want to confirm the command, simply
discard the present message and let the request expire on its own.

• Under 1.8d and following, the suggested method is to use the web browser confirmation method outlined in the confirmation request.

• REPLY to the command confirmation request with the text "ok" in the body of the reply. (Non-case-sensitive) LISTSERV reads the "cookie" from the subject line and if it corresponds to a held job, the job is released and processed.

SEND a new message to LISTSERV with the text "ok xxxxxx" (where xxxxxx is the command confirmation number from the original confirmation request) in the body of the reply.

> ok
Confirming:
> QUIET DELETE * jane@example.com
[reply sent to joe@EXAMPLE.COM]

jane@EXAMPLE.COM has been removed from the TEST list. No notification has
been sent.

Global deletion process complete, one entry removed.

• An "OK" without an argument (confirmation number) flushes the job stream, so any text following an "OK" on a line by itself will not be seen by the LISTSERV command processor.

• Bracketed "OK" functionality. This feature allows you to send multiple commands for which LISTSERV will request only a single "OK" (where normally you would expect to have to "OK" each individual command). The syntax is as follows:

  OK BEGIN
  command1
  command2
  [more commands, one per line]
  commandn
  OK END

• A command confirmation ("OK") may now be sent by clicking on a web URL provided in the command confirmation request (mailed "OK"s are still perfectly acceptable, of course).

1. The REVIEW personal option setting. By issuing a SET listname REVIEW FOR userid@host command to LISTSERV, you can moderate postings at the individual subscriber level. Postings from subscribers set to REVIEW are passed on to the Editor(s) or Moderator(s) of the list, or, if neither of these keywords are defined for your list, the postings are passed on to the primary list owner. At this point, the person who receives the postings can determine whether or not to approve them. Note that the subscriber always receives notification that his or her posting has been forwarded to a moderator for approval. This is to avoid the impression that the subscriber's posting has been lost before reaching LISTSERV.

2. The NOPOST personal option setting. By issuing a SET listname NOPOST FOR userid@host command to LISTSERV, you can prevent a subscriber from posting to the list entirely. LISTSERV will reject postings from these subscribers and will not pass them on to a moderator. As with the REVIEW setting, note that the subscriber always receives notification that his or her posting has been rejected.

3. The FILTER= list header keyword. You can filter individual users from subscribing and/or posting to your list by adding them to the Filter= list header keyword. For instance, if you have a list called MACTALK-L and you want to discourage redistribution lists from using the same name as your list, you can add
   * Filter= Also,MACTALK-L@*

2.13. How to set up lists for specific purposes

* My public discussion list (MYLIST-L)
* Subscription= Open,Confirm
* Ack= Yes
* Confidential= No
* Validate= No
* Reply-to= List,Respect
* Review= Owners        Send= Public      Errors-To= Owner
* Owner= joe@example.com
* Notebook= Yes,E:\LISTS\MYLIST-L,Weekly,Public

* My private discussion list (PRIVATE-L)
* Subscription= By Owner
* Ack= Yes
* Confidential= Service
* Validate= No
* Reply-to= List,Respect
* Review= Owners
* Send= Private
* Errors-To= Owner
* Owner= joe@example.com
* Notebook= Yes,E:\LISTS\PRIVATE-L,Weekly,Public

* Send= Editor
* Editor= someuser@somehost.com

* Editor= someuser@somehost.com,anotheruser@anotherhost.com
* Editor= yetanotheruser@his.host.com

* Send= Editor,Hold

* Send= Editor,Confirm

* Send= Editor,Hold,Confirm

* Send= Editor,Confirm
* Editor= someuser@somehost.com
* Moderator= someuser@somehost.com,anotheruser@anotherhost.com
* Moderator= yetanotheruser@his.host.com

* Send= Editor,Confirm
* Editor= someuser@somehost.com
* Moderator= someuser@somehost.com,anotheruser@anotherhost.com
* Moderator= someuser@somehost.com,yetanotheruser@his.host.com

* Moderator= All,kent@net.police.net,joe@bar.edu

* Moderator= kent@net.police.net,All,joe@bar.edu,alex@reges.com

* Send= Editor,Confirm
* Editor= someone@someplace.com,(listname)

* Auto-responder for service messages
* Owner= someone@someplace.com
* Send= Public     Notebook= No     Subscription= Closed

>>> POSTACK1 Service Message for &MYNAMES
&MYNAMES will be down Sunday from 0200 EST until 0500 EST for backups 
and upgrades. For more information contact LSTMAINT@&MYHOST.

* The FOO Product Announcment List
*
* Owner= foo@myhost.com
* Owner= Quiet:
* Owner= anotheruser@myhost.com,yetanotheruser@myhost.com
* Editor= foo@myhost.com
* Editor= anotheruser@myhost.com,yetanotheruser@myhost.com
* Notebook= No
* Errors-To= Owner
* Subscription= Open,Confirm
* Validate= No
* Review= Owners
* Send= Editor,Confirm
* Reply-To= foo@myhost.com,Ignore
* Sender= None

>>> SUB_OWNER &LISTNAME: &WHOM requested to join
.TO &WHOM
A copy of the &LISTNAME membership questionnaire has been sent
to you.  Please read it carefully and follow the instructions
to complete it and return it to the list owners.

.TO &WHOM CC: &OWNERS

.TO &WHOM CC: joe@unix1.example.com

>>> ADDREQ1 &LISTNAME Membership Survey
.RE OWNERS
.TO &WHOM
.CE &LISTNAME Membership Survey
NOTE:  Please make sure when you send this back that it goes to
the address &LISTNAME-Request@&MYHOST.  Thanks.

This is a standard questionnaire required for all prospective
subscribers to &LISTNAME. Blah blah blah...

.fo off
----------------------------------------------------------------
For List Owner's Use Only --  Be sure to include with your Reply
----------------------------------------------------------------
// JOB
  ADD &LISTNAME &WHOM &USERNAME
// EOJ
----------------------------------------------------------------
.fo on

The approval request code received together  with your posting for the MYLIST-L
list is  incorrect. For  a peered  list, this  may be  a normal  condition. The
approval protocol  is not  guaranteed to  work among  peer chains with pre-1.8b
servers, and  will also  fail if  the peers  have a  different password.  For a
non-peered list, the only likely explanation is a failure in the mail system or
a recent change in mail  system version or  configuration. At any  rate, please
resubmit your message and go through  the approval procedure a second time, and
contact the LISTSERV administrator if the problem persists.

------------------------ Rejected message (73 lines) --------------------------

1. NOMAIL subscriptions are ignored. You will get the super-message if you have an active (not NOMAIL) subscription to at least one sub-list. The idea is that the super-message must be equivalent to posting to all the sub-lists, without the duplicates. Since all it takes to get a message posted to all the sub-lists is a single non-NOMAIL subscription, this is how the super-list works. The only way not to get the super-messages is to subscribe to the super-list directly and set yourself to NOMAIL.

2. The DIGEST and INDEX options are ignored and internally converted to MAIL. The first reason is that, since in most cases the user will be on multiple sub-lists (otherwise you don't need a super-list in the first place), the only safe method to set subscription options for super-messages is by subscribing to the super-list so that there is no ambiguity. The second reason is that, in most cases, super-lists will be used for out of band administrative messages rather than for large volume discussions, so it is actually preferable to have the message sent directly. The third reason is that the super-list and sub-lists may not necessarily offer the same options (DIGEST and INDEX). In particular it is expected that many super-lists will not have archives. If you want a DIGEST or INDEX for the super-messages, you must subscribe to the super-list directly.

* Notebook= Yes,C:\LISTS\SUPER,Monthly,Private,(SUB-A),(SUB-B)
* Notebook= (SUB-C),(SUB-D),(SUB-E),(SUB-F)

PUT M101 KEYWORDS PW=createpw
* Owner= mathwhiz@someuni.edu (Professor J. Random User)
* Owner= Quiet:
* Owner= gradasst@someuni.edu (Joe Doakes, Graduate Assistant)
* Notebook= Yes,/home/listserv/archives/m101,Monthly,Private
* Auto-Delete= No
* Errors-To= gradasst@someuni.edu
* Subscription= Closed
* Notify= Yes               Confidential= Yes        Validate= Yes,Confirm,NoPW
* Reply-to= List,Ignore     Review= Owners           Send= Private
* Default-Options= Repro

PUT M101-001 LIST PW=createpw
* Math 101 Section 001 Mailing List
* .IK M101

2.14. List passwords are now obsolete

2.15. Allowing/Blocking MIME Attachments

• Allow all MIME attachments, no filtering or blocking
• Reject MIME attachments with notice to the poster
• Filter MIME attachments out of messages transparently

For information on the various settings, please see the section on the Attachments= keyword in Appendix B of this manual.

