L-Soft international, Inc.
List Owner's Manual
for
LISTSERV®, version 14.5
24 February 2006
LISTSERV 14.5 Release
The reference number of this document is 0603-UD-02.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Companies, names and data used in examples herein are fictitious unless otherwise noted. L-Soft international, Inc. does not endorse or approve the use of any of the product names or trademarks appearing in this document.
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The purpose of this copyright is to protect your right to make free copies of this manual for your friends and colleagues, to prevent publishers from using it for commercial advantage, and to prevent ill-meaning people from altering the meaning of the document by changing or removing a few paragraphs.
Copyright ă 1996-2006, L-Soft international, Inc.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
L-SOFT, LISTSERV and LSMTP are a registered trademarks of L-Soft international, Inc.
LMail is a trademark of L-Soft international.
EASE and CataList are service marks of L-Soft international, Inc.
UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open Company Limited.
AIX and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
Alpha AXP, Ultrix, OpenVMS and VMS are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation.
OSF/1 is a registered trademark of Open Software Foundation, Inc.
Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows, Windows NT and Windows 95 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
HP is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company.
Sun is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
IRIX is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
PMDF is a registered trademark of Innosoft International.
Pentium and Pentium Pro are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.
All other trademarks, both marked and not marked, are the property of their respective owners.
All of L-Soft's manuals for LISTSERV are available in ascii-text format via LISTSERV and in popular word-processing formats via ftp.lsoft.com. They are also available on the World Wide Web at the following URL:
http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/index.html
L-Soft invites comment on its manuals. Please feel free to send your comments via e-mail to MANUALS@LSOFT.COM, and mention which manual you are commenting on. (However, please do not send support questions to this address.)
"Hot fix" revisions to this and other L-Soft manuals are posted as they are made to the master document, on the announcement-only mailing list:
LSOFT-DOC-UPDATES@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM
A word about formatting: This manual was written in Microsoft Word 2000, and originally formatted to be printed on 8-1/2"x11" paper on a Hewlet-Packard LaserJet 1000 series printer. When printing the manual on a different type of printer, or converting to a different word-processing program, it is highly likely that the formatting and pagination will change and it will be necessary to update the tables of contents and figures as well as the index prior to printing. The author has taken great pains to ensure that the pagination and formatting works properly with the particular printer mentioned above, and cannot be held responsible for what is, in the end, a limitation of the software used to produce the manual.
Reference Number 0603-UD-02
Preface: LISTSERV Command Syntax and Other Conventions
Editorial Note – New Version Numbering
LISTSERV Command Syntax Conventions
1. About Mailing Lists and LISTSERV
2. Starting a Mailing List – The Basics
2.1. Avoid duplication of effort
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?
2.4. List Header Keywords and what they do
2.5. Sending commands to LISTSERV
2.6. Defining Personal Passwords
2.7. Retrieving the list configuration
2.7.1. Who can edit the list configuration?
2.7.2. Retrieving the list configuration by email
2.10. Storing the list on the host machine
2.12.1. First line of defense: The VALIDATE= keyword
2.12.2. Controlling subscription requests
2.12.3. Controlling the service area of your list
2.12.4. Controlling who may review the list of subscribers
2.12.5. Controlling who may access the notebook files
2.12.6. Controlling who may post mail to the list
2.12.7. The "OK" confirmation mechanism
2.12.8 Explicitly cancelling "OK" cookies (1.8e)
2.12.9. Restricting subscriber privileges
2.12.10. Restricting the number of postings per user to the list per day
2.13. How to set up lists for specific purposes
2.13.1. Public discussion lists
2.13.2. Private discussion lists
2.13.7. Private edited/moderated lists
2.13.10. Restricted subscription lists with automatically-generated questionnaire
2.13.12. "Super-lists" and "sub-lists"
