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Table of Contents

Preface - About This Manual
Editorial Note - New Version Numbering
LISTSERV Command Syntax Conventions
Contacting L-Soft
Section 1 Who Should Read This Book?
1.1 Where to Find Changes and Updates to the Manual?
Section 2 Differences Between Architectures and Implementations
2.1 Differences Between Architectures and Implementations
2.1.1 The File Server
2.1.2 The WWW List Archive and List Management Interface
2.2 Differences between LISTSERV and LISTSERV Lite
2.3 Operating Systems and Architectures Supported
Section 3 Principles of Operation
Section 4 A LISTSERV How-To for Site Managers
4.1 Installation and Startup Questions
4.2 Initial Configuration
Section 5 Configuring Your LISTSERV Site
5.1 Site Configuration Files
5.2 What can be configured?
5.3 Files Used by LISTSERV
5.3.1 Program Executables
5.3.2 BITNET Network Table Files
5.3.3 Internet and Peer Networking Table Files
5.3.4 LISTSERV’s External Data Files
5.3.5 User Reference Material
5.3.6 Command Line Utilities (Non-VM)
5.3.7 GUI Site Configuration Utility (Windows Only)
5.3.8 Line-mode site configuration utility (OpenVMS only)
5.3.9 Other files that will appear during use
5.4 Installing & Configuring LISTSERV’s WWW Archive & Administration Interface
5.4.1 The WWW Archive Interface
5.4.2 The WWW Administration Interface
5.4.3 Installing a Web Server
5.4.4 Installing the Web Archive Interface Script
5.4.5 Creating a Subdirectory for the Archive Interface
5.4.6 Configuring LISTSERV to Activate the Web Archive Interface
5.4.7 Customizing the Web Pages
5.4.8 Enabling Individual Lists
5.4.9 Enabling Web-Based Bulk Operations
5.4.10 RSS Support for Web Archives
5.5 The Spam Detector and Anti-Subscription-Spoofing Feature
5.5.1 Spam Quarantine
5.5.2 "Anonymous" Spam Alerts
5.5.3 Subscription Anti-Spoofing Feature
5.6 Server Registration
5.6.1 Registering LISTSERV Classic and Classic HPO Servers
5.6.2 How do I find out if my server is already registered?
5.6.3 The LISTSERV Backbone
5.6.4 Automatic Registration for LISTSERV Lite Servers
5.7 Inter-Server Updates
5.8 Setting Up Archive and Notebook Directories for Use with LISTSERV
5.9 DBMS and Mail Merge Functions
5.10 Synonymous Host Name Registration via ALIASES NAMES
5.11 Real-Time Anti-Virus Scanning
5.12 LISTSERV DomainKeys Support
5.12.1 Creating DKIM Keys and Configuring DNS
5.12.2 LISTSERV Configuration
5.12.3 Starting LISTSERV with DKIM Support
5.12.4 Using DKIM with LISTSERV
5.12.5 Restrictions and Implementation Choices
5.13 LISTSERV LDAP and Dynamic Query List (DQL) support
Section 6 LISTSERV Commands
6.1 General Commands
6.1.1 List Subscription Commands
6.1.2 Other list-related commands
6.1.3 Informational commands
6.1.4 Commands Related to File Server and Web Functions
6.1.5 Other Advanced Commands
6.2 List Owner and File Owner Commands
6.2.1 File Management Commands (for file owners only)
6.2.2 List Management Functions
6.3 LISTSERV Maintainer Commands
6.4 Sending commands to LISTSERV
6.5 Defining Personal Passwords
Section 7 Creating and Maintaining Lists
7.1 Basic List Creation
7.2 Architecture-Specific Steps for List Creation
7.2.1 Unix: Creating a List
7.2.2 Unix: Creating the Required Sendmail Aliases