3. Advertising Your Public Mailing Lists

3.1. Lists of Lists maintained by LISTSERV

L-Soft's CataList service at http://www.lsoft.com/CataList.html
The LISTS GLOBAL searchtext command. This list of lists is made up of one-line entries containing the short listname and the descriptive title of the list (up to about 60 characters in length). A sample of the List of Lists format was shown in Chapter 2.

3.2. Adding HTML to a list header for the CataList

* The coffee lovers' list
*
* Review= Public    Subscription= Open         Send= Public
* Notify= Yes       Reply-to= List,Respect
* Notebook= Yes,L,Monthly,Public
*
* Owner=  claudia@espresso.xyz.it (Claudia Serafino)
*
* <HTML>
* COFFEE-LOVERS is an open list for, well, coffee lovers! Our
* motto is: <cite>"Instant -- just say no!"</cite>
* That's pretty much our whole charter, although there are a
* few other <a href="http://www.coffee.org/charter.html">
* rules</a> that you may want to read before joining. For
* instance, we don't allow flame wars about decaf: if you like it,
* well, it's your body after all.
*
* <p>The list is maintained by
* <a href="http://www.coffee.org/claudia.html">Claudia
* Serafino</a> (that's me!) and you will find all sorts of
* useful info about coffee on my home page.
* </HTML>
*

1. The <HTML> and </HTML> tags must appear on a separate line, as shown in the example above. You cannot have anything else on that line and, in particular, you cannot mix keyword definitions with HTML data.

2. The HTML data you are providing is embedded into the document shown by the web interface when users query your list. Because you are given some space between two horizontal rules on an existing page, rather than a whole new page. you should not include tags that affect the whole document, like for instance <TITLE>.

3. While this procedure is compatible with all versions of LISTSERV, there are a few restrictions on the placement of equal signs within your HTML text with versions that do not have any specific support for the <HTML> and </HTML> markers. In practice, you can ignore this rule unless you get an error message while storing your list.

<!--#listref listname@hostname-->

Don't forget to take a look at
<!--#listref COFFEE-L@COFFEE.ORG-->
the coffee list!</a>

*
* Sample list with problem pattern
*
* <HTML>
* For more information on the list, just check <a
* href="http://www.xyz.edu/mypage.html">my home page.</a>
* </HTML>
*

3.3. Defining search categories in a list header for the CataList

GET LISTCAT FILE

* Categories= Arts:Music:Opera:Singers:Pavarotti_Luciano
* Categories= Arts:Music:Opera:Singers:Domingo_Placido
* Categories= Arts:Music:Opera:Singers:Carreras_Jose

* Categories= Arts:Music:Opera:Singers:Three_Tenors

3.4. The INFO <listname> command and how to implement it

• The default response, which simply sends a copy of the list header to the user; or

• The customized paragraph included in the listname.MAILTPL file.

3.5. The NEW-LIST project

http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/new-list/

3.6. The Internet Network Information Center (INTERNIC)

3.7. The Global List Exchange (GLX) and why you should mention it

3.8. How NOT to advertise a mailing list

4. Managing Subscriptions

4.1. How to add and delete subscribers to/from a list

ADD listname netaddress full_name
DELete listname netaddress

ADD GOV-L Al Gore <vice-president@whitehouse.gov>

QUIET ADD MYLIST someone.with.a.real.long.userid.that.wraps@hishost.com
His Name

> QUIET ADD MYLIST someone.with.a.real.long.userid.that.wraps@hishost.com
someone.with.a.real.long.userid.that.wraps@HISHOST.COM  is not  yet in  the
signup file. Please specify the full name of that person, as in "ADD MYLIST
JOE@XYZ.EDU Joe H. Smith".

> His Name
Unknown command - "HIS". Try HELP.

// QUIET ADD MYLIST someone.with.a.real.long.userid.that.wraps@hishost.com ,
His Name

1. The address may wrap to the next line once you add the DELETE listname command, and LISTSERV will not accept it.

2. The address contains characters that LISTSERV will reject as illegal (the "/" character).

ADD MYLIST-L DD=X500 PW=MYPASSWORD
//X500 DD *
/G=Joe/S=Randomuser/OU=403402ABD/O=SOME.CORP/@LANGATE.SOME.HOST.COM
/*

DELETE MYLIST *G=JOE*S=RANDOMUSER*@LANGATE.SOME.HOST.COM

// DELETE MYLIST , 
"/G=Joe/S=Randomuser/OU=403402ABD/O=SOME.CORP/@LANGATE.SOME.HOST.COM"

//<space><beginning of command><space><comma>
<continuation of command><space><comma>
<continuation of command>....

// QUIET ADD MYLIST someone.with.a.real.long.userid.that.wraps@hishost.com ,
His Name PW=mypassword

// GETPOST MYLIST 10769-10770 10772 11079 11086 11095 11099-11100 11104 ,
11111 11115 11118 11121 11124 11131 11144 11147 11153 11158 11166 11168

4.2. Finding users who do not appear in the list

> scan test-l Nathan
Nathan Brindle <nbrindle@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU>
Somebody Else <nathan@LSOFT.COM>
Jonathan Smith <jsmith@FOO.BAR.COM>
SCAN: 3 matches.

SCAN TEST-L BAR.COM

4.3. Converting existing lists from other systems to LISTSERV

Message separator
Body of Message
Message separator
Body of Message

=========================================================================
Date:         Tue, 3 Mar 1998 10:36:55 -0500
Sender:       Test list <TEST@LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM>
From:         Nathan Brindle <nathan@lsoft.com>
Subject:      Test
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

First test message
=========================================================================
Date:         Tue, 3 Mar 1998 10:39:11 -0500
Sender:       Test list <TEST@LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM>
From:         Nathan Brindle <nathan@lsoft.com>
Subject:      Test2
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Second test message

From owner-test@listserv.example.com  Mon Dec 29 15:17:20 1997
Return-Path: <root@listserv.example.com>
Received: from localhost (root@localhost) by listserv.example.com (8.8.3/8.8.3) 0
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 15:17:20 -0500 (EST)
From: root <root@listserv.example.com>
To: test@listserv.example.com
Subject: Test
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.95.971229151703.711A-100000@listserv.example.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Status: RO
X-Status:

This is a sample message from Majordomo in unix mailbox format.

Root
From owner-test@listserv.example.com  Mon Dec 29 15:23:51 1997
Return-Path: <root@listserv.example.com>
Received: from localhost (root@localhost) by listserv.example.com (8.8.3/8.8.3) 0
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 15:23:51 -0500 (EST)
....

4.4. Adding subscribers to lists in bulk

1. Have the LISTSERV maintainer at your new site create the new list header and install it on the machine.

2. Create an add job as follows. The QUIET and IMPORT command words are optional; omit the square brackets if you use them. The "full name" field is optional as long as you use the IMPORT option; otherwise you must either specify "*" (for an anonymous subscription) or a full name consisting of at least two separate words.

   [QUIET] ADD listname DD=ddname [IMPORT] PW=yourpassword
   //ddname DD *
   userid1@host1.com [*|full name]
   userid2@host2.com [*|full name]
   ...more users, one per line...
   useridn@hostn.com [*|full name]
   /*

   For example (what fun:),

   ADD B5-L DD=MYDD IMPORT PW=BLAHBLAH
   //MYDD DD *
   SHERIDAN@BABYLON5.MIL John Sheridan
   IVANOVA@BABYLON5.MIL Susan Ivanova
   LONDO@CENTAURI.PRIME.GOV Londo Mollari
   GKAR@KAARI.NARN.GOV Citizen G'Kar
   /*

   If you are importing from an existing non-LISTSERV list, you should remove any lines from the original list that do not actually identify subscriber addresses. If you are converting to LISTSERV from ListProc, note that LISTSERV will not convert ListProc user options to their LISTSERV equivalents; you must take a line like
   user1@somehost.com POSTPONE NEWLIST NO user's name
   and reduce it at least to
   user1@somehost.com user's name
   Otherwise, the ListProc options will become part of the full name field.

3. Send the job to LISTSERV.

4.5. Deleting subscribers from lists in bulk

[QUIET] DELete listname DD=ddname [BRIEF] PW=yourpassword
//ddname DD *
userid1@host1.com
userid2@host2.com
...
useridn@hostn.com
/*

4.6. Using the QUIET option with commands

QUIET ADD EXCEL-L comp.spreadsheets.excel@netnews.somenode.edu
QUIET DELETE EXCEL-L Bouncemeister@somenode.edu

4.7. Dealing with bounced mail

The enclosed message has been identified as a delivery error for the MYLIST-L
list because it was sent to 'owner-mylist-l@LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM'.