2.14. List passwords are now obsolete
2.15. Allowing/Blocking MIME Attachments
2.17. DomainKeys Message Signing (14.5)
3. Advertising Your Public Mailing Lists
3.1. Lists of Lists maintained by LISTSERV
3.2. Adding HTML to a list header for the CataList
3.2.2. Inserting a pointer to another list
3.2.3. Restrictions on the placement of equal signs
3.3. Defining search categories in a list header for the CataList
3.3.1. Examples of category settings
3.4. The INFO <listname> command and how to implement it
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
4.1. How to add and delete subscribers to/from a list
4.1.1. Adding users whose address and real name exceed 80 characters
4.1.2. X.400 and X.500 addressing--Special Problems
4.1.3. Continuation card syntax
4.2. Finding users who do not appear in the list
4.3. Converting existing lists from other systems to LISTSERV
4.3.1. Converting mailing lists
4.3.2. Converting message archives
4.4. Adding subscribers to lists in bulk
4.5. Deleting subscribers from lists in bulk
4.6. Using the QUIET option with commands
4.7. Dealing with bounced mail
4.7.1. What is a bounce, and what can typically cause one?
4.7.2. The owner-listname address
4.7.3. What to do about several types of bounces
4.7.4. Redistribution and forwarding
4.7.5. "Sender:", "From:" or "Reply-To:" field in body causes bounce
4.8. Delivery error handling features
4.8.1. Auto-Delete considerations for holidays
4.9.2. Passive address probing
4.10. Subscription confirmation
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
5.2. How to set personal subscription options for subscribers
5.3.6. Options for mail headers of incoming postings
5.3.7. Putting the list name into the Subject: field
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
6.5. Submitting subscriber contributions to an edited list
6.6. Message Approval with Send= Editor,Hold
6.8. The <listname> WELCOME and <listname> FAREWELL files
6.8.1. Creating and storing the listname WELCOME and FAREWELL files
6.8.2. Using the listname WELCOME file as a moderation tool
6.8.3. Using the listname FAREWELL file as a feedback tool
6.8.4. The alternative to using WELCOME and FAREWELL files
6.9. Social conventions (netiquette)
Recognize and Accept Cultural and Linguistic Differences
Private Mail Should Dictate Private Responses
Flaming is (Usually) Inappropriate
Unsolicited Advertising and Chain Letters
Other Disruptive or Abusive Behavior
6.10. Spamming: what it is, and what to do about it
6.11. Appropriate use policies: considerations
7.1. What is the list archive?
7.2. Setting up and managing archive notebooks
7.2.1 Indexing available archive notebooks
7.2.2. Deleting existing archive notebooks
7.3. Database Functions Overview
7.3.1. LISTSERV Command Job Language Interpreter
7.3.2. A basic database session (VM servers running 1.8b or earlier only)
7.3.3. A basic database session (All servers running 1.8c or later only)
7.4. Where to find more information on Database Functions
8.1. What is the file archive?
8.2. Starting a file archive for your list
8.3. Filelist maintenance (VM systems only)
8.3.2 Adding file descriptors to the filelist
8.3.3. File Access Codes (FAC) for user access
8.3.4 Deleting file descriptors from the filelist
8.4. The listname.CATALOG system on non-VM systems (1.8c and later)
8.4.1. Updating the sub-catalog
8.4.2. Indexing the sub-catalog
8.5. Storing files on the host machine
8.6. Deleting files from the host machine
8.7. Automatic File Distribution (AFD) and File Update Information (FUI)
8.9. 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
9.3.1. 8-bit characters in templates
9.4. Creating and editing a <listname>.MAILTPL file for a list
9.4.2. Other useful template forms
9.4.3. Tips for using templates
9.5. Storing the <listname>.MAILTPL file on the host machine
9.6. Other template files: DIGEST-H and INDEX-H
9.7. Templates and template forms for the WWW interface
9.7.1. Forms contained in DEFAULT MAILTPL
9.7.3. The default.wwwtpl file
9.7.4. The site.wwwtpl file (optional)
9.7.5. National language template files (idiom.mailtpl) (optional)
9.8. Using the DAYSEQ(n) function
9.8.2. Rotating FAQ via the PROBE1 template and "Renewal= xx-Daily"
9.8.3. Calculating the value for DAYSEQ()
9.9. Serving up custom web pages for your list
9.9.1. A practical example: ADMIN_POST
10.1. Helping subscribers figure out the answers
10.2. Loop-checking can cause occasional problems with quoted replies
10.3. User can't unsubscribe and/or change personal options
10.5. What to do if LISTSERV won’t store your list
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
11.3. Setting a LISTSERV password
11.4. The List Management main page
11.5. Maintaining subcriptions via the web
11.5.1. Examine or delete a subscription
11.5.2. Add a new user to the list
11.6. Maintaining the list header via the web
11.7. Customizing how a list's pages look
11.8. Maintaining mail and WWW templates via the web
11.9. Bulk operations via the web
11.10. Sending interactive commands via the web
Appendix A: LISTSERV Command Reference for LISTSERV® version 14.4
A.1.1. List subscription commands (from most to least important)
A.1.2. Other list-related commands
A.1.4. Commands related to file server and web functions
A.1.5. Other (advanced) commands
A.2. List Owner and File Owner Commands
A.2.1. File management commands (for file owners only)
A.2.2. List management functions
Appendix B: List Keyword Reference for LISTSERV® 14.5
Appendix C: Sample Boilerplate Files
C.1. Subscription requests sent to the list
C.2. User is sending other commands to the list, or to the *-request address for the list
C.3. User isn't subscribed but complains that he's getting mail anyway
C.3. User unsubscribed successfully but is still getting list mail
C.6. You get a delivery error that doesn't specify which user account is causing the bounce
Appendix D: Related Documentation and Support
D.1. Official L-Soft Documentation
D.2. User-Created Documentation
D.2.1. LISTSERV List Owner Information Area on LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU
Table of Figures
Figure 2.1. Sample output of LISTS GLOBAL IBM
Figure 2.2. A sample list header file for a list called MYLIST.
