Listserv FAQ

Overview

This document addresses some frequently asked questions regarding Listserv operation and management in the TAMU system. If you have any further questions, email helpdesk@tamu.edu or call us at (979) 845-8300.

Additional FAQs are available at the L-Soft Web site: http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/owner-faq.stm

The complete List Owner's Manual is available at the L-Soft Web site:http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8e/owner/owner.html.

** Additional help is available on each screen of the Web interface by using the Help link. Complete documentation for the LISTSERV software is available at the vendor site:http://www.lsoft.com/resources/manuals.asp.

 

How do I set up a LISTSERV password?

To get a Listserv password:

1. Go to http://listserv.tamu.edu/
2. Click Manage Your Lists
3. If you do not know your current password, or if you have never set a Listserv password, click Register Password below the Log In button. 

NOTE: Listserv accounts are specific to your email address, so your_netid@tamu.edu and your_netid@email.tamu.edu are different Listserv accounts, even if they deliver to the same mailbox.

 

How do I set up a welcome message to my list?

1. Log into http://listserv.tamu.edu/ using the email address with which you are listed as the owner of your list and your Listserv password

2. From the "Options" bar at the top of the page, choose List Management, scroll down to "Customization" and choose Mail Templates.

3. If you are owner of more than one list, choose the list you wish to edit the welcome message for from the drop down menu.

4. In the "Edit Mail Templates" window, choose Subscription Management from the "Template Category" menu.

5. In the "Select Template" pull down menu, choose Welcome Message, and then clickEdit Template.

6. In the "Subject" box, enter Welcome Message.

7. In the large text box, type your welcome message. Click Update.

NOTE: Your welcome message is saved on LISTSERV in a file called "listname.welcome" and will be sent to each new subscriber.

 

How do I add a message to the top of every message (header) that goes out to my list?

Use listserv.tamu.edu to manage your list. Log in, select your list, and click Templates. A pull-down menu of all the available templates is displayed. To modify the header, select the following template:

Top banner for list postings [TOP_BANNER]

Select Edit form and type the desired text. Click Update to save the changes.

 

How do I add a message to the bottom of every message (footer) that goes out to my list?

1. Log into http://listserv.tamu.edu/ using the email address with which you are listed as the owner of your list and your Listserv password.

2. From the “Options” bar at the top of the page, choose List Management, scroll down to “Customization” and choose Mail Templates.

3. If you are the owner of more than one list, choose the list you wish to edit the welcome message for from the drop-down menu.

4. In the "Edit Mail Templates" window, choose Top and Bottom Banners from the "Template Category" menu.

5. In the "Select Template" pull-down menu, choose Bottom banner for plain text postings or Bottom banner for HTML posting, and then click Edit Template.

6. In the "Subject box," enter Bottom Banner.

7. In the large text box, type your Bottom banner message. Click Update.

 

How do I add archives (message logs) to my list?

If the * Notebook= field of your list header is set to "No," send an email to listman@tamu.edu so your list header can be modified for you. The * Notebook= fields are only modifiable by the LISTSERV site manager.

If you already have archiving and would like to make your archive available via the Web, send an email to listman@tamu.edu so your list header can be modified for you.

 

How do I make my list archives available via the Web interface?

Note: Only the site manager can change the value of the * Notebook= list header field, so you need to send an email to listman@tamu.edu if you want that field changed.

If you want access to the archives to be unrestricted, the header should include

     * Confidential= No 
     * Notebook= Yes, where, interval, Public

If you want the archives to have unrestricted access, but do not want a link on the main archives page, the header should include :

     * Confidential= Yes 
     * Notebook= Yes, where, interval, Public

If you want the archives to be accessible only by subscribers (with a password) and to have a link on the main archives page, the header should include :

    * Confidential= No
    * Notebook= Yes, where, interval, Private

And if you want the archives to be accessible only by subscribers (with a password) but you do not want a link on the main archives page, the header should include

     * Confidential= Yes 
     * Notebook= Yes, where, interval, Private

Finally, if you want the archives to be available via the Web interface (either with or without a password), and you want a link on the main archives page, but you do not want your list to appear in the CataList or global list of lists, the header should include:

     * Confidential= Service 
     * Notebook= either Public or Private depending on your preference, as above.