------------------------------ Message in error -------------------------------

http://nis.nsf.net/internet/documents/rfc/rfc1893.txt

1. no such user at host , user unknown (or "notary" format error number 5.1.1)
   Most of the time, this is authoritative and indicates that the user's access has been curtailed for some reason (graduation, no longer employed, etc.). A quiet delete (syntax: "QUIET DELETE listname userid@host") is in order unless you have reason to believe that the message is not authoritative. Variations on this message include "Recipient unknown" and "Ambiguous address: userid". The latter doesn't really mean the user doesn't exist, but it's almost as bad, and many list owners choose to classify it as "no such user".
   Microsoft Exchange servers send back the following message for an unknown user:

   Joe@EXCHANGE.EXAMPLE.COM on Wed, 4 Mar 1998 13:31:50 -0600
       The recipient name is not recognized
       MSEXCH:IMS:Example Corp:EXAMPLE:EXCOMEXCH 0 (000C05A6)
   Unknown Recipient

2. no such host, host unknown (or "notary" format error number 5.1.2)
   This is sometimes authoritative and sometimes not. If a host goes down or a gateway fails, often this message is returned by an intermediate host or gateway. If the user is bouncing a great deal of mail from a high-volume list, it is probably best to set the user to NOMAIL (syntax: "SET listname NOMAIL FOR userid@host") rather than to summarily delete him. This way, the error messages stop, the user is sent an automatic message telling him his personal options have been changed by the list owner, and the user doesn't have to go through the subscription process again if the problem has been solved in the interim.
   The problem is that some hosts go down on a regular basis and this error makes it impossible to tell if the host in question is gone forever or gone until the local sysadmin reboots his machine. After a while, you will begin to recognize the transient hosts and may elect to ignore them. If you choose to set the user to NOMAIL, you should send a message to the user just in case the system has come back up, and you should keep some sort of record of the users you've set this way so you can follow up later with another message.

3. no MX or A records for host (or "notary" format error 5.4.4)
   Similar to "no such host". This means that the Domain Name Service (DNS) can't find any routing information for host but has found at least one reference to it. This generally indicates a DNS configuration error and may or may not be transient.

4. Transient failure: cannot deliver for n days
   A host is experiencing periodic failures, and the gateway or intermediate host has not been able to deliver the message for n days. Usually the host will attempt redelivery. Usually there is nothing wrong with the user address, so it is a list owner decision as to whether it is worth waiting out the transient failure or going ahead and setting the user to NOMAIL. Unfortunately, by the time you get this message, the failure is n days in the past, the "transient failure" is very probably over, and you are likely to receive further error messages for n more days until the intermediate host's queue is exhausted.

5. mailbox full, quota exceeded (or "notary" format error number 4.2.2)
   Self explanatory. This usually happens on systems with tiny user mailbox space, but it can happen on any system if a user subscribes to too many lists or goes on an extended vacation without setting lists to NOMAIL. The best solution is to set the user to NOMAIL yourself. Variations on this message include VMS's "file extend failed writing to [disk.user]MAIL.MAI".

6. unknown mailer error x
   This is a favorite Unix sendmail configuration bounce. NOMAIL or DELETE, according to your preference. Since it is a configuration problem, it is usually transient. One system sent the following under an "unknown mailer error 1" heading:

   binmail: /usr/spool/mail/userid: too big to accept new messages.
           It's size is 205735 bytes which is 935 bytes over quota.
   mail: cannot open dead.letter
   554 <userid@node>... unknown mailer error 1

   This is apparently a "mailbox full" error, as "userid's" mail spool is "over quota". It is also possible that it means your message would put the user over quota by 935 bytes. Either way, there isn't enough space in the user's mailbox to store your message (in this case, it was a daily digest). Note that "unknown mailer error x" does not always mean the user's mailbox is full -- what it always means is that sendmail cannot identify the cause of the error.

7. Bounced, but sent successfully
   This error comes from cc:Mail systems and is extremely misleading. It claims that the mail bounced to one address, but was sent successfully to another.

   While talking to smtp.ccabc.com:
   >> DATA
   << 554 I/O error to mailbox
   554 MILLERT@smtp.ccabc.com... Service unavailable
   
   ----- Recipients of this delivery -----
   Bounced, cannot deliver:
      MILLERT@smtp.ccabc.com
   Sent successfully:
      <MILLERT@ABC.COM>

   What this means (assuming that the mail hasn't gone through a redistribution list or a mirror site) is that you have a user MILLERT@ABC.COM on your list, and the server accepted the mail for that address successfully. However, that address actually maps to a different internal address (in this case MILLERT@smtp.ccabc.com) and for whatever reason, the server can't forward the mail on. This is the equivalent of a "user unknown" error for MILLERT@ABC.COM.

8. Too many hops (or "notary" format error number 5.4.6)
   Means that the message has transited through too many intermediate mail systems (1 transit = 1 hop). Most of the time this will be due to a temporary looping condition on the user's end (despite the "permanent" 5.4.6 error). For instance, the following Internet routing headers indicate a loop between three different mail machines (starting from the bottom and working back to the top):

   Received: from un1.sample.com (root@un1.sample.com [200.9.212.3])
          by un7.sample.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id RAA22765
          for <user@example.com.ar>; Wed, 4 Mar 1998 17:17:10 -0300
   Received: from ul1.sample.com (root@ul1.sample.com [200.0.224.2])
          by un1.sample.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id RAA27352
          for <user@example.com.ar>; Wed, 4 Mar 1998 17:16:00 -0300
   Received: from un7.sample.com (un7.sample.com [200.9.212.4])
          by ul1.sample.com (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id RAA13496
          for <user@example.com.ar>; Wed, 4 Mar 1998 17:15:40 -0300 (GMT-3)
   Received: from un1.sample.com (root@un1.sample.com [200.9.212.3])
          by un7.sample.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id RAA22034
          for <user@example.com.ar>; Wed, 4 Mar 1998 17:15:27 -0300
   Received: from grape.EASE.LSOFT.COM (grape.ease.lsoft.com [206.241.12.34])
          by un1.sample.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id RAA25235
          for <user@example.com.ar>; Wed, 4 Mar 1998 17:08:43 -0300

   The problem here appears to be that the mailers at sample.com are MX (mail exchanger) sites for example.com.ar, but that they can't decide which one of them should hold onto the mail until it can be delivered to example.com.ar. So it looped through 7 iterations until the un7 machine finally decided that enough was enough (including the passage through LISTSERV it had taken 26 hops and un7 was set to accept a maximum of 25 hops) and generated an error.
   You may occasionally see a "too many hops" message that isn't a loop. Usually the non-looping variant is due to the recipient being many hops away from the mail originator and the maximum hop count being set too low on the recipient's machine. Many older sendmail installations, for instance, will accept only 10-15 hops before they reject the message. With today's Internet a setting of 30-40 is probably much more reasonable.

> scan test-l LLONG
Bill Smith <LLONG%StarShip%Dora@BOONDOCK.TERTIUS.COM>
SCAN: 1 match.

The enclosed message,  found in the VISBAS-L mailbox and  shown under the spool
ID 19630445 in the system log, has been identified as a possible delivery error
notice  for  the following  reason:  "Sender:",  "From:" or  "Reply-To:"  field
pointing to the list has been found in mail body.

User's reply, blah blah blah

> Date:          Tue, 31 Dec 1996 17:00:00 -0700
> Reply-to:      Visual Basic List <VISBAS-L@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
> From:          Joe User <JOE@UNIX.FOO.COM>
> Subject:       Re: 97 Style ToolBars
> To:            VISBAS-L@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM

[General]
...
Commenting string                         = >

4.8.Delivery error handling features

4.9. Address probing

4.10. Subscription confirmation

1. SEND the subscription request to LISTSERV.

2. REPLY to the confirmation request ('ok')

3. SEND the confirmation code (if necessary) ('ok 23CBD8', for example)

4. Send mail to the list owner (not the list) if the subscription request fails after step 3.

4.11. Subscription renewal

[QUIET] SET listname NORENEW FOR net-address

[QUIET] CONFIRM listname FOR net-address

4.12. Using the SERVE command when a user is "served out"

5. Setting Subscription Options For Subscribers

5.1. How to review current subscription options with QUERY

Query listname FOR userid@host

Q LSTOWN-L FOR J*@UBVM*

Q listname WITH NOMAIL FOR *@*

Q listname with DIGEST CONCEAL FOR *@*

Q listname WITH TOPICS: ADMIN FORUM FOR *@*

Q listname WITH TOPICS: -ADMIN FOR *@*

Q listname WITH TOPICS: ADMIN -TEST FOR *@*

5.2. How to set personal subscription options for subscribers

[QUIET] SET listname option FOR userid@host

5.3. Options that may be set

FULLhdr	"Full" mail headers (default) (formerly FULLBSMTP)
SHORThdr	Short headers (formerly SHORTBSMTP)
IETFhdr	Internet-style headers
DUALhdr	Dual headers, useful with PC or Mac mail programs
FULL822	"Full" RFC822 mail headers
SHORT822	Short RFC822 mail headers
SUBJecthdr	"Full" RFC822 mail headers (like the default), except that LISTSERV adds the list's default subject tag to the subject line of mail coming from the list. To turn this off, simply set another mail header option.