7.2.3 OpenVMS: Creating the Required PMDF Aliases
7.3 Sample Checklist for Creating Lists
7.4 Naming Conventions
7.4.1 The "-L" Convention
7.4.2 Reserved Names
7.4.3 Reserved Characters
7.4.4 Maximum Length of the List Name
7.4.5 Making the List Name User-Friendly
7.5 List Header Keywords
7.6 Retrieving and Editing a List
7.7 Adding a List Password
7.8 Storing a Modified List on the Host Machine
7.9 Fixing Mistakes
7.10 Sample List Header File
7.11 Deleting a List
7.12 Adding HTML to a List Header for the CataList
7.12.1 Update Latency
7.12.2 Inserting a Pointer to Another List
7.12.3 Restrictions on the Placement of Equal Signs
7.13 Setting Up Lists for Specific Purposes
7.13.1 Public Discussion Lists
7.13.2 Private Discussion Lists
7.13.3 Edited Lists
7.13.4 Moderated Lists
7.13.5 Semi-Moderated Lists
7.13.6 Self-Moderated Lists
7.13.7 Private Edited/Moderated Lists
7.13.8 Auto-Responders
7.13.9 Announce-Only Lists
7.13.10 Restricted Subscription Lists with Automatically-Generated Questionnaire
7.13.11 Peered Lists
7.13.11.1 Linking Two or More LISTSERV Mailing Lists
7.13.11.2 Moving Users From One (Peer) Server to Another
7.13.11.3 Special Commands For Peered Lists Only
7.13.12 Super-Lists and Sub-Lists
7.13.13 Cloning Lists
7.14 Merging existing LISTSERV lists
7.14.1 Merging List A into List B; List A User Options Not Preserved
7.14.2 Merging List A into List B; List A User Options Preserved
7.14.3 Merging List A and List B into List C
7.15 Migrating Lists From One Site to Another
7.15.1 Migrating Lists From One LISTSERV Site to Another LISTSERV Site
7.15.2 Migrating Lists from Non-LISTSERV Sites
7.15.3 Migrating Lists from Sendmail Alias Files, Databases, Etc.
7.16 Changing the Name of an Existing List
7.17 Bulk Operations (ADD and DELETE)
7.17.1 Bulk ADD Operations
7.17.2 Bulk DELETE Operations
7.18 Content Filtering
7.19 DomainKeys Message Signing
Section 8 File and Notebook Archives
8.1 The File Archive
8.2 Starting a file archive for your list
8.3 Filelist Maintenance (VM Systems Only)
8.3.1 Creating a Filelist (VM Systems Only)
8.3.2 Adding FAC Codes (VM Systems Only)
8.3.3 Retrieving the Filelist (VM Systems Only)
8.3.4 Adding File Descriptors to the Filelist (VM Systems Only)
8.3.5 File Access Codes (FAC) for User Access (VM Systems Only)
8.3.6 Deleting File Descriptors from the Filelist (VM Systems Only)
8.3.7 Storing the Filelist (VM Systems Only)
8.4 The listname.CATALOG System on Non-VM Systems
8.4.1 Adding Files to the SITE.CATALOG
8.4.2 Delegating File Management Authority
8.4.3 Creating a Sub-Catalog
8.4.4 Updating the Sub-Catalog
8.4.5 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)
8.8 File "Packages"
8.9 Finding More Information on File Archives
8.10 Notebook Archives
8.10.1 Setting Up Notebook Archives for a List
8.10.2 Migrating Old Notebook Archives to a New Site (LISTSERV to LISTSERV)
8.10.3 Migrating Old Notebook Archives (Non-LISTSERV to LISTSERV)
8.10.4 Deleting Old Notebook Archives
8.10.5 Indexing existing notebook archives
Section 9 Creating and Editing Mail and Web Tem­plates
9.1 Using LISTSERV Templates
9.2 Getting Copies of the Default Template Files
9.3 Types of Templates
9.3.1 Mail Templates
9.3.2 Message Templates
9.3.3 Message Fragments
