The ANNOUNCE List

PUT ANNOUNCE LIST PW=XXXXXXXX  
*  
* The ANNOUNCE Announcement List  
*  
* Subscription= Open,Confirm  
* Send= Editor,Hold,Confirm  
* Editor= announcer1@DOMAIN.COM  
* Editor= announcer2@DOMAIN.COM  
* Validate= Yes,Confirm  
* Sender= None  
* Notebook= No  
* Review= Owners  
* Notify= No  
* Change-Log= Yes  
* Auto-Delete= Yes,Full-Auto,Delay(0),Max(1),Probe(30)  
* Reply-To= Reply1@DOMAIN.COM,Ignore  
* Owner= announcer1@DOMAIN.COM  
*  
* This is the List Header for an Announcement "list".
*  

An Example of an Announcement LISTSERV Mailing List

An "announce-only" list would be used to distribute a newsletter or other timely information where responses to the list are neither expected nor desired. All features for this list are available in LISTSERV-Lite.

* Subscription= Open,Confirm

Indicates that all new subscription requests will be processed without the intervention of the List Owner. The Confirm is added for protection against forged subscription requests or bad return mailing paths. The prospective subscriber will then receive a subscription confirmation request which must be confirmed with the "OK" mechanism. The keyword setting Subscription= Open,Confirm is the default for all 1.8c and later LISTSERV versions.

* Send= Editor,Hold,Confirm
* Editor= announcer1@DOMAIN.COM
* Editor= announcer2@DOMAIN.COM

The newsletter can be posted by announcer1 or announcer2 since they both are editors. Otherwise, all posts will be directed to the first-listed editor for review prior to being distributed to the list. The HOLD allows the posts to be approved by sending a simple "OK" (without the quotes) back to LISTSERV. The CONFIRM is strongly recommended for all announce-only lists. It prevents mail-loops where a mis-configured remote site returns a bounced message back to the List Address. This can cause people to get multiple copies of the posting. Also it prevents anyone from forging the Editor's address and posting improper messages.

* Validate= Yes,Confirm

A strong level of list security. Requires use of a Personal Password or the "OK" confirm process to make changes. Prevents unauthorized persons from "spoofing" an Owner= address and deleting the entire list of subscribers. Since all posts must go to the editor and there are no archives, this security level is usually very secure.

* Sender= None

Indicates that the RFC822 "Sender:" field will not be used. Normally it has the List Address.

* Notebook= No

This keyword controls whether notebook archives will be saved for a list. The setting No indicates that posts are not to be saved. This also automatically turns off Digests, which would not be useful for an announce-only list.

* Review= Owner

Defines the categories of users who are allowed to review the Internet addresses and names of the persons subscribed to a list. The Owner option, which is the most secure, indicates that only the List Owner(s) may access this information.

* Notify= No

The Owner will NOT be notified when people join/leave the list.

* Change-Log= Yes

A listname.CHANGELOG file will be written, recording all people who subscribe themselves, are added by the Owner, who signoff themselves, who are deleted by the Owner, or who are auto-deleted by LISTSERV per the Auto-Delete settings below.

* Auto-Delete= Yes,Full-Auto,Delay(0),Max(1),Probe(30)

Defines Auto-Deletion settings to remove bad addresses. This is a very "tight" setting. Subscribers are removed on only 1 error bounce. Also, the Probe(30) setting means that 1/30 of the list will receive "passive" probes, which are specially modified regular list messages that test subscriber addresses but are invisible to subscribers.

* Reply-to= Reply1@DOMAIN.COM,Ignore

Indicates that replies to postings will be directed to Reply1@DOMAIN.COM, which could be a special account set up specifically to receive responses, or a mail alias pointing to another account.

* Owner= announcer1@DOMAIN.COM

This required keyword identifies the e-mail address of the List Owner.

[Back to Sample List Headers]