ListServ Owner Instructions

To establish a list, simply fill out the electronic application and submit it. If you do not already have an e-mail account, you will need to get one before filling out the application. Once the application is approved and processed, you will become the owner of the list you have requested.

The application will ask you a number of questions regarding list attributes. List attributes affect how a list operates and how much management it requires. Consider your answers to these questions carefully when you fill out the application, basing them on your needs; use the available online help for a detailed explanation of each question if you wish. You will find the operation of your list frustrating otherwise. While you should give serious thought to list attributes when filling out the application, these attributes can be changed at a later time.

Once your electronic application has been processed, you will receive an e-mail message from ListProc indicating that your list is ready for use. As a list-owner, you are not automatically subscribed to your list. You should subscribe yourself immediately to check that the list is operating correctly and see how others will experience the subscription process. To do so:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   SUBSCRIBE listname Firstname Lastname

   Where listname is the name of the list you would like to subscribe to, and Firstname Lastname is your first and last name.

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Sending commands to Listproc

The automatic distribution of e-mail to subscribers and other features of electronic mailing lists, which will be highlighted later, are provided by dedicated list-management software. This software determines the modifiable attributes of a list by processing commands that the list-owner issues. This gives list-owners the ability to effectively customize and manage the behavior of their lists.

ListProcessor 7.2 is the list-management software currently used at Northwestern. ListProc is easy to use and offers a great degree of control over list attributes. Here are some things to keep in mind when sending commands to ListProc:

• E-mail all commands to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu.
• Keep the subject line of the message blank.
• All ListProc commands should be issued in the body of an e-mail message.
• You can always use more than one command per message. Just be sure to add a carrige return after each command.
• Here is an example of a message sent to ListProc:

  Alfred wants to get a listing of the users subscribed to the list named boguslist, as well as delete a user from the list. He sends an e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu and types the following commands:

  REVIEW boguslist
  DELETE boguslist password old-user@northwestern.edu

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Adding subscribers using the ADD command

Note: Be careful when you are adding subscribers. Remember it is against listserv policy to add subscribers without their permission. It's best to have users subscribe themselves by using the SUBSCRIBE command.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   ADD listname password e-mailaddress firstname lastname

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, e-mailaddress is the subscriber's e-mail address, and firstname lastname is the subscriber's first and last names.

   For example:

   ADD boguslist boguspwd a-newman@northwestern.edu Alfred E Newman

   Adds Alfred E Newman to the list boguslist.

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Adding multiple subscribers to a list

You can add multiple users is by stacking the ADD command. Remember to keep each command on a separate line.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   ADD listname password emailaddress1 firstname1 lastname1
   ADD listname password emailaddress2 firstname2 lastname2
   ADD listname password emailaddress3 firstname3 lastname3

   For example:

   ADD boguslist boguspassword a-newman@northwestern.edu Alfred E Newman
   ADD boguslist boguspassword s-dog@northwestern.edu Spot T. Dog
   ADD boguslist boguspassword j-doe@northwestern.edu Jane Doe

   Adds Alfred E Newman, Spot T. Dog, and Jane Doe to the list boguslist.

If you do not want to type the listname and password for each entry you can use a different syntax for the command.

Note: The following command works best if you are adding 20 or fewer users at a time. Note the use of the curly brackets {} when using the ADD command and that only the last entry does not require the & sign. Remember to keep each address on a separate line.

To ADD 20 or fewer users:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   ADD listname password {emailaddress1 firstname1 lastname1} &
   {emailaddress2 firstname2 lastname2} &
   {e-mailaddress3 firstname3 lastname3}

   For example:

   ADD boguslist boguspassword {a-newman@northwestern.edu Alfred E Newman} &
   {s-dog@northwestern.edu Spot T. Dog} &
   {j-doe@northwestern.edu Jane Doe}

   Adds Alfred E Newman, Spot T. Dog, and Jane Doe to the list boguslist.

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Adding owners to lists using the CONFIG command

To add an owner to your list, use the CONFIG command with the OWNERS parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password OWNERS e-mail address

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, e-mail address is the owner's e-mail address.

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd OWNERS a-newman@northwestern.edu

   Adds a-newman@northwestern.edu to the list of onwers for the list boguslist.