9.4 Naming Conventions for Message Templates and Fragments
9.5 Mail Template Format and Embedded Formatting Commands
9.5.1 Mail Template Format
9.5.2 Common Variable Substitutions
9.5.3 Template Commands
9.5.4 Conditional Processing
9.5.5 The .QUIF Command
9.5.6 Using 8-Bit Characters in Templates
9.6 Editing List-Level Default Templates
9.6.1 The INFO Template Form
9.6.2 DEFAULT MAILTPL Templates
9.6.3 Tips for Using Templates
9.7 Using the DAYSEQ(n) Function
9.7.1 Rotating Bottom Banner
9.7.2 Rotating FAQ via the PROBE1 Template and "Renewal= xx-Daily"
9.7.3 Calculating the Value for DAYSEQ()
9.8 Storing the <listname>.MAILTPL File on the Host Machine
9.9 DIGEST-H and INDEX-H Template Files
9.10 WWW Interface Templates and Template Forms
9.10.1 Web Forms (Static) Contained in DEFAULT MAILTPL
9.10.2 The WWW_ARCHIVE.MAILTPL File
9.10.3 The DEFAULT.WWWPTL File (Dynamic Templates)
9.10.4 The SITE.WWWTPL File
9.10.5 National Language Template Files (idiom.mailtpl)
9.10.6 Template Precedence
9.11 Serving Up Custom Web Pages for your List
9.11.1 A Practical Example: ADMIN_POST
9.12 Modifying the Output of LISTSERV's HELP Command (non-VM)
9.13 The $SITE$.MAILTPL File
Section 10 Interpreting and Managing Log Files
10.1 Logs Kept by LISTSERV
10.2 Managing the Logs
10.2.1 Making Daily Logs
10.2.2 Cleaning Your Log Files
10.3 Interpreting the LISTSERV log
10.3.1 Expiring Cookies
10.3.2 Releasing and Reallocating a Disk Slot
10.3.3 Reindexing a List
10.3.4 Distributing a Digest
10.3.5 Daily Error Monitoring Reports
10.3.6 Processing Mail for Local Lists
10.3.7 Administrative Mail (X-ADMMAIL)
10.3.8 DISTRIBUTE Jobs from Remote Hosts
10.3.9 Requesting "OK" Confirmation for Commands
10.3.10 Subscription Summary Updates (SUPD Jobs)
10.3.11 Global List of Lists Updates (LUPD Jobs)
10.3.12 Valid "OK" Confirmation Received
10.3.13 Invalid "OK" Confirmation Received
10.3.14 User Already Subscribed to a Given List
10.3.15 Non-Command Text in Mailings to LISTSERV
10.3.16 Response to List Owner or LISTSERV Maintainer Commands
10.3.17 Response to Posts to a Held List or to a List with PRIMETIME
10.3.18 Command Forwarded via GLX from Another Host
10.3.19 Netwide DELETE (X-DEL Jobs)
10.3.20 FIOC Cache Notifications
10.3.21 Web Archive/Administration Interface Logging
10.3.22 X-SPAM Jobs
10.3.23 X-TBREG Jobs
10.3.24 Responses to LVMON@VM.SE.LSOFT.COM
10.3.25 MIME Parser Messages
10.3.26 Content Filter Rejection Message
10.4 Interpreting the SMTP Logs (Windows Servers Only)
10.5 Interpreting the SMTP Worker Log Entries (Non-VM Only)
10.6 Change Logs
10.7 Using LISTSERV Logs and SHOW CTR to Extract Server Statistics
10.7.1 Sample Log-Processing Scripts
10.7.2 Interpreting the Output of SHOW CTR
10.8 Using the System Changelog to Track Distributions
10.9 Logging Changelog Information to a DBMS
Section 11 Using the Web Administration Interface
11.1 The Default LISTSERV Home Page
11.2 Logging In
11.3 Setting a LISTSERV Password
11.4 Logging In and Setting Preferences
11.5 List Maintenance via the Web Interface
11.5.1 Examining or Deleting a Subscription
11.5.2 Adding a New Subscriber to the List
11.5.3 Bulk Operations
11.6 List Configuration
11.7 Maintaining Mail and WWW Templates via the Web Interface