SET listname POST FOR userid@host

SET listname NOEDITOR FOR userid@host

SET listname NOREVIEW FOR userid@host

SET listname RENEW FOR userid@host

5.4. Setting original default options with the Default-Options= keyword

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

* Send= Editor
* Editor= userid@some.host.edu

* Send= Editor
* Editor= alex@reges.org,joe@foo.bar.edu
* Editor= tony@tiger.com

* Send= Editor
* Editor= alex@reges.org,(MYLIST-L)

* Send= Editor
* Editor= joe@foo.bar.edu,tony@tiger.com,kent@net.police.net
* Moderator= kent@net.police.net,joe@foo.bar.edu

6.5. Submitting subscriber contributions to an edited list

This message  was  originally  submitted  by  JOE@FOO.BAR.COM  to  the ACCESS-L
list at PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM. If you simply  forward it back to the list, using
a mail command that generates "Resent-"  fields (ask your local user support or
consult  the documentation  of  your mail  program  if in  doubt),  it will  be
distributed  and  the  explanations  you   are  now  reading  will  be  removed
automatically. If on the other hand you edit the contributions you receive into
a digest, you will have to  remove this paragraph manually. Finally, you should
be able  to contact  the author  of this  message by  using the  normal "reply"
function of your mail program.

------------------ Message requiring your approval (25 lines) -----------------
 [message body]

6.6. Message Approval with Send= Editor,Hold

6.7. Using list topics

• Topics are best employed on moderated lists. This makes it possible to review the "Subject:" header line to make sure that it conforms to one or more of the topics defined for the list before you forward the post to the list. Not only does this help catch simple errors (such as misspellings of the topic), but it also allows the moderator to add a topic into the subject line if one is not already there.

• If you employ topics on unmoderated lists, your subscribers must be well-educated in their use. Otherwise, there is no point in using them. Messages that do not conform to a specified topic are lumped into the reserved topic "Other" and are distributed only to subscribers who have explicitly defined "Other" as a topic they wish to receive. Therefore some subscribers will receive the message and some won't, and it is problematic as to whether the message will actually reach the entire audience for which it is intended.

• It is important to note that topics are active only when the subscriber's subscription is set to MAIL. All messages posted to the list, regardless of topic, are included in the digest and/or index for the list (if available) because the same digest/index is prepared and sent to all the digest/index subscribers. Similarly, all messages posted to the list are archived in the list's notebook logs (if available), making it possible for subscribers to retrieve postings in topics they are not set to receive normally.

• A list of all the topics the subscriber wishes to receive. In that case these topics replace any other topics the subscriber may have subscribed to before. For instance, after 'SET XYZ-L TOPICS: NEWS BENCH', the subscriber will receive news and benchmarks, and nothing else.

• Updates to the list of topics the subscriber currently receives. A plus sign indicates a topic that should be added, a minus sign requests the removal of a topic. For instance, "SET XYZ-L TOPICS: +NEWS -BENCH" adds news and removes benchmarks. If a topic name is given without a + or - sign, + is assumed: "SET XYZ-L TOPICS: +NEWS BENCH" adds news and benchmarks. The first topic name must have the plus sign to show that this is an addition, and not a replacement.

• A combination of the above, mostly useful to enable all but a few topics: "SET XYZ-L TOPICS: ALL -MEETINGS".

REVIEW listname Short TOPics

*  Topic                    Subscribers
*  -----                    -----------
*  Apps                           1,411
*  Backup                         1,330
*  Beta                             951
*  Bugs                           1,416
*  Comm                           1,395
*  Desktop                        1,407
*  Hardware                       1,401
*  Install                        1,373
*  Internet                       1,002
*  Network                        1,399
*  Wish                           1,336
*
*  "Other" topic                  1,294
*  Digest/index subscribers       1,384

6.8. The <listname> WELCOME and <listname> FAREWELL files

1. Create the file. If you place a "Subject:" line at the top of the document, i.e., as the first line, LISTSERV will pick that line up and use it as the RFC822 "Subject:" header line. Otherwise, LISTSERV places a generic subject line in the mail message.

2. If the file contains special characters (i.e., non-7-bit ASCII characters) and you want to specify a character set for LISTSERV to include in the headers of the messsage, place a line such as:
   Character-Set: ISO-8859-7
   at the top of the message (or directly following the "Subject:" line if one is configured). The value "ISO-8859-7" is used here as an example only and should be replaced with the appropriate character set descriptor. If the file does not contain any non-7-bit ASCII characters, this line will be ignored.

3. Be sure that you have defined a "personal password" to LISTSERV with the PW ADD command before you PUT the welcome file. If you have done this but can't remember the password, send LISTSERV a PW RESET command. You will then be able to add a new password with the PW ADD command.

4. Send the file to LISTSERV with a PUT listname WELCOME PW=XXXXXXXX command at the top of the file, just as if you were putting the list itself. Replace XXXXXXXX with your personal password.

PUT SONGTALK WELCOME PW=XXXXXXXX
Subject: Welcome to Songtalk!
Welcome to Songtalk, the list for Songwriters talking about their work.
Your list owner is Susan Lowell (susan@example.com).

1. The revision date for the WELCOME file.

2. A heading including the short and long names of the list, along with the name and network address of the primary list owner (or the list owner who handles subscription issues/problems).

3. Any warnings about the list that you want people to see immediately. These might include
   • a notice regarding the volume of mail subscribers can expect from the list

   • any newsgroups that echo the list

   • ftp sites for the list

   • where to send LISTSERV commands

   • where to find more in-depth information about the list (if you do a quarterly administrative posting or have a FAQ, where can it be found?)

4. A short abstract of what the list is all about. This might be a duplicate of the description you send to NEW-LIST.

5. The author includes the following paragraph at this point:

   Users new to the use of L-Soft's LISTSERV are encouraged to read the online 
   files LISTSERV REFCARD and LISTSERV GENINTRO, which can be obtained by sending 
   the following commands in the body of a mail message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.NET:
   
   INFO REFCARD
   INFO GENINTRO

6. Any guidelines for use of the list, including the list charter if you have one.

7. Information about the notebook archives and how to retrieve them.

8. Other list-specific information that might be important to new users.

Subject:  Your ACCESS-L Signoff Request
I'm sorry to see that you're leaving ACCESS-L.  If there is anything you
believe ACCESS-L should have offered but didn't, or there are any other 
suggestions you may have for the list, please feel free to write directly 
to me.

Sincerely,
Nathan Brindle <nathan@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu>
ACCESS-L List Owner

6.9. Social conventions (netiquette)

6.10. Spamming: what it is, and what to do about it

• The person responsible for the spam is probably not subscribed to the list, and any response back to the list will not reach that person.

• An appropriate response to a spam is to forward a single copy of the spam to the person in charge of the site from which the spam originated ("POSTMASTER", "ROOT", etc.) pointing out that the spammer is probably violating his site's appropriate use policies.

• It is inappropriate to attempt to flood the spammer's mailbox with network mail in response. This is probably in violation of your network's appropriate use policies, and it just wastes bandwidth.

6.11. Appropriate use policies: considerations

7. Overview of List Archives

7.1. What is the list archive?

7.2. Setting up and managing archive notebooks

INDex listname

7.3. Database Functions Overview

//      JOB  Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD   *
command 1
command 2
...
/*

> Select * in TEST-L
--> Database TEST-L, 4 hits.

> Index
Item #   Date   Time  Recs   Subject
------   ----   ----  ----   -------
000001 95/10/18 13:09   12   This is a test looking for upcasing
000002 95/08/24 09:18    9
000003 95/10/18 13:09    8   Test - please acknowledge receipt
000004 95/10/18 13:09    7   Does Reply-To=Both work correctly?

//      JOB  Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD   *
Search 'Digest=' in LSTOWN-L
Index
/*

> Search 'Digest=' in LSTOWN-L
--> Database LSTOWN-L, 37 hits.

> Index
Item #   Date   Time  Recs   Subject
------   ----   ----  ----   -------
001215 93/01/06 21:58   50   New feature in 1.7f - automatic digests
001339 93/01/18 02:46  110   New features for 1.7f - "Filter=" and list keyword+
001375 93/01/28 10:02   19   Initial reports from 1.7f beta tests?
001401 93/02/08 16:39   58   Re: List of LISTSERV header keywords?
001616 93/03/18 13:42   70   DIGEST boilerplate announcement/reference
001727 93/04/04 15:22  916   Changes from release 1.7e to 1.7f
....