Figure 2.3. The edited list header file ready to be sent back to the server.
Figure 2.4. Example: How to define list owners in the list header file.
Figure 2.5. The editor-header for a list set to Send= Editor,Hold
Figure 2.6. A typical command confirmation request.
Figure 6.2. Sample WELCOME file.
Figure 6.3. FAREWELL file used as a feedback tool.
Figure 7.1. Sample database job skeleton
Figure 7.3. Sample CJLI database search job for VM servers
Figure 7.4. Part of the LISTSERV response to the CJLI job in Figure 7.3.
Figure 7.5. CJLI job instructing LISTSERV to send specific messages to the requestor.
Figure 7.6. Sample SEARCH output from non-VM servers
Figure 8.1. Sample filelist retrieved with (CTL option.
Figure 8.2. Adding a file descriptor to the filelist
Figure 9.1. The default contents of the INFO template form of DEFAULT.MAILTPL.
Figure 9.2. Sample edited INFO template form.
Figure 9.3. Typical contents of a DIGEST-H or INDEX-H file.
Figure 10.1. Sample error message with included headers.
Figure 10.2. A slightly different sample error message with included headers.
Figure 10.3. A correctly-formatted message with included headers.
Figure A.1. Sample output of an INDEX listname command.
Table B.1. LISTSERV list-level commands and how they are affected by Validate=.
Preface: LISTSERV Command Syntax and Other Conventions
Editorial Note – New Version Numbering
With this release, L-Soft is aligning LISTSERV’s version numbering with the rest of the e-mail industry. There have been 50 released versions of LISTSERV since 1986 – 14 major upgrades and 36 minor releases. Version 1.8e in the “traditional” numbering system corresponds to 14.0, and the present update to 14.5.
Because the old nomenclature is more familiar to our users, in this version of the documentation we will continue to refer to versions of LISTSERV inferior to version 14.4 by the old versioning system.
LISTSERV Command Syntax Conventions
Generally, parameters used in this document can consist of 1 to 8 characters from the following set:
A-Z 0-9 $#@+-_:
Deviations from this include:
|
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). Must consist of at least two space-separated words, eg, "John Doe". |
|
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 |
|
internet_address |
Similar to userid, but specifically refers to a complete RFC822 network address in userid@fqdn format. When we use this nomenclature a fully-qualified hostname is required. |
Other deviations from the standard set will be noted along with the affected commands.
Also please note the following conventions for representing variable or optional parameters:
|
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
LISTSERV® is a system that allows you to create, manage and control electronic "mailing lists" on a corporate network or on the Internet. Since its inception in 1986 for IBM mainframes on the BITNET academic network, LISTSERV has been continually improved and expanded to become the predominant system in use today. LISTSERV is now available for VM, OpenVMSTM, unix®, the Windows NT "family" (including Windows 2000), and Windows 95/98/ME.
Consider for a moment what the users of your electronic mail system actually use electronic mail for. Do they discuss problems and issues that face your organization, down to the departmental level? In an academic setting, do your faculty and students communicate via electronic mail? As with "real world" distribution lists, electronic mailing lists can make it possible for people to confer in a painless manner via the written word. The electronic mail software simply replaces the copying machine, with its associated costs, delays and frustrations. In fact, electronic mail lists are easier to use than most modern copiers, and a lot less likely to jam at just the worst possible moment.
Because electronic mail is delivered in a matter of seconds, or occasionally minutes, electronic mailing lists can do a lot more than supplement the traditional paper distribution lists. In some cases, an electronic mailing list can replace a conference call. Even when a conference call is more suitable, the electronic mailing list can prove a powerful tool for the distribution of papers, figures and other material needed in preparation for the conference call. And, when the call is over, it can be used to distribute a summary of the discussion and the decisions that were made. What before might have been an exchange of views between two or three people can now become an ongoing conference on the issue or problem at hand. Announcement lists and even refereed electronic journals can be made available to your audience, which can be as small as a few people or as large as the entire Internet community.