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Adding multiple owners to a list

Note: It is not recommended to have more than a handful of owners. If you want to add multiple owners, you can do so by stacking the CONFIG command. Remember to keep each command on a separate line.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password OWNERS emailaddress1
   CONFIG listname password OWNERS emailaddress2
   CONFIG listname password OWNERS emailaddress3

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspassword OWNERS a-newman@northwestern.edu
   CONFIG boguslist boguspassword OWNERS s-dog@northwestern.edu
   CONFIG boguslist boguspassword OWNERS j-doe@northwestern.edu

   Adds a-newman@northwestern.edu, s-dog@northwestern.edu, and j-doe@northwestern.edu as owners of the list boguslist.

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Removing subscribers using the DELETE command

To remove a subscriber from your list, use the DELETE command:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   DELETE listname password e-mail address

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, and e-mail address is the subscriber's e-mail address.

   For example:

   DELETE boguslist boguspwd a-newman@northwestern.edu

   Removes a-newman@northwestern.edu from the list boguslist.

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To remove a subscriber from your list, use the DELETE command:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   DELETE listname password e-mail address

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, and e-mail address is the subscriber's e-mail address.

   For example:

   DELETE boguslist boguspwd a-newman@northwestern.edu

   Removes a-newman@northwestern.edu from the list boguslist.

Removing multiple subscribers from a list

You can remove multiple users by stacking the DELETE command. Remember to keep each command on a separate line.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   DELETE listname password emailaddress1
   DELETE listname password emailaddress2
   DELETE listname password emailaddress3

   For example:

   DELETE boguslist boguspassword a-newman@northwestern.edu
   DELETE boguslist boguspassword s-dog@northwestern.edu
   DELETE boguslist boguspassword j-doe@northwestern.edu

   Removes a-newman@northwestern.edu, s-dog@northwestern.edu, and j-doe@northwestern.edu from the list boguslist.

If you do not want to type the listname and password for each entry you can use a different syntax for the command.

Note: This command works best if you are removing 20 or fewer users at a time. Note the use of the curly brackets {} when using the DELETE command and that only the last entry does not require a & sign. Remember to keep each address on a separate line.

To DELETE 20 or fewer users:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   DELETE listname password {emailaddress1} &
   {emailaddress2} &
   {emailaddress3}

   For example:

   DELETE boguslist boguspassword {a-newman@northwestern.edu} &
   {s-dog@northwestern.edu} &
   {j-doe@northwestern.edu}

   Removes a-newman@northwestern.edu, s-dog@northwestern.edu, and j-doe@northwestern.edu from the list boguslist.

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Removing owners from lists using the CONFIG command

To remove an owner from your list, use the CONFIG command with the REMOVE-OWNERS parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password REMOVE-OWNERS e-mail address

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, e-mail address is the owner's e-mail address.

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd REMOVE-OWNERS a-newman@northwestern.edu

   Removes a-newman@northwestern.edu as an owner of the list boguslist.

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Removing multiple owners from a list

If you want to remove multiple users, you can do so by stacking the CONFIG command. Remember to keep each command on a separate line.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password REMOVE-OWNERS emailaddress1
   CONFIG listname password REMOVE-OWNERS emailaddress2
   CONFIG listname password REMOVE-OWNERS emailaddress3

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspassword REMOVE-OWNERS a-newman@northwestern.edu
   CONFIG boguslist boguspassword REMOVE-OWNERS s-dog@northwestern.edu
   CONFIG boguslist boguspassword REMOVE-OWNERS j-doe@northwestern.edu

   Removes a-newman@northwestern.edu, s-dog@northwestern.edu, and j-doe@northwestern.edu as owners of the list boguslist.

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Finding out who is subscribed to a list using the REVIEW command

The REVIEW command allows you to obtain a list of subscribers to a particular listserv mailing list.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   REVIEW listname

   Where listname is the name of the list. For example:

   Alfred wants to know who is subcribed to the list boguslist. He sends an e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu and types the command REVIEW boguslist.