//      JOB  Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD   *
Search 'Digest=' in LSTOWN-L
Print 1215 1339 1727
/*

> Search 'Digest=' in EASE-HOME
-> 10 matches.

Item #   Date   Time  Recs   Subject
------   ----   ----  ----   -------
000058 96/01/26 14:44   41   What happened
000059 96/01/26 18:14   38   Re: What happened
000066 96/02/02 22:51   31   Digest Problem
000074 96/02/03 15:01   75   Re: Digest Problem
000075 96/02/03 18:52   49   Re: Digest Problem
000076 96/02/03 16:27   52   Re: Digest Problem
000112 96/02/13 23:37   29   not receiving mail
000126 96/02/25 20:20   63   error/bounce msg posted to list How?
000172 96/03/13 09:11   12   Digest Mailing Time
000483 96/06/22 17:36   34   Header Info

To order a copy of these postings, send the following command:

            GETPOST EASE-HOME 58-59 66 74-76 112 126 172 483

>>> Item #58 (26 Jan 1996 14:44) - What happened
   I never touched the Limits= command or the notebook= All I did was
try and add: Digest= Yes,Daily
             ^^^^^^^
I have tryed this several times with the same reply message:

>>> Item #59 (26 Jan 1996 18:14) - Re: What happened
>   I never touched the Limits= command or the notebook= All I did was
>try and add: Digest= Yes,Daily
              ^^^^^^^
(remainder deleted)

GETPOST 66 74-76 126

Search 'Digest=' in LSTOWN-L since 94/01/01
Search 'Digest=' in LSTOWN-L where sender contains 'Thomas'
Search * in LSTOWN-L where sender is ERIC@SEARN
Search * in LSTOWN-L since 94/01/01 where subject contains 'Digest'

7.4. Where to find more information on Database Functions

8. Overview of File Archives

• The VM (mainframe) version of LISTSERV continues to support the "traditional" file server system. While it is very powerful, this file server system dates back to 1986 and suffers from a few annoying limitations. In addition, it is written in a non portable language. This will be replaced eventually with the "new" file server system, currently under development.

• The non-VM versions of LISTSERV 1.8d enhance further the new file server system introduced in non-VM 1.8c, which includes most of the functionality of the "traditional" file system. Notably, GIVE and file "packages" are now available. Most end user commands will continue to work as before. However, there is no guarantee that the internal data files manipulated by the file server functions will remain as before. Note that SITE.CATALOG files from versions 1.8a through 1.8c are still supported and will not need to be changed in order to work with 1.8d.

• The non-VM versions of LISTSERV 1.8a and 1.8b supported a "temporary" file server system, to provide an interim solution while the new system was being developed. This temporary system supports only a subset of the functions of the traditional system. This system is no longer supported by L-Soft as it has been superseded by the new non-VM file server referenced above.

8.1. What is the file archive?

8.2. Starting a file archive for your list

8.3. Filelist maintenance (VM systems only)

GET listname FILELIST PW=XXXXXXXX (CTL

*  Files associated with MYLIST and available to subscribers:
*                             rec               last - change
* filename filetype   GET PUT -fm lrecl nrecs   date     time   Remarks
* -------- --------   --- --- --- ----- ----- -------- -------- --------
  MYLIST   POLICY     ALL OWN V      79    45 94/03/16 12:04:23 Mission Statement
  MYLIST   BOOKLIST   ALL OWN V      79   177 94/04/19 16:24:57 Books of interest
  MYLIST   QUARTER    ALL OWN V      73   113 95/03/11 08:57:04 Quarterly posting

*  Listowner's files (not public)
  MYLIST   FAREWELL   OWN OWN V      78     9 95/03/11 08:53:41 Goodbye memo
  MYLIST   WELCOME    OWN OWN V      73   105 95/03/11 09:14:38 Hello memo

 MYLIST FAQ ALL OWN . . . . . Frequently-Asked Questions for MYLIST

*  Files associated with MYLIST and available to subscribers:
*                             rec               last - change
* filename filetype   GET PUT -fm lrecl nrecs   date     time   Remarks
* -------- --------   --- --- --- ----- ----- -------- -------- --------
  MYLIST   POLICY     ALL OWN V      79    45 94/03/16 12:04:23 Mission Statement
  MYLIST   BOOKLIST   ALL OWN V      79   177 94/04/19 16:24:57 Books of interest
  MYLIST   QUARTER    ALL OWN V      73   113 95/03/11 08:57:04 Quarterly posting
 MYLIST FAQ ALL OWN . . . . . Frequently-Asked Questions for MYLIST

*  Listowner's files (not public)
  MYLIST   FAREWELL   OWN OWN V      78     9 95/03/11 08:53:41 Goodbye memo
  MYLIST   WELCOME    OWN OWN V      73   105 95/03/11 09:14:38 Hello memo

1. Create a mail message to LISTSERV at the appropriate host. (Sending a filelist to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.NET will not work. The filelist must be sent to the host it resides on.)

2. Include the filelist file as plain text in the body of the mail message. Do not attach it with MIME or another encoding scheme, as LISTSERV does not translate encoded messages.

3. Make sure that your mail client does not automatically add a signature file to the bottom of your mail. If it does, your signature file will be treated as part of the filelist and will be stored along with it.

4. At the top of the filelist, add a single line as follows:

   PUT filename FILELIST PW=XXXXXXXX

   where XXXXXXXX is your personal password for LISTSERV on that host. Note that this is similar to the PUT command used when storing the list file.

5. Send the filelist to LISTSERV.

8.4.The listname.CATALOG system on non-VM systems (1.8c and later)

1. Ask the LISTSERV administrator to create the sub-catalog for your list. You will need to provide the e-mail addresses of the person(s) who will be in charge of managing it ("catalog owners").

2. The catalog owners use the GET and PUT commands to update their catalog and register new files in their directory. Each file has the usual GET and PUT file access codes, allowing the catalog owners to further delegate the management of individual files to third parties ("file owners").

3. The file owners manage the files in question using the GET and PUT commands. Authorized users can retrieve the files using the GET command.

1. Send a GET MY.CATALOG command to LISTSERV (or, if the catalog is brand new, start from an empty file).

2. Register new file(s) in the catalog (see below).

3. Use the PUT MY.CATALOG PW=XXXXX command to store the updated catalog.

MY.FILE        my.file                      ALL JOE@XYZ.COM
(1)            (2)                          (3) (4)

MY.FILE C:\FILES\XYZ\MY.FILE JOE@XYZ.EDU,JACK@XYZ.EDU,PRIVATE(XYZ-L) CTL

*
* Files for the XYZ sub-project
*
XYZ.AGENDA
XYZ.BUDGET
XYZ.PROPOSAL-1
XYZ.PROPOSAL-2

MY.CATALOG     /home/lists/xyz/my.catalog   xxx JOE@XYZ.COM

8.5. Storing files on the host machine

1. Be sure that you have defined a "personal password" to LISTSERV with the PW ADD command before you PUT the new or edited file. If you have done this but can't remember the password, send a PW RESET command to LISTSERV, then a new PW ADD command.

2. Edit your file and save it. Add a single line at the top of the file as follows (square brackets indicate optional parameters):

   PUT filename extension [filelist|catalogname] PW=XXXXXXXX

   (This line will not appear to people who GET the file from LISTSERV.) Replace XXXXXXXX with your personal password. If you specify the filelist or catalog name, do not put the square brackets around the name.
   There are a couple of issues that need to be noted here:
   • If the file you are going to store is registered in the sitewide catalog or filelist, do not specify the name of the catalog or filelist.

   • If the file you are going to store is registered in a sub-catalog or filelist other than the sitewide one, you may have to specify the name of the sub-catalog or filelist in order to be able to store the file. This is because it is entirely possible that two lower-level filelists or catalogs may have files registered with the same name (for instance, README TXT). If LISTSERV has two sub-catalogs registered (for instance, MYLIST CATALOG and HISLIST CATALOG) that both have a file called README TXT registered, then a PUT README TXT command will tell LISTSERV to try and store the file in the first catalog it comes to in the hierarchy. If MYLIST CATALOG is registered before HISLIST CATALOG in SITE CATALOG, LISTSERV will try to store the file as if it belonged to MYLIST (which we assume is what you want). However, if HISLIST CATALOG is registered before MYLIST CATALOG (and many sites like to keep things in alphabetical order, so this is a most likely scenario), LISTSERV will try to store the file as if it belonged to HISLIST, and you will get an error stating that you aren't allowed to store the file.

3. Be sure that the file has been registered with an entry in a filelist or the site catalog.

4. Send the mail message to LISTSERV.

8.6. Deleting files from the host machine

1. Be sure that you have defined a "personal password" to LISTSERV with the PW ADD command before you PUT the delete job. If you have done this but can't remember the password, send a PW RESET command to LISTSERV, then a new PW ADD command.