If you need a further overview, please see Appendix D, Related Documentation and Support, for information on how to get one.
2. Starting a Mailing List – The Basics
Note: This chapter (and much of the balance of this manual) assumes that you are administering your list by mail. LISTSERV 1.8d and following includes a web-based administration interface for lists which is described in Chapter 11 and which can handle most of the operations described in this chapter.
Lists that are coded "Validate= Yes,Confirm,NoPW" or "Validate= All,Confirm,NoPW" must imperatively be managed by mail, since the web administration interface is secured by passwords and these settings reject password validation, instead requiring validation by the "OK" method.
2.1. Avoid duplication of effort[1]
Before you start your list, it pays to do a careful search in several places to find out if you are duplicating an already-existing list, or if the name you are considering is already in use for a list on a differing subject.
The first place to check is the "CataList" service maintained by LISTSERV itself. This service lists all public lists running on LISTSERV servers worldwide. Point your Web browser of choice at the URL http://www.lsoft.com/CataList.html to access CataList.
If you don't have a web browser, you can alternately send the command
LISTS GLOBAL search_string
in the body of mail to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.NET (or to LISTSERV at any host site). You will receive a mail message in return containing a list of all lists known to LISTSERV where either the name of the list or the short list description contains your search string. For instance, LISTS GLOBAL IBM would result in the following being returned to you:
Excerpt from the LISTSERV lists known to LISTSERV@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
12 Dec 2001 13:35
(search string: IBM)
Copyright 2001 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
--------------- ---------------------------------
AIX-L AIX-L@NEW-LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU
IBM AIX Discussion List
Figure 2.1. Sample output of LISTS GLOBAL IBM
(Quite a few more lists were deleted for brevity)
You might want to make your search more specific, as this particular search locates every list that has IBM somewhere in its title. For instance, if you wanted to start a list on some aspect of the IBM 370, you might do better to search for IBM 370.
Alternative searches you can do include:
Check the NEW-LIST archive at
http://listserv.classroom.com/archives/new-list.html
where the NEW-LIST project (originally at North Dakota State University, later
hosted by the Internet Scout Project, and now hosted by Classroom Connect)
stores list announcements starting with June 2000[2].
The NEW-LIST archive contains information about LISTSERV lists as well as about
lists running on other types of servers.
· 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 Google 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?
You should already be familiar with your mailing system and text editor. Otherwise, there are no special skills required. It is the goal of this manual to give you what you need to know about LISTSERV user commands, privileged LISTSERV owner commands, and how to read and interpret RFC822 Internet-style mail headers. LISTSERV itself is designed to operate in an identical manner no matter which operating system it is running under. Thus the fact that LISTSERV is running under VM, VMS, some flavor of Unix, or Windows NT should not be a concern to the list owner, who may not even know which version of LISTSERV his lists are running on.
Additionally, we have made an attempt to give you a basic "list owner's course" in anticipation of some of the issues you may encounter in the course of moderating a list.
2.3. Creating a mailing list – Where can it be done, and Who can do it?
If you are looking for a site to host a list, consider the following:
· 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 EASESM service. You can get more information on EASESM by pointing a WWW browser at
http://www.lsoft.com/ease-head.html
Please note also that many sites (predominantly, but not necessarily limited to, those in .EDU domains) will not host commercial or potentially-controversial lists because of internal policies regarding appropriate use of their computing facilities. In such a case, your only option may be to seek a commercial LISTSERV site.
Physically creating the list is the task of the LISTSERV maintainer (sometimes referred to as the "LISTSERV postmaster") at a given LISTSERV host site.[3] Specific procedures for requesting a list startup vary from institution to institution. It is usually best to contact the computing center at the site for more information.
Because most list owners do not have the appropriate permissions to create lists, instructions on how to physically create lists are not included in this manual. If you are a LISTSERV maintainer, you can find these instructions in the Installation Guide that came with the software, or in the Site Manager’s Operations Manual for LISTSERV.
When choosing a name for a list, there are a few conventions and restrictions that you should keep in mind.
The "-L" convention isn't required, but it can help people to realize that the mail is coming from a mailing list rather than from a real person. The people we are referring to here are people who run Internet mail systems, who may see a great deal of mail coming from a single host and begin to wonder why. If it comes from a userid that ends in a "-L", they will be more likely to recognize it as list mail.
Reserved names
You may not create lists whose names match the following wildcards:
owner-*
*-request
*-search-request
*-server
*-signoff-request
*-subscribe-request
*-unsubscribe-request
For instance, lists cannot be made with names like "owner-loyalty", "linux-server", and "donation-request