NOTE: including the Confidential= keyword has other implications. For instance, if you want your list to appear in the CataList or be available via the Global List Exchange (GLX), you must set * Confidential= No. Consequently, advertising your list globally is not compatible with having your archives available via the Web and not having a link on the server's main archives index page.

 

What are the differences between a list owner and list editor?

Every list must have at least one list owner. The header entry for the primary list owner must be associated with your primary Texas A&M email account. (YourNetID@tamu.edu). This is defined by one or more "Owner=" lines in the list header configuration.

An owner is defined as a person with the ability to edit the list header configuration and add or remove subscribers to a list. An owner does not have the ability to post email to or receive email from the list, unless they are also listed as a subscriber. Do not assume that since they are an owner then they can "do anything”.

If "Errors-to= Owner" (singular) is displayed in the list header configuration, then the first owner listed (nearest the top of the header) receives all the error messages. If "Errors-to= Owners" (plural) is displayed, all the owners receive any error messages.

An editor is only needed for a moderated list (only when "Send= Editor" is used in the list header configuration.) If "Send= Public" or "Send= Private" is used, an editor is meaningless.

An editor is defined as a person with the ability to post to a moderated list. The first editor listed (nearest the top of the header) acts as the moderator. They receive all the postings from subscribers to approve. If you want all the editors to be able to approve posting, you must use the keyword: "Moderator= All, emailaddress1, emailaddress2, etc.” 

An editor will not receive a list email unless they are also subscribed to the list.

 

How do I add or edit the owners or editors on my list?

Owners and editors are included in the list header configuration, which can be modified using the List Owner's Web Interface. Select your list and click Configuration. Modify the * Owner= and/or * Editor= lines in the header of your list to remove, edit, or add owners and editors. Use the following syntax for these lines:

     * Owner= userid@tamu.edu (firstname lastname)     
     * Editor= userid@tamu.edu (firstname lastname)

Select Update to save your changes and replace the header. Reload retrieves another copy of the header from the server if you want to abandon your changes and start over. You may also use the List Wizard link to make changes to your header. The Wizard provides additional help and tools to maintain your list header.

 

How do I change the header fields of my list?

Method A:

1. Log in to https://listserv.tamu.edu/ with your email address and personal LISTSERV password.
       
2. Select the list you wish to edit from the pull-down list and click the Configuration button to directly edit the list header.

 

Method B:

1. Send an email to listserv@listserv.tamu.edu with the following command as a single line in the body of the message:

        get listname (head nolock)

2. The email header will be mailed to you. Make the desired changes and Forward or mail the header back to listserv@listserv.tamu.edu

   Important: The message you send back (which includes your updated header) should be carefully checked for the following:

    
   • It does not contain any lines before the PUT line.
   • It does not contain any '>' signs.
   • Your signature file is not attached at the beginning or end.

   While you are editing your header:

    
   • Remove all the lines above the PUT listname LIST PW=XXXXXXXX line.
   • Change the XXXXXXXX in that line to your personal LISTSERV password.
   • Change the desired header fields and send the message.

   LISTSERV sends a confirmation message on the successful replacement of your list header. See the LISTSERV List Owner Manual Appendix B for more information about header settings.

 

How do I add someone to my list? (How do I add a subscriber?)

Method A:

1. Log into http://listserv.tamu.edu using the email address with which you are listed as the owner of your list and your Listserv password.