2. Create a new mail message addressed to LISTSERV. Add a single line at the top of the message as follows:

   PUT filename extension [filelist|catalogname] PW=XXXXXXXX

   (Replace XXXXXXXX with your personal password.) The same issues noted in 8.5 regarding the filelist/catalog name are operative here.

3. Send the mail message to LISTSERV.

4. LISTSERV will tell you that the file has been successfully deleted.

5. For VM Systems ONLY: GET the listname FILELIST for your list and delete the line for the file you've just deleted. PUT the listname FILELIST back on the server.

6. For Workstation and PC Systems ONLY: Get the listname.CATALOG for your list and delete the line for the file you've just deleted. PUT the listname.CATALOG back on the server. Note that this is not necessarily required since under non-VM, if the physical file does not exist, LISTSERV will not include it in the output of an INDEX command. This is primarily a housekeeping measure.

8.7. Automatic File Distribution (AFD) and File Update Information (FUI)

8.8. File "Packages"

* MYLIST $PACKAGE
* Packing list for MYLIST PACKAGE
*
* You can make other comments here, such as
* the contact email address.
*
* filename filetype filelist
*==========================

• A "compatibility" mode that works on all platforms, and which is identical to the original method used on VM (and which VM servers still must use). In the compatibility mode the basic format for the entries is
  filename filetype filelist <optional_comments>
  for example,

  MYLIST   $PACKAGE MYLIST The packing list
  INTEREST FILE     MYLIST Interest groups
  NETIQUET FILE     MYLIST How to behave
  ANOTHER  FILE     MYLIST No comment

• In the second (new) mode for non-VM servers only, the entries are formatted like this:
  filename.extension <optional_comments>
  for example,

  MYLIST.$PACKAGE The packing list
  INTEREST.FILE   Interest groups
  NETIQUET.FILE   How to behave
  ANOTHER.FILE    No comment

1. They may get the entire package of files sent to them by sending LISTSERV the command GET filename PACKAGE (without the $ sign); or

2. They may request that LISTSERV send only the package file itself by sending LISTSERV the command GET filename $PACKAGE (with the $ sign).

8.9. Where to find more information on File Archives

9. Creating and Editing LISTSERV's Mail and Web Templates

9.1. What LISTSERV uses templates for

9.2. The default template files and how to get copies

9.3. Mail template format and embedded formatting commands

>>> EXAMPLE1 This is the subject line

.ASIS Click <a href="http://some.host.com/some-doc.html">here</a>.

9.4. Creating and editing a <listname>.MAILTPL file for a list

>>> INFO Information about the &LISTNAME list
There is no information file for the &LISTNAME list. Here is a copy of
the list "header", which usually contains a short description of the
purpose of the list, although its main purpose is to define various
list configuration options, also called
"keywords". If you have any question about the &LISTNAME list, write to
the list owners at the generic address:

.ce &LISTNAME-Request@&MYHOST

.dd &LISTHDR

>>> INFO Information about the &LISTNAME list
&LISTNAME is an open, unmoderated discussion list featuring
monkeys.  Things such as how to care for a pet monkey, monkey
diseases, monkey lore, endangered species of monkeys, and
monkey psychology are likely to be discussed.  The list is
NOT intended for discussion of Darwinism and/or theories of
evolution.

If you have any question about the &LISTNAME list, write to
the list owners at the generic address:

.ce &LISTNAME-Request@&MYHOST

• MOVE1: Usually active only for peered lists. This message is sent to the subscriber when the list owner or LISTSERV maintainer changes which peer the subscriber receives his or her mail from.

• SIGNOFF1: a notification to the list owner that someone has unsubscribed from the list. Whether or not the list owner receives this notification is controlled by the "Notify=" list header keyword.

• SIGNOFF2: this message is sent to any user who attempts to unsubscribe from a list to which he or she is not subscribed under the userid from which the unsubscribe command has been sent. For instance, joe@unix1.somehost.com may be subscribed to list MYLIST-L. If his Pine client is set so that his mail comes from his root domain (e.g., joe@somehost.com), he will get this message if he tries to unsubscribe from MYLIST-L.

• DELETE1: the message sent when a list owner or the LISTSERV maintainer deletes a user from a list. You can suppress the sending of this message by prepending "QUIET" to your "DELETE" command.

• AUTODEL1: this is the message that is sent to users who are deleted by the delivery error monitor. You can customize it to fit your needs, or suppress it for your list by simply redefining it in the 'listname.MAILTPL' and using the .QQ instruction:

  >>> AUTODEL1 This message is not wanted for our list
  .QQ

  Note that L-Soft does not generally recommend suppressing this message, as it may indicate a serious problem for the deleted subscriber.

• ADD1: the message sent when a list owner or a LISTSERV maintainer manually adds a subscriber to a list.

• ADD2: the message sent to the list owner(s) when someone subscribes to their list. As with SIGNOFF1, whether or not the list owner(s) receive this message is controlled by the "Notify=" list header keyword.

• ADDREQ1: this message is sent to the list owner when a user requests to join a list with "Subscription= By owner". Only the list owner is sent a copy of the ADDREQ1 message. If you use this template form to send new subscribers a questionnaire, application form or similar material, you will need to add a '.TO &WHOM' instruction to your modified template form, as by default the user does not receive a copy.

• SETINFO: the message sent to the subscriber when the list owner or LISTSERV maintainer changes their personal subscription options. Can be suppressed by the invoker with the use of the "QUIET" command modifier.

• CHANGE1: the message sent when a list owner or LISTSERV maintainer uses the CHANGE command to change a subcriber's address.

• ADDMOD2: the message sent to the subscriber when the list owner or LISTSERV maintainer changes the subscriber's "real name" field in the SIGNUP database.

• ADDPW1: the message sent to the user when a LISTSERV maintainer adds a personal password for that user. List owners should not change this template form.

• ADDPW2: an informational message sent to the LISTSERV maintainer when a user adds or changes his password, but only if an LSV$PW exit has been enabled to do so. Most installations will never use this template form, but it should not be deleted from DEFAULT.MAILTPL in any case. List owners should not change this template form.

• ADDPW3: an information message sent to the LISTSERV maintainer when a user tries to add or change his password, but only if an LSV$PW exit has been enabled to do so. Most installations will never use this template form, but it should not be deleted from DEFAULT.MAILTPL in any case. List owners should not change this template form.

• DELPW: the message sent to the user when a LISTSERV maintainer deletes that user's personal password. List owners should not change this template form.

• RENEW1: this message is sent to subscribers whose subscriptions are due for renewal (see the Renewal= list header keyword for more information).

• RENEW2: this message is sent to subscribers who did not renew their subscriptions within the grace period after being notified that their subscription was due for renewal.

• SIGNUP1: the basic "Your subscription request has been accepted" message.

• $SIGNUP: a template form included with SIGNUP1 and ADD1 (assuming that SIGNUP1 and ADD1 templates include an ".im $SIGNUP" line, which by default they do) which gives the subscriber a basic outline of how to use the list, how various options are set, and where to get more information on using LISTSERV. You can use this template in lieu of a WELCOME file for your list if you don't want two messages to go to the user at subscription time.

• SUB_CLOSED (linear): this is the message that is sent to a subscriber attempting to join a list with "Subscription= Closed". The default is "Sorry, the &LISTNAME list is closed. Contact the list owner (&OWNER) for more information."

• SUB_OWNER (linear): this message is sent to a subscriber attempting to join a list with "Subscription= By owner". The default is "Your request to join the &LISTNAME list has been forwarded to the list owner for approval. If you have any question about the list, you can reach the list owner at &OWNER." Because this is a linear template form (see above), it is not the best place to put long questionnaires, application forms, terms and conditions, or other material that the subscriber should be required to review prior to joining the list. See the "Tips" section below.

• POST_EDITOR (linear): this is the message LISTSERV sends to people attempting to post to the list, if it is moderated. The default is "Your &MESSAGE has been submitted to the moderator of the &LISTNAME list: &MBX(&MODERATOR)."

• REQACK1: this message is sent automatically in reply to any message sent to the xxx-request address. The message acknowledges receipt, explains the difference between the LISTSERV and xxx-request addresses, and contains instructions for joining and leaving the list. To suppress this message for your list, simply redefine it in the 'listname.MAILTPL' and use the .QQ instruction:

  >>> REQACK1 This message is not wanted for our list
  .QQ 

• CONFIRM1: The template form sent whenever an "OK" confirmation is required.

• WWW_INDEX: this template form is used by sites which have implemented LISTSERV's WWW archive interface. It includes the HTML code for the main archive access screen. You probably should leave this alone unless you know exactly what you are doing.