3. A message will be returned with the list of subscribers.

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Finding out how a list is configured using the CONFIG command

To find out how your list is configured, use the CONFIG command:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password

   
   Where listname is the name of the list, and password is the password for the list. For example:

   Alfred wants to know how the list boguslist is configured. He sends an e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu and types the command CONFIG boguslist boguspwd.

3. A message similar to the following was returned to Alfred:

   Configuration of ListProcessor(tm) list BOGUSLIST@listserv.it.northwestern.edu

   VISIBLE-LIST
   OWNER-SUBSCRIPTIONS
   SUBSCRIPTION-MANAGERS [owners]
   SEND-BY-ALL
   STATISTICS-TO-OWNERS
   REVIEW-BY-OWNERS
   ARCHIVES-TO-SUBSCRIBERS
   ARCHIVE "" messages
   UNCOMPRESSED-ARCHIVES
   UNMODERATED
   DELIVERY-ERRORS-TO [owners]
   DIGEST daily 00:01 0 0
   NO-MESSAGE-LIMIT
   NO-COMMENT
   DEFAULT ADDRESS FIXED (system default) MAIL ACK (system default) PASSWORD .* (system default) CONCEAL NO (system default) PREFERENCE CCSUBSCRIBE CCUNSUBSCRIBE CCERRORS
   NO-AUTO-DELETE-SUBSCRIBERS
   DONT-FORWARD-REJECTS
   REPLY-TO-LIST-ALWAYS
   KEEP-RESENT-LINES
   REFLECTOR
   UNPUBLISHED-LIST
   DONT-CONFIRM-ALL-SUBSCRIPTIONS
   DONT-CONFIRM-ALL-UNSUBSCRIPTIONS
   NO-ALTERNATE-ADDRESS-COMMANDS
   DONT-ALLOW-EMPTY-SUBSCRIBER-NAMES
   MIME-MODERATION-MESSAGES
   LISTNAME-NOT-IN-SUBJECT
   OUTBOUND-MESSAGE-FILTER default (currently off)
   WEB-ARCHIVE default (currently off)
   OWNERS a-newman@northwestern.edu
   PASSWORD boguspwd
   THREADS 1
   MTA-HOST 129.105.213.30 (system default) 25
   OWNER-CONTROLLED

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Managing when digests are sent using the DIGEST parameter

Unless specified when the list is created, all lists are set to have digests turned on and to have them sent every day one minute after midnight. To configure your list so digests are sent differently, use the CONFIG command with the DIGEST parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password DIGEST frequency [when] [lines bytes]

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, frequency is how often digests are to be sent, [when] is at what time the digests are to be sent (optional), and [lines bytes] is the number of lines and/or bytes the digest will be when it is sent (optional).

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd DIGEST daily 06:00

   Changes the daily digests for boguslist to be sent at 6:00 AM.

List owners can also change when the digest is sent based on the number of lines and/or the size of the digest itself. For example:

CONFIG boguslist boguspwd DIGEST monthly 250 2000

Will mail digests once a month, but if the digest reaches 250 lines or 2000 bytes first it will be sent out. Additional material will be sent out when the month turns over as usual. Since a time is not specified the digest will go out at midnight.

Finally, list owners can send based on the size of the digest and honor all other settings. For example:

CONFIG boguslist boguspwd DIGEST - 0 2500

This will send a digest out whenever it is supposed to go out, or if the digest reaches 2500 bytes first; no line-count restriction is set. This particular setting is typically used when digests are truncated.

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Turning off digests using the NO-DIGESTS parameter

To configure your list so digests are not sent, use the CONFIG command with the NO-DIGESTS parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password NO-DIGESTS

   Where listname is the name of your list, and password is the password for your list.

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Restricting who sends to the list using the SEND-BY-SUBSCRIBERS parameter

To configure your list so only your subscribers can send to the list, use the CONFIG command with the SEND-BY-SUBSCRIBERS parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password SEND-BY-SUBSCRIBERS

   Where listname is the name of your list, and password is the password for your list.

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Configuring a list so that anybody can send to a list

To configure your list so that everyone can send to your list, use the SEND-BY-ALL command:

Note: This may open your list up to receive unwanted messages, such as junk/advertisements. This may upset your subscribers.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password SEND-BY-ALL

   Where listname is the name of your list, and password is the password for your list.

