This article contains information about Listserv Terminology.
Terminology
Getting Started: General Terminology
· Content: Information intended for dissemination or exchange
· List: a collection of e-mail addresses assembled for the purpose of delivering common content (identical or customized)
· Listserv Admin/Postmaster: "LISTSERV maintainers", are the people in charge of operating the LISTSERV service who are to be granted maintainer privileges and notified of problems with the operation of the server.
· Owner: The list owner is the person formally in charge of the operation of a specific list. The list owner is usually knowledgeable in the field covered by the list. There can be more than one list owner for a list. The responsibility of the list owner is limited to the list itself, and does not include the computer running the list, its mail system, network lines, and other hardware specifics. List owners:
• Set and change the configuration of the list.
• Add, delete, and modify subscriptions to the list.
• Assist subscribers and potential subscribers.
• Set policies, procedures related to the list, and send administrative messages to the list.
• Run reports on list activity.
· Subscriber: Are people who have requested and have been granted permission to join a particular mailing list. Subscribers:
• Can leave a list.
• Can set the way they receive list postings or change the name or email address associated with their subscription, within the configuration limits set by the list owner.
• May be permitted to search and view the archives.
• May be permitted to send messages to the list, depending on the type of list.
· Non-Subscriber: Include everyone not subscribed to a list. Non-subscribers:
• Can make a request to LISTSERV to be subscribed to a particular list.
• Depending on the list configuration, they may or may not be allowed to send
messages to a list or read its archives.
· Recipients (a/k/a subscribers): holders of the e-mail addresses to which content is delivered
· Editor: The editors are those addresses that are allowed to send messages to the list without requiring moderation. The first address listed in the “Editor” keyword definition is known as the “primary” editor.
· Moderator: Moderators receive, and review postings sent to the list, and either approve them to be sent through the list or reject them to prevent them from being sent to the list. If there are multiple moderators, the list postings can be sent to each moderator in turn in a “round-robin” fashion or to all moderators. In the “round-robin” scenario, each message is sent to only one moderator for approval, sending one message to each moderator in the order listed in the list header before cycling back to the first moderator. The “round-robin” scenario allows a heavy load to be shared among several moderators. In the scenario where messages are all sent to all moderators, the first moderator to get to each message can approve or reject it. You would use this latter scenario if you want approvals to be made as soon as a moderator is available to review it.
· One-Way Announcement – The owner(s) and/or editor(s) of the list are the only people who are allowed to send messages to the subscribers. The communication flows one way – from the list administrators to the list subscribers. This type of list is primarily used for newsletters, product announcements, and dissemination of information that does not require feedback from the subscriber.
· Two-Way Discussion – The list administrators and the list subscribers are both
permitted to post messages to the list. The communication flows two ways -
between the administrators and the subscribers, and back and forth between
different subscribers. This type of list is primarily used for discussion groups
engaged in the exchange of ideas and information centered on a specific topic.
· Moderated List –This type of discussion list has an editor or editors who review all incoming messages. The editor can then decide to allow the message to be sent to all the subscribers on the list, or not allow the message to be posted to the list. Moderated lists can be used to control the discussion by keeping off topic, inflammatory, or otherwise inappropriate messages from the reaching subscribers. There are other types of lists, for example you can use a list as an “auto-responder”. The three types listed here are the most common.
· Server (a/k/a Listserv, List server): machine & software that maintains
· Review: List Description – Enter a few lines of text containing a brief description of the purpose of the list. This description will be available to anyone who retrieves the public portions of the list header through a "REVIEW listname" command. The list description will also be displayed on the list's home page or archive index.
· Review – Use this keyword to define the categories of users that are allowed to review the non-concealed Internet addresses and names of subscribers to the list. The default is Private.
· Query: Reviewing Current Subscription Options with QUERY
*When using the Listserv web GUI use the top menu bar List Management/List Configuration/Alphabetic Keyword List as a Query tool.
The below applies to both CLI Plain Text Email commands or using command line within the web GUI.
The syntax is similar to the subscriber's method of reviewing his options, except that
the list owner must specify for whom the options are being checked.
Query listname FOR userid@host
It is possible to use wildcards in the subscriber address. For instance,
Q LSTOWN-L FOR J*@UBVM*
will return option listings for subscribers such as JIMJ@UBVM,
JOHN@UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU, etc. This can be handy if you are searching the list
for someone whose subscription address differs from the address you are given in an
error report (see the examples, above, in "Dealing with bounced mail").
Using the WITH qualifier, you can also query a list for users who have a specific option
set. For instance, you might want to know which users are set to NOMAIL. Send the
command
Q listname WITH NOMAIL FOR *@*
and LISTSERV will return a list of those users. It is also possible to query a list for multiple
options:
Q listname with DIGEST CONCEAL FOR *@*
will return a list of those subscribers who have set their subscription to DIGEST and also
to CONCEAL.
You can also query users by the list topics they are subscribed to. For instance:
Q listname WITH TOPICS: ADMIN FORUM FOR *@*
shows all members subscribed to both the ADMIN and FORUM topics.
Q listname WITH TOPICS: -ADMIN FOR *@*
shows all members who are not subscribed to the ADMIN topic.
Q listname WITH TOPICS: ADMIN -TEST FOR *@*shows all members who are subscribed to the ADMIN topic but not to the TEST topic.
· Archive: All messages posted to the list are archived in the list's notebook logs (if available), making it possible for subscribers to retrieve postings in topics they are not set to receive normally.
· To find out what archive notebooks are available for your list, simply send the INDex listname command to LISTSERV.
· If your list is set to Notebook=Yes, you may occasionally need to delete archive notebook files to conserve disk space or to prevent access to out-of-date information. First, you may need to find out what archive notebook files are available for your list. Send the following command: INDEX listname LISTSERV will then send a list of all the files associated with your list.
· To delete an archive notebook file, simply execute a PUT operation for the notebook in question without sending any other text along with the PUT command line (turn off automatic signatures, and do not use a mail service that automatically adds text to every message sent). For instance, send an email message with the following text as the only content in the body of the message: PUT MYLIST LOG0209 PW=yourpassword This command without any other additional text would delete MYLIST LOG0209 (the file containing the September 2002 archives of the MYLIST list) from the server. If you provide a digest for your list, you should not delete the current archive file. Two important issues:
· This command MUST be issued by e-mail. It cannot be issued via the "Execute a LISTSERV command" facility of the Web Interface.
· You MUST turn off your signature file (if one is enabled in your mail client) in order to successfully delete files. If you do not, LISTSERV will store your signature file in place of the file you are trying to delete instead of deleting the file.