• PROBE1: this template form is sent as part of LISTSERV's new bounce processing feature if this feature is activated for your list. The desired response from the user is to discard the message and do nothing. See chapter 4.6.2 of the List Owner's Manual or chapter 13.5 of the Site Manager's Operations Manual for details on the "Probe" option.

• PROBE2: If the mail containing the PROBE1 message bounces, this template form is sent along with a copy of the bouncing mail. See chapter 4.6.2 of the List Owner's Manual or chapter 13.5 of the Site Manager's Operations Manual for details on the "Probe" option. (If you have Auto-Delete= ...,Delay(0), PROBE2 is not sent, rather the bouncing user is deleted immediately.)

• BAD_ATTACHMENT (linear): If a posting to a list contains an attachment of a type not allowed by the "Attachments=" setting for the list, this template form is sent back to the poster.

• TOP_BANNER, BOTTOM_BANNER (optional): when these template forms are present, their contents are automatically inserted at the top (respectively bottom) of each and every message posted to the list. Typically, the top banner would be used for a copyright or short legal warning which absolutely has to be seen by each and every reader. The bottom banner could contain instructions for signing off the list, a disclaimer, an acknowledgement of a sponsor's contribution, a "tip of the week", etc.

  Documented Restriction: The use in banners of substitutions which do not yield a constant result (e.g., &TIME) will defeat the duplicate mail detection part of LISTSERV's loop-checking heuristics in any case where a subscriber is forwarding all mail back to the list. L-Soft advises that such substitutions never be used in a TOP_BANNER or BOTTOM_BANNER.

  For digests, note that the BOTTOM_BANNER is printed only once, at the top of the digest, directly following the table of contents. This avoids having the banner repeat after every message in the digest. The default behavior can be overridden if preferred by adding the "BOTTOM_BANNER" parameter to the Digest= list header keyword.

• POSTACK1 (optional): when present, this message is sent in reply to any message posted to the list. This is very useful for creating "infobots", or just for returning a standard acknowledgement to contributors. The &SUBJECT variable contains the subject of the original message, and naturally the usual substitutions (&LISTNAME, &DATE, &TIME) are available.

• Many list owners require prospective subscribers to fill in a little questionnaire before being added to the list, or to explicitly state that they have read the list charter and agree to follow all rules or be removed from the list. The most convenient method, for both list owner and subscriber, is to have the SUBSCRIBE command return a copy of the questionnaire (or list charter, etc), and not forward the request to the owner. The user answers the questions and returns them directly to the list owner, who then adds the subscriber manually. Naturally, it is more convenient for the user if this information arrives in a separate message, with a 'Reply-To:' field pointing to the list owner's address. Thus, you should not use the SUB_OWNER template form for this purpose, because it is a linear template form and does not give you any control over the 'Reply-To:' field. The SUB_OWNER template form could be modified to read "A copy of the list charter is being sent to you, please read it carefully and follow the instructions to confirm your acceptance of our terms and conditions." The list charter would then be sent separately, through the ADDREQ1 template form. You would use the .RE OWNERS command to instruct LISTSERV to point the 'Reply-To:' field to the list owners, and .TO &WHOM to change the destination from list owner to subscriber. If you want to receive a copy of the message, you can use .TO &WHOM cc: xxx@yyy.

• When writing template forms, it is a good idea to use substitutions (&XXXX) for information which may change in the future. In particular, it is not uncommon for lists to have to be moved from one host to another, and this will be a lot easier if the template forms use substitutions for the list address and list host. The &LISTADDR substitution translates the full address of the list (XYZ-L@XYZ.COM), whereas &LISTNAME is just the name (XYZ-L). For references to the server and host, use &MYHOST for the Internet hostname, &MYSELF for the server address (normally LISTSERV@&MYHOST), and &OWNER for the xxx-request mailbox address. These substitutions are "universal" and can be used in all template forms. For instance, if you decide to make a bottom banner with instructions for leaving the list, the text could read: "To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF &LISTNAME command to &MYSELF or, if you experience difficulties, write to &OWNER."

9.5. Storing the <listname>.MAILTPL file on the host machine

1. Get a copy of DEFAULT.MAILTPL and edit it.

2. Be sure that you have defined a "personal password" to LISTSERV with the PW ADD command before you PUT the template file. If you have done this but can't remember the password, send a PW RESET command to LISTSERV, then a new PW ADD command.

3. Send the file to LISTSERV with a PUT listname MAILTPL PW=XXXXXXXX command at the top of the file, just as if you were storing the list itself. Replace XXXXXXXX with your personal password.

9.6. Other template files: DIGEST-H and INDEX-H

The MYLIST list is sponsored by ABig Corporation.

See http://www.abig.com for information on ABig Corporation's products.

Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 11:52:41 -0500
From: Automatic digest processor <LISTSERV@MYHOST.COM>
Reply-To: My test list <MYLIST@MYHOST.COM>
To: Recipients of MYLIST digests <MYLIST@MYHOST.COM>
Subject: MYLIST Digest - 10 Jun 1996 to 11 Jun 1996

There is one message totalling 10 lines in this issue.

Topics in this issue:

  1. Testing 125...3 sir!

The MYLIST list is sponsored by ABig Corporation.

See http://www.abig.com for information on ABig Corporation's products.

9.7. Templates and template forms for the WWW interface

• WWW_ARCHIVE_INDEX: The basic INDEX.HTML page for the WWW archive interface. While this template form is available in DEFAULT MAILTPL, it cannot be changed by list owners.

• WWW_ARCHIVE_USER_FORMS: Tells LISTSERV which additional "user" forms to format for the list.

• WWW_ARCHIVE_TRAILER: The page trailer file included by the WWW interface's CGI script. When this template is included in a listname.MAILTPL file it controls ONLY the trailer for the listname.html main index page. See WWW_LIST_TRAILER , below.

• WWW_ARCHIVE_HEADER: The page header file included by the WWW interface's CGI script. When this template is included in a listname.MAILTPL file it controls ONLY the header for the listname.html main index page. See WWW_LIST_HEADER , below.

• $WWW_IMAGES_URLDEF: Default URLs for standard images, do not change

• $WWW_IMAGES_URL: URLs for standard images. If these images are stored in non-standard locations you put the URLs for those locations here. Otherwise LISTSERV uses the defaults in $WWW_IMAGES_URLDEF .

• $WWW_ARCHIVE_HEADER: Contains the header text for the WWW archive interface, e.g., what prints at the top of the page. This template form is included by default in the WWW_ARCHIVE_HEADER template form.

• $WWW_ARCHIVE_TRAILER: Contains trailer text for the WWW archive interface, e.g., what prints at the bottom of the page. This template form is included by default in the WWW_ARCHIVE_TRAILER template form.

• XHTML_LISTSERV_REPLY_TRAILER: Contains a trailer used for HTML digests (technically a mail template rather than an HTML template)

• DIRECTORY: Template directory for X-GETTPL (overrides only). You probably do not want to change this template form unless advised to do so by L-Soft.

• WWW_ARCHIVE_DIRECTORY: Template directory for X-GETTPL (WWW_ARCHIVE only). You probably should not change this template form unless advised to do so by L-Soft.

• WWW_LIST_HEADER: A second-level header file that can be defined by the list owner for all pages other than the main listname.html page (see WWW_ARCHIVE_HEADER for the main page). If defined, this header appears after the WWW_ARCHIVE_HEADER and before the rest of the page's content on all pages below listname.html.

• WWW_LIST_TRAILER: A second-level trailer file that can be defined by the list owner for all pages other than the main listname.html page (see WWW_ARCHIVE_TRAILER for the main page). If defined, this header appears before the WWW_ARCHIVE_TRAILER and after the rest of the page's content on all pages below listname.html.

• Any substitution variable that you use (for instance, &LISTNAME) must be escaped with a "+" symbol between the ampersand and the name of the variable, thus: &+LISTNAME . (Note that, as with the regular mail template forms, not all substitution variables are available in every HTML template form.)

• Any dot-formatting command you use (for instance, .CC , .BB , etc.) must have a "+" symbol rather than the dot, thus: +CC +BB

• Style-sheet: Style sheet for dynamic web templates. You will find this template form imbedded in most other web template forms; it makes it easier to change the overall "look" of the pages.