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Blocking users from sending to a list using the IGNORE command

If your list is configured so that anybody can send to the list, but you want to stop particular unwanted messages from reaching your list, use the IGNORE command:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   IGNORE listname password e-mailaddress

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, and e-mailaddress is the address that you want to block. For example:

   IGNORE boguslist boguspwd junk@junkmail.net

   Blocks any future messages sent from junk@junkmail.net to the list boguslist.

To change your existing ignore settings, use the EDIT command:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   EDIT listname password IGNORED -NOLOCK

   Where listname is the namme of your list, and password is the password for your list. For example:

   EDIT boguslist boguspwd IGNORED -NOLOCK

3. When you receive a reply from listserv, you will have a message which begins with the phrase, *** Here is the ignored file (WARNING: file checked out for browsing only):.
4. Edit your ignored file. Note: do not remove the first line of the file as it alows users to send to the list.
5. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
6. Type the following command in the message:

   PUT listname password IGNORED
   Your modified ignored file

   For example:

   PUT boguslist boguspwd IGNORED
   ^BOGUSLIST$
   junk@junkmail.com

   Changes the ignored file to include junk@junkmail.com instead of junk@junkmail.net for the list boguslist.

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Opening subscriptions to a list using the OPEN-SUBSCRIPTIONS parameter

To configure your list so that users can subscribe to the list without having to be approved, use the CONFIG command with the OPEN-SUBSCRIPTIONS parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password OPEN-SUBSCRIPTIONS

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd OPEN-SUBSCRIPTIONS

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Making a list private using the OWNER-SUBSCRIPTIONS parameter

To configure your list so that users who subscribe to the list must be approved, use the CONFIG command with the OWNER-SUBSCRIPTIONS parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password OWNER-SUBSCRIPTIONS

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd OWNER-SUBSCRIPTIONS

Note: configuring a list in this manner means that all subscription commands from users get forwarded to someone who you designate as your subscription manager. If you, the owner, do not designate a subscription manager, then you, the owner, become the subscription manager by default.

To add a subscription manager your list:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password SUBSCRIPTION-MANAGERS e-mail address

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, e-mail address is the owner's e-mail address.

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd SUBSCRIPTION-MANAGERS a-newman@northwestern.edu

   Adds a-newman@northwestern.edu to the list of subscription managers for the list boguslist.

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Closing subscriptions to a list using the CLOSED-SUBSCRIPTIONS parameter

Note: Having a Closed list means that no one can submit a subscribe command to your list. You, the owner, may add people to your list but if anyone tries to send a subscribe command they will get back a message saying that the list is closed to subscriptions.

To configure your list so that nobody can subscribe to the list, use the CONFIG command with the CLOSED-SUBSCRIPTIONS parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password CLOSED-SUBSCRIPTIONS

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd OPEN-SUBSCRIPTIONS

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Making a list unmoderated to allow all messages to be sent without approval

To make your list unmoderated, use the CONFIG command with the UNMODERATED parameter.

Note: This may allow anyone to send messages to your list; if you want to prevent others from sending messages to the list, you can use the SEND-BY-SUBSCRIBERS parameter.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password UNMODERATED

   Where listname is the name of your list, and password is the password for your list.

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Making a list moderated so that all messages are approved

To make your list moderated so that you have to approve each message before it is sent to the list, use the CONFIG command with the MODERATED-NO-EDIT parameter:

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password MODERATED-NO-EDIT e-mail address

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, and e-mail address is the moderator's e-mail address.

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd MODERATED-NO-EDIT a-newman@northwestern.edu

   Makes the list boguslist moderated and adds a-newman@northwestern.edu to the list of moderators.

To make your list moderated so that you can edit each message before it gets sent to the list, use the MODERATED-EDIT command:

Note: this may be harder to maintain than the moderated-no-edit configuration.

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu without any subject line.
2. Type the following command in the message:

   CONFIG listname password MODERATED-EDIT e-mail address

   Where listname is the name of your list, password is the password for your list, and e-mail address is the moderator's e-mail address.

   For example:

   CONFIG boguslist boguspwd MODERATED-EDIT a-newman@northwestern.edu

   Makes the list boguslist moderated and adds a-newman@northwestern.edu to the list of moderators.