Gary et al.,
There will be a lot of us who will be away from our e-mail for a while
during the coming exams and holidays. For those who want to suspend
their list mail, I have attached a copy of a handout on basic discussion
list commands. Feel free to copy and redistribute.
Jim Milles
Head of Computer Services
Saint Louis University Law Library
millesjg@sluvca.slu.edu
On Wed, 30 Nov 1994, Gary Morgan wrote:
> Hello
> I will be gone for a few days and am wondering if there is
>
> a command I could you to suspend my messages until I am ready to
>
> receive them again.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Gary Morgan
> Oregon Supreme Court Library
> Salem, Oregon 97310-0260
> gmorgan@willamette.edu
>
DISCUSSION LISTS: MAIL SERVER COMMANDS
Version 1.24
November 15, 1994
James Milles
Saint Louis University Law Library
millesjg@sluvca.slu.edu
1. E-mail discussion lists constitute one of the most popular
methods of group communication on the Internet. Discussion lists
support group communication by providing, at minimum, two basic
functions: (1) the ability to distribute a message to a group of
people by sending it to a single, central address, and (2) the
ability to quietly join and leave the list at any time.
1.1. In order to provide these separate functions, an
e-mail discussion list typically has two addresses
associated with it: (1) a "listname address," the address to
which you send any messages that you intend to be read by
the list subscribers; and (2) an "administrative address,"
the address to which you send any commands or requests that
affect your subscription to the list. It's easy to remember
this distinction by thinking of your local newspaper: the
first address is somewhat analogous to sending a "letter to
the editor," while the second is like sending a letter to
the newspaper's subscription office.
1.2. With most discussion lists, the "administrative
address" is a computer program that allows the subscriber to
subscribe and unsubscribe automatically, without external
intervention. There are at least five popular mail server
programs used to manage Internet discussion lists: REVISED
LISTSERV (also called BITNET LISTSERV), Unix ListProcessor
(or Listproc), Mailbase, Mailserv, and Majordomo. The
commands for subscribing and unsubscribing under most of
these programs are the same; however, other useful commands
differ greatly from one program to another, and some
programs support features that others do not.
1.3. This document does not describe all the features
supported by any of these programs, only those most commonly
used. For more information on any of these programs, send a
message containing only the word "help" to the appropriate
mail server. Additional programs and commands will be added
in future revisions of this document.
1.4. This document also does not deal with discussion lists
to which one subscribes by sending a message to
"[listname]-request," sometimes referred to as "Internet
lists." There are a great many discussion lists of this
type; some are distribution lists maintained manually by the
listowner, while others use some form of mailer software
ranging from a simple script to a fairly sophisticated
mailing list program. Some require that subscription
requests be placed in the message text; others require them
to be included in the Subject: line. Because of the variety
of methods of maintaining these lists, it is impossible to
generalize about their command features. However, as a
rule, assume that any discussion list with an administrative
address of "[listname]-request" is maintained manually by a
human being. Accordingly, you should subscribe by sending a
friendly message in plain English to "[listname]-request."
If a program responds with instructions for subscribing,
follow the instructions.
1.5. The latest version of this document is available by
e-mail and by anonymous ftp:
E-mail: Send a message containing only the line
GET MAILSER CMD NETTRAIN F=MAIL
to LISTSERV@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu.
FTP: Anonymous ftp to ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu
cd /nettrain
get mailser.cmd
-- or --
anonymous ftp to sluaxa.slu.edu
cd /pub/millesjg
get mailser.cmd
2. When you subscribe to a list, you will typically receive a
"welcome" message, describing the purpose of the list and telling
you how to unsubscribe. Save this message! It tells you which
program the discussion list is run under, and how to get further
help.
2.1. Mail servers can be confusing. Many people use the
term "listserv" generically, to refer to any list mail
server program. To make things worse, the Unix
ListProcessor (listproc) program was originally called
"listserv," just like REVISED LISTSERV. Many listproc hosts
are still configured with the name "listserv," and will
accept commands addressed to "listserv@[host]" as well as to
the correct name, "listproc@[host]."
2.2. Usually--but not always--you can find out which
program a discussion list is run under by examining the
message headers. For instance, listproc lists should
include a line saying "Unix ListProcessor." However, the
best practice is to save any "welcome" message you receive
when you subscribe, and to note at that time which set of
commands is applicable.