• A1-main: Second-level archive page (one month/week)

• A1-def: Special options for second-level archive page (see A1-MAIN)

• A2-main: Archive browsing (one message)

• S1-main: Main search page

• S2-main: Search results

• S2-missing: Search function, missing argument

• OPEN-error: Error message, can't access files (generic, returns error code)

• OPEN-bad-index: Error message, invalid index file

• LOGIN-main: Login screen

• LOGIN-cookie: Login confirmation after password saved in cookie

• LOGIN-cookie-reset: Confirmation after resetting login cookie

• CHPW-main: Change password screen

• NEWPW-main: Main password registration screen

• LOGIN-CHECK-COOKIE: Offer to reset cookie if authentication failed (imbedded template)

• LOGIN-BROWSE-NOTAUTH: Error screen, not authorized to browse

• LOGIN-SEARCH-NOTAUTH: Error screen, not authorized to search

• LOGIN-ADMIN-NOTAUTH: Error screen, not a LISTSERV administrator

• LOGIN-MANAGE-NOTAUTH: Error screen, not a list owner

• LOGIN-MANAGE-NOPW: Error screen, list cannot be managed via WWW

• POST-NOTAUTH: Error screen, not authorized to post

• MM-DBMS-NOTAUTH: Error screen, not authorized for DBMS mail-merge jobs

• MM-LIST-NOTAUTH: Error screen, not authorized for list mail-merge jobs

• LITE-NOTSUPP: Error screen, not supported in Lite.

• NEWPW-mailed: Awaiting mailed confirmation of new password screen.

• ACTMGR-main: Account management functions, main screen

• ACTMGR-usersel: Account management functions, user selection screen

• ACTMGR-subopt: Account management functions, view/update subscription options

• ACTMGR-subopt-msglib: Account management functions, text for subscription options

• HDREDIT-main: Edit list header, main screen

• TPLMGR-formsel: Template management, form selection screen

• TPLMGR-formedit: Template management, form edit screen

• LMGT-main: List management, main page

• P1-QUOTE: Reply function, text to prepend when including original message

• P1-main: Post/reply function

• SUBEDIT-main: Authenticated subscribe/leave, main page

• BULKOP-main: Bulk operations, main page

• LAYOUT-data: Layout customization, data page

• LAYOUT-SYSTEM-data: Layout customization, mandatory data (DO NOT EDIT!)

• LAYOUT-data-wrapper: Wrapper for layout data, sets useful variables

• LAYOUT-main: Layout customization, main page

• LCMD-main: Execute an arbitrary LISTSERV command (invoke "wa" with the parameter "?LCMD1")

• MM1-main: Mail-merge (DBMS based)

• MM2-main: Mail-merge (list based)

• NEWLIST-main: List creation, main page

• LIST-LIBRARY: Library of list header templates

• LIST-LIBRARY-INIT: Initialization sequence for library of list header templates

• SEARCH-HELP: Help page for the WWW archive interface's search functions

• SETTINGS-HELP: Help page for subscription settings

• LIST-select: Form to access archives of confidential (unlisted) list. Reached by invoking "wa" with the parameter "?LIST" (or by clicking on the link on the first-level archive page).

• LOGIN-MSGLIB: Miscellaneous error messages (for translation purposes)

• Site-wide: The DEFAULT_LANGUAGE= site configuration variable allows the LISTSERV maintainer to set the site-wide national language template for use by all lists on the server. By default this variable is unset and DEFAULT MAILTPL is used.

• List-level: The Language= list header keyword can be used to specify a national language template to be used for a particular list, for instance a Spanish-language list on an otherwise English-language server. The language template must already be present on the server in order for the list owner to be able to specify it in this keyword setting.

listname MAILTPL
idiom MAILTPL
WWW_ARCHIVE MAILTPL8
DEFAULT MAILTPL

listname WWWTPL
idiom WWWTPL
SITE WWWTPL
DEFAULT WWWTPL

9.8. Using the DAYSEQ(n) function

>>> BOTTOM_BANNER
.BB &DAYSEQ(3) = 1
Today's copy of the &LISTNAME newsletter has been brought to you
by Company A.
.EB
.BB &DAYSEQ(3) = 2
Today's copy of the &LISTNAME newsletter has been brought to you 
by Company B.
.EB
.BB &DAYSEQ(3) = 3
Today's copy of the &LISTNAME newsletter has been brought to you 
by Company C.
.EB

>>> BOTTOM_BANNER
.BB (&DAYSEQ(3) = 1) OR (&DAYSEQ(3) = 3)
Today's copy of the &LISTNAME newsletter has been brought to you
by Company A.
.EB
.BB &DAYSEQ(3) = 2
Today's copy of the &LISTNAME newsletter has been brought to you by 
Company B.
.EB

>>> PROBE1 Periodic FAQ posting for &LISTNAME
&WEEKDAY, &DATE &TIME
.BB &DAYSEQ(2) = 1 
This is the complete FAQ for &LISTNAME.  Please read it and keep a copy 
for future reference. A FAQ document for &LISTNAME is distributed every
15 days, the full FAQ alternating with a shorter "reminder" FAQ.

<body of the full FAQ document>
.EB
.BB &DAYSEQ(2) = 2
This is the abbreviated FAQ for &LISTNAME. Please read it and keep a copy
for future reference. A FAQ document for &LISTNAME is distributed every 
15 days, the full FAQ alternating with a shorter "reminder" FAQ.

<body of the abbreviated FAQ document>

.EB

/* */ 
say Date('B') + 1

10. Solving Problems

10.1. Helping subscribers figure out the answers

• Respond to the list with the answer so that all can benefit

• Respond privately to the subscriber with the answer if it has been posted repeatedly

10.2. Loop-checking can cause occasional problems with quoted replies

The enclosed message, found in the ACCESS-L mailbox and shown under the spool
ID 6305 in the  system log, has been identified as  a possible delivery error
notice  for the  following reason:  "Sender:", "From:"  or "Reply-To:"  field
pointing to the list has been found in mail body.

------------------------ Message in error (42 lines) --------------------------
Received: by access.mbnet.mb.ca id AA05697
  (5.67b/IDA-1.4.4 for Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
<ACCESS-L@peach.ease.lsoft.com>); Wed, 1 Mar 1995 10:26:29 -0600
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 1995 10:26:29 -0600
From: xxxxxx xxxxxxxxx <xxx@MBNET.MB.CA>
Message-Id: <199503011626.AA05697@access.mbnet.mb.ca>
To: Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
Message-Id: <199503011626.AA05697@access.mbnet.mb.ca>
To: Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
<ACCESS-L@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Subject: Re:      Re: Foxpro listserv address
X-Mailer: AIR Mail 3.X (SPRY, Inc.)


<---- Begin Included Message ---->
Date:         Thu, 23 Feb 1995 01:17:36 -0500
From: xxxxxxx@xxx.com
Sender: Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
              <ACCESS-L@peach.ease.lsoft.com>
Subject:      Re: Foxpro listserv address
To: Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
              <ACCESS-L@peach.ease.lsoft.com>

>BTW, I don't know why she is still on Foxpro, I thought they went out
>into the desert??
><---- End Included Message ---->

(subscriber's reply deleted)

> Date:         Thu, 23 Feb 1995 01:17:36 -0500
> From: xxxxxxx@xxx.com
> Sender: Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
              <ACCESS-L@peach.ease.lsoft.com>
> Subject:      Re: Foxpro listserv address
> To: Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
              <ACCESS-L@peach.ease.lsoft.com>

> BTW, I don't know why she is still on Foxpro, I thought they went out
> into the desert??

> Date:         Thu, 23 Feb 1995 01:17:36 -0500
>From: xxxxxxx@xxx.com
>Sender: Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
             <ACCESS-L@peach.ease.lsoft.com>
>Subject:      Re: Foxpro listserv address
>To: Microsoft Access Database Discussion List
             <ACCESS-L@peach.ease.lsoft.com>

>BTW, I don't know why she is still on Foxpro, I thought they went out
>into the desert??

10.3. User can't unsubscribe and/or change personal options

10.4. Firewalls

10.5. What to do if LISTSERV won't store your list

1. Don't get the entire list if all you're going to do is edit the header. Use the GET listname (HEADER syntax to get the header only, and use ADD and DELETE commands to manipulate the subscriber list. This is the preferred method.

2. If you have to get the entire list, e.g., in order to delete a subscriber manually, use a client that does not wrap text (or turn off line wrap if possible). If you are on a unix system that has mailx installed, you can store a list from the command line with the command syntax

   mailx listserv@host < listfile

   Note that L-Soft does not recommend hand-editing the subscriber list; it is preferable to use wildcards to delete problem addresses, and using an editor to do this should always be the last resort.

3. If all else fails, you can use a public-domain utility called LB64 to convert the list file into a base-64 command JOB that LISTSERV will understand. This utility is generally available from the VM LISTSERV sites; send a GET LB64 C command to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.NET if you can't find it anywhere else. Note that this is an unsupported utility. You will need to compile it with a C compiler (not supplied). The utility is primarily for users on unix systems, although with two minor modifications it can also be used on 32-bit Windows systems.

10.6. If I can't find the answer, where do I turn?

11. Using the Web Adminstration Interface

11.1. Default LISTSERV Home Page