11.8 Sending Interactive Commands via the Web
11.9 Mail-Merge
11.10 Server Administration Interface
Section 12 Distribution Features and Functions
12.1 Controlling the Default Level of Acknowledgement to User Postings
12.2 Controlling the Maximum Number of Postings Per Day
12.2.1 Controlling Total Postings to the List Per Day
12.2.2 Controlling the Number of Postings Per Day from Individual Users
12.3 Controlling "Prime" Time
12.4 "Holding" and "Freeing" a List
12.4.1 Automatic List Holds
12.4.2 Manual List Holds
12.5 Controlling the List Digest Feature
12.6 Defining List Topics
12.7 Allowing/Blocking MIME Attachments
Section 13 Error Handling Features and Functions
13.1 Defining List-Level Error Handling Addresses
13.2 The Auto-Deletion Feature
13.3 LISTSERV's Loop Detection Feature
13.3.1 The Anti-Spamming Filter
13.4 RFC822 Mail Header Parsing
13.5 Address Probing
13.5.1 Active Address Probing
13.5.2 Passive Address Probing
13.5.3 OS-Specific Issues with Probing
13.6 Defining Server-Level Error Handling Addresses
13.6.1 BOUNCES_TO=
13.6.2 Crash Reports and CRASH_MONITOR=
Section 14 List Maintenance and Moderation Features and Functions
14.1 Setting Up Edited/Moderated Mailing Lists
14.2 Restricting the Size of Messages Posted to the List
14.3 Restricting the Number of Posts Per User Per Day
14.4 Moving a List to a New Location (New-List= Keyword)
Section 15 Security Features and Functions
15.1 The VALIDATE= Keyword
15.2 Controlling Subscription Requests
15.3 Controlling the Service Area of the List
15.4 Controlling Who Reviews the List of Subscribers
15.5 Controlling Access to the Notebook Files
15.6 Controlling Who Can Post Mail to a List
15.7 The "OK" Confirmation Mechanism
15.7.1 Explicitly Cancelling "OK" Cookies
15.8 Denying Service to Problem Users
15.8.1 The "Filter=" List Header Keyword
15.8.2 The "FILTER_ALSO" Configuration File Variable
15.8.3 The "SERVE" Command
15.8.4 The POST_FILTER List Exit Point
15.9 Hiding Selected Header Lines
15.10 Tracking Subscription Changes with the Change-Log Keyword
Section 16 Subscription Features and Functions
16.1 Setting Up Subscription Confirmation
16.2 Defining Default Options for Subscribers at Subscription Time
16.3 Setting Up Subscription Renewal
Section 17 Other Features and Functions
17.1 Setting Up National Language Mail Templates
17.2 Translating Control Characters Included in List Mail
17.3 Communicating with List Owners
17.3.1 The Listname-REQUEST Alias
17.3.2 The ALL-REQUEST Alias
17.3.3 Required Configuration for Unix and VMS Servers Running PMDF
17.3.4 Other Aliases Used by LISTSERV
Section 18 Special Functionality for ISP’s
18.1 Directory Quotas for Individual Lists
18.1.1 The QUOTA.FILE
18.1.2 Displaying Quota Information
18.1.3 Reloading Quota Information After Making Changes
18.2 Limiting the Number of Subscribers to a List
Appendix A: Command Reference Card
Appendix B: Sample Boilerplate Files
Subscription Requests Sent to the List
Sending Other Commands to the List or to the *-REQUEST Address for the List
Unsubscribed User Still Getting Mail
Quoted Replies Include Message Headers Causing them to Bounce
Delivery Error with Unknown User Account
Setting a User to DIGEST because of Bouncing Mail
A Sample "Your List has been Created" Boilerplate