3. Remember to send all commands to the "administrative
address"--[mailserver]@[host]--not to the "listname address".
[Mailserver] is the program that maintains the list (either
listproc, LISTSERV, mailbase, mailserv, or majordomo); [host] is
the address of the host computer (for example, ucdavis.edu or
cleo.murdoch.edu.au).
3.1. Be sure to leave the Subject: line blank, and to
delete any signature file if your mailer allows you to do
so.
3.2. Always include the name of the list in the message to
[mailserver]@[host]. Most mailserver sites maintain many
different discussion lists, and it is essential that you
tell the mail server which list you are talking about.
3.3. For instance, to join the discussion list
law-lib@ucdavis.edu, send an e-mail message containing only
the command
SUBSCRIBE LAW-LIB John Doe
to listproc@ucdavis.edu.
The other examples used below are:
INT-LAW@UMINN1.BITNET (REVISED LISTSERV),
law-europe@mailbase.ac.uk (Mailbase),
envirolaw@oregon.uoregon.edu (Mailserv),and
elaw-j@cleo.murdoch.edu.au (Majordomo).
4. For information on how to obtain and install these discussion
list packages and many others, see the FAQ "Mail Archive Server
Software List: A Summary of Available Mail Archive Server
Software" by Piero Serini, available by anonymous ftp from
rtfm.mit.edu, directory
/pub/usenet/news.answers/mail/archive-servers, file faq.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Join a list:
Listproc: SUBSCRIBE [listname] Firstname Lastname
(e.g., SUBSCRIBE LAW-LIB John Doe)
LISTSERV: SUBSCRIBE [listname] Firstname Lastname
(e.g., SUBSCRIBE INT-LAW John Doe)
Mailbase: JOIN [listname] Firstname Lastname
(e.g., JOIN LAW-EUROPE John Doe)
Mailserv: SUBSCRIBE [listname] Firstname Lastname
(e.g., SUBSCRIBE ENVIROLAW John Doe)
(Optionally, include the e-mail address at
which you wish to receive list mail:)
SUBSCRIBE [listname] Firstname Lastname [address]
Majordomo: SUBSCRIBE [listname]
(e.g., SUBSCRIBE ELAW-J)
(Optionally, include the e-mail address at
which you wish to receive list mail:)
SUBSCRIBE [listname] [address]
Leave a list:
Listproc: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]
LISTSERV: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]
Mailbase: LEAVE [listname]
Mailserv: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]
(UNSUBSCRIBE [listname] [address]
if you subscribed under a different e-mail
address.)
Majordomo: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]
(UNSUBSCRIBE [listname] [address]
if you subscribed under a different e-mail
address.)
Receive the list in digest format (multiple messages compiled
into a single mailing, usually daily or weekly):
Listproc: SET [listname] MAIL DIGEST
LISTSERV: SET [listname] DIGEST
Mailbase: Not supported.
Mailserv: Not supported.
Majordomo: SUBSCRIBE [listname]-DIGEST
(in the same message, unsubscribe from the
undigested version:)
UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]
(Note: with those programs that support the digest option,
whether or not to offer the digest format is within the
discretion of the listowner; consequently not all lists offer
digests.)
Cancel digest format; receive the list as separate mailings:
Listproc: SET [listname] MAIL ACK
LISTSERV: SET [listname] MAIL
Mailbase: Not supported.
Mailserv: Not supported.
Majordomo: UNSUBSCRIBE [listname]-DIGEST
(in the same message, subscribe to the
undigested version:)
SUBSCRIBE [listname]
Suspend mail temporarily (without unsubscribing):
Listproc: SET [listname] MAIL POSTPONE
LISTSERV: SET [listname] NOMAIL
Mailbase: SUSPEND MAIL [listname]
Mailserv: Not supported.
Majordomo: Not supported.
Resume receipt of messages:
Listproc: SET [listname] MAIL ACK
-- or --
SET [listname]MAIL NOACK
-- or --
SET [listname] MAIL DIGEST
LISTSERV: SET [listname] MAIL
-- or --
SET [listname] DIGEST
Mailbase: RESUME MAIL [listname]
Mailserv: Not supported.
Majordomo: Not supported.
