Contents
About This Document...
This document is intended to provide you with the basic information you need
to subscribe and unsubscribe to a Listserv list via e-mail. Mail references
will be general; please refer to the documentation your your particular mail
program or client for specifics.
This document uses several fonts and styles to clarify the meaning of the
text:
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fixed text
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indicates computer responses that you do not type.
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bold fixed text
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indicates words or characters that you type.
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italic fixed text
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indicates words or characters you type for which you must
substitute text.
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italic text
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a general word or phrase for which you must substitute
text (for example, for listname you might substitute WMST-L)
and is used to place emphasis on text.
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bold text
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places emphasis on text.
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Note: Access to OIT computer labs at the University is limited. You
must have a valid Directory ID to use the labs.
What is a Listserv List?
E-mail is an important part of life at the University. The use of e-mail is
a common requirement in academic classes. Many instructors require
participation in e-mail discussion groups known as Listserv lists.
A Listserv list is a single e-mail address that contains the e-mail
addresses of all its members. When any one person sends an e-mail message to
(or replies to) that single address, everyone on the list gets a copy of the message.
This makes Listserv lists an ideal tool for discussions, whether they are
simply covering local topics within the University, or specific topics of
interest among the list members.
Note: Not all mailing lists are Listserv lists.
A Listserv list's address consists of two parts - a listname and a host-address.
The listname generally reflects the topic discussed on the list. The host
is the computer on which the list resides. For instance, listserv.umd.edu
is the University of Maryland Listserv host. It handles a large number of
lists, with names such as WMST-L (the Women's Studies List) and BIOL105 (the
Intro to Biology list).
An example of a full Listserv list address would be:
WMST-L@listserv.umd.edu
Note: For information about how to start a new Listserv list, see http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/topics/email/lists/background/4009/.
Are There Other Kinds of E-mail Lists?
A Listserv list is one type of e-mail discussion list. Others include Majordomo and Coursemail mailing lists. They may
have different procedures and commands than those shown in this document and
are beyond the scope of this document; we mention them here to alert you to
possible differences. For more about Majordomo, visit: http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/topics/email/lists/majordomo/.
For more about Coursemail, visit: http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/topics/email/lists/coursemail/.
Another type of e-mail discussion medium used at the University is known as
a mail reflector. Most mail reflector addresses include @umd.edu
within the address. When in doubt, contact the Office of Information Technology
(OIT) Help Desk with the full address of the
mailing list. For more about mail reflectors, visit: http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/topics/email/reflectors/.
Note: Certain University departments run their own mail reflectors,
but these are beyond the scope of this document.
How Do I Get Listserv Services?
Subscribing is just one of many services Listserv provides. Remember that
whenever you are asking for a service (as opposed to participating in
the e-mail discussion), you must send mail to:
LISTSERV@host-address
For services relating to lists that are local to the University, this would
be:
LISTSERV@listserv.umd.edu
Keep in mind that there is no "E" at the end of Listserv. Also
keep in mind that you are writing to a machine for service, not a
person, and it will ignore the Subject: line of your message. So you may
leave the subject line blank.
Your specific request for service, in the form of a Listserv command, goes
in the message-text portion of your e-mail message. Throughout this
document, we will illustrate this service-request process with:
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Send a mail message to:
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LISTSERV@hostaddress
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Subject:
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(none)
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Message-text:
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listserv-command
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How Do I Subscribe to a List?
When you are subscribing to a list, use the Listserv SUB command in
the message-text of the request for service, along with the listname and your
first and last names (not your e-mail address).
To subscribe to a list that is local to the University, send mail to listserv@listserv.umd.edu.
Use the SUB (subscribe) command in the body of your mail message to the host
computer (the machine connected to the network). You must also include the listname
and your-first-and-last-names:
SUB listname your-first-and-last-name
For example:
SUB WMST-L Jane Doe
Your name is important because that is what appears on a list of list
members. You should not put your e-mail address here.
You will receive (usually immediately) an e-mail acknowledgment of your
subscription. Unless the list is one of the relatively few that require an
additional confirmation from you (usually just a reply saying "OK"),
all that you need to do to start participating in the discussion is read and
respond to your e-mail.
When Sending Mail... Remember!
The important thing to remember when participating in a discussion is that
discussion mail must be sent to the listname - as opposed to requests
for services, which go to listserv. One of the two most frequent
mistakes beginners make is to confuse these two.
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If you are:...
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send mail to:
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Participating in a list discussion...
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listname@hostaddress
For example: WMST-L@listserv.umd.edu
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Requesting system services...
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LISTSERV@hostaddress
i.e., when subscribing to a list (see How Do I Subscribe to a
List?) and using other services discussed in this document (see How Do I End a Listserv Subscription?)
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When Replying to Listserv Mail
How replies are handled varies with the mail-handling program you use. Refer
to the documentation on your mail program or client for specifics on the
following sections.
When you reply to someone's mail that you received through a Listserv list,
there are two important questions to answer before you can type your reply
(depending on the way the list has been set up).
Do I want to include the original message in my reply?
In a discussion, the best reply to this question is yes. It is useful
to include in your reply the material to which you are replying, because the
discussion may have progressed beyond what you've seen, and will need context.
Use your mail programs editing features to remove irrelevant lines of a
message.
Who am I sending this back to?
You need to determine whether your reply goes to the entire list (probably
the address on the Reply-to: line, or just the sender (probably the
address on the From: line. In your outgoing mail, make sure you're
sending it to the intended audience; for example, try not to send replies
directed to the original sender to the entire list.
Note: The first time you reply to mail from a given list, look at
these two lines to ascertain where they are going.
Getting a Basic Command List
To get a basic command list, send mail to the Listserv service address with
the command:
GET LISTSERV REFCARD
This will return a file with basic Listserv commands which you can save and
refer to later.
How Do I End a Listserv List Subscription?
When you no longer wish to be part of a discussion list, use the Listserv
service-request procedure (see How Do I Get Listserv Services?
to send the command:
UNSUB listname
For example, if you will not be able to access your e-mail account regularly
over the summer break to read/send messages to the WMST-L (Women's Studies)
list, then you would type UNSUB WMST-L
as the first line in your mail message to LISTSERV@listserv.umd.edu. If
you do not unsubscribe from your lists when you leave, mail messages from your
lists will accumulate in your e-mail account and reduce the amount of storage
space available for other mail and files.
If you are not able to access your account for several days and you don't
want to have a large backlog of discussion items waiting for you when you get
back, use the service-request procedure (see How Do I Get Listserv
Services? with the SET NOMAIL command to suspend delivery of list
mail. Then, when you return, use SET MAIL to resume mail delivery.
SET listname NOMAIL
SET listname MAIL
Using our earlier example for the WMST-L (Womens Studies) list, you can turn
mail off for this list by sending mail to LISTSERV@listserv.umd.edu.
Just type SET WMST-L NOMAIL
in the body of the mail message. To turn the mail on, send mail to LISTSERV@listserv.umd.edu
and type SET WMST-L MAIL
as the mail message.
How Can I Find Out What Other Listserv Lists Are Available?
Use the LIST command and the service-request procedure (see How Do I Get Listserv Services to get a listing of all the
publicly available lists handled by the host machine to which you mail the
request. The host machine at the University is listserv.umd.edu.
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Send a mail message to
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LISTSERV@listserv.umd.edu
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Subject:
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(none)
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Message-text:
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LIST
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Note: Not all Listserv lists are advertised publicly; they are
private lists and will not show up via the LIST command.
Getting Help
If you want more detailed help, visit http://www.lsoft.com/resources/manuals.asp
or contact the OIT Help Desk.
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