Receive copies of your own messages:
Listproc: SET [listname] MAIL ACK
LISTSERV: SET [listname] REPRO
(to simply receive an automatic
acknowledgement that your message has been
sent to the list, use:)
SET [listname] ACK
Mailbase: Standard feature; you always receive your own
messages.
Mailserv: Same as mailbase.
Majordomo: Same as mailbase.
Do not receive copies of your own messages:
Listproc: SET [listname] MAIL NOACK
LISTSERV: SET [listname] NOREPRO
Mailbase: Not supported.
Mailserv: Not supported.
Majordomo: Not supported.
Obtain a list of subscribers:
Listproc: RECIPIENTS [listname]
LISTSERV: REVIEW [listname] F=MAIL
(can also be sorted by name or by country:)
REVIEW [listname] BY NAME F=MAIL
-- or --
REVIEW [listname] BY COUNTRY F=MAIL
Mailbase: REVIEW [listname]
Mailserv: SEND/LIST [listname]
Majordomo: WHO [listname]
Hide your address, so that it does not appear on the list of
subscribers:
Listproc: SET [listname] CONCEAL YES
(to reverse this command, use:)
SET [listname] CONCEAL NO
LISTSERV: SET [listname] CONCEAL
(to reverse this command, use:)
SET [listname] NOCONCEAL
Mailbase: Not supported.
Mailserv: Not supported.
Majordomo: Not supported.
Obtain a list of lists maintained by this mail server:
Listproc: LISTS
LISTSERV: LISTS
(to obtain a list of all known LISTSERV
lists, send the command
LISTS GLOBAL;
to search for LISTSERV lists with a given
keyword or character string in the
description, send the command
LISTS GLOBAL /[keyword],
e.g., LISTS GLOBAL /LAW.)
Mailbase: LISTS
Mailserv: DIRECTORY/LIST
Majordomo: LISTS
Obtain a listing of archive files for a particular list:
Listproc: INDEX [listname]
LISTSERV: INDEX [listname]
Mailbase: INDEX [listname]
Mailserv: INDEX [listname]
Majordomo: INDEX [listname]
Retrieve an archive file:
Listproc: GET [listname] [filename]
(e.g., GET LAW-LIB feb94)
LISTSERV: GET [filename] [filetype] [listname] F=MAIL
(e.g., GET INT-LAW LOG9406 INT-LAW F=MAIL)
Mailbase: SEND [listname] [filename]
(e.g., SEND LAW-EUROPE 05-1994)
Mailserv: SEND [listname] [filename]
(e.g., SEND ENVIROLAW smith.txt)
Majordomo: GET [listname] [filename]
(e.g., GET ELAW-J BOYLE.TXT)
Search the archives for keywords (where available--some lists do
not keep archives):
Listproc: SEARCH [listname] "[keywords]"
Boolean searches are possible using the
symbols "&" (and), "|" (or), and "~" (not).
For example, to search for "mead" or "mdc" in
law-lib, use the command
SEARCH LAW-LIB "mead | mdc"
LISTSERV: LISTSERV uses a sophisticated and powerful
search engine that does lots of neat things
like finding "sounds like" matches; however,
it uses a difficult, batch-coded search
language to construct queries. I find it
useful to keep a "template" file in my
Internet account, and then edit the file as
appropriate when I need to do a search.
Here's the search file:
// JOB Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD *
Search nafta in int-law since 93/6/1
Index
/*
To run a search, send this file in an e-mail
message to LISTSERV@[host]. The Search line
can be modified as needed. The date is
optional; Boolean combinations, nesting with
parentheses, and a great number of other
capabilities are supported. For a full
description of LISTSERV search functions,
send the command
GET LISTDB MEMO F=MAIL
to LISTSERV@UMINN1.BITNET.
Once you've received a list of messages
matching your query, send another message to
LISTSERV@[host] to retrieve the specific
messages you want:
// JOB Echo=No
Database Search DD=Rules
//Rules DD *
Search nafta in int-law since 93/6/1
Print all of 636 637 640
/*
Mailbase: Archives of Mailbase lists are searchable
through the Mailbase Gopher (gopher
mailbase.ac.uk). Mailbase does not support
batch searching by e-mail request.
Mailserv: Not supported.
Majordomo: Not supported.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
James Milles Voice: (314) 977-2759
Head of Computer Services FAX: (314) 977-2966
Saint Louis University Law Library millesjg@sluvca.slu.edu
3700 Lindell Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63108
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