2. From the "Options" bar at the top of the page, choose List Management and click on Subscriber Management.

3. Select the list you wish to add or remove subscribers to or from the pull-down menu.

4. Follow the directions and examples on the page to either examine, delete or add a subscriber.

 

Method B:

Send an email to listserv@listserv.tamu.edu with the following command as a single line in the body of the message: "add listname username@domain firstname lastname," example: add test-list jaggie@tamu.edu Joe Aggie.

To remove people from your list, use the command: del listname username@domain.

NOTE: Use the word quiet before "add" or "del" if you do not want the person to receive a notification.

 

How do I add or remove many people from my list at once?

You can add or remove many people to or from your list at one time using Listserv's Bulk Operations. Before using this feature, though, you will need to create a text file with the addresses and names of the individuals that need to be added or removed from your list. This file must be in plain text format.

Do not use programs like Microsoft Word or Excel, or Apple's Pages to generate these files. Even if you choose to "save as plain text," hidden characters will still be present in the file which will cause problems with your list. Even programs such as Microsoft's Notepad and Apple's TextEdit may leave these types of characters. Two free alternatives that you can use are Notepad++ for Windows (available here) and TextWrangler for OS X (available here). There are plain text editors which will not leave hidden characters in your file.

1. When creating your file, place each address to be added or removed on its own line. For example:

                   joe.aggie@tamu.edu Joe Aggie
                   john.doe@tamu.edu John Doe
                   janedoe@email.tamu.edu Jane Doe

2. Save the file somewhere you can find it easily.
3. Log into http://listserv.tamu.edu/ using the email address with which you are listed as the owner of your list and your LISTSERV password. 
4. Click on List Management in the menu on the left to display the list management tools, if they are not already displayed.
5. Choose Subscriber Reports.
6. Click the Bulk Operations link next to the Add Subscriber field.
7. You will have four options for how Listserv will handle the file you give it. You can add the address in the file to the list and remove none, remove all subscribers from the list and then add the addresses in your file, or remove the addresses in the file from your list and add no one.
8. Click on Choose File and select the file you created.
9. Click on Import. You should then see a message detailing how many addresses were added, changed, or removed.

 

How do I find out who is on my list?

Method A:    

• Log in to listserv.tamu.edu using your email address and LISTSERV password.
      
• Select the list you wish to review from the pull-down menu (if you own more than one list) or search for your list using the search boxes.
       
• Click the Subscribers button.
      
• Under Review the list membership at the bottom of the page, choose the method you would like use to review the list by selecting the appropriate link.

 

Method B:

Send an email to listserv@listserv.tamu.edu with the following command as a single line in the body of the message:

     review listname

To find all the subscribers who may have set their subscription to CONCEAL, send the command:

     query listname with conceal for *@*

 

How do I delete a list I no longer need?

Send listman@tamu.edu an email message asking that your list be deleted.

 

How do I change the name of a list?

To request that a list be renamed, the list owner needs to email helpdesk@tamu.edu with the following information:

• The current name of the list
• The new name of the list
• Reason for renaming the list

 

How do I transfer ownership of a list to a new owner?

Follow the instructions for "How do I change my owner or editor address on my list?". Once this has been done, the new owner can remove the owner entry for the previous owner from the header using the same procedure.

 

How do I change my owner or editor address on my list?

1.  Before your email address changes, modify the * Owner= and/or * Editor= line to the header of your list and add your new email address. Use the following syntax for these lines:  
   1.  * Owner= userid@node.net (firstname lastname)     
       * Editor= userid@node.net (firstname lastname)
2. After making this change, you can maintain your list from your new email address.
3. After verifying that you can manage your list using the new address, modify the header and remove the old address.

If you change your address, you should also unsubscribe from the "am-ownr" list and resubscribe from your new address.

 

How do I set up automatic subscriber renewal for my list?

Automatic subscriber renewal greatly reduces the maintenance of individual subscriptions and is highly recommended for all lists. It helps you as the list owner by periodically sending emails to your subscribers asking them to confirm their subscription to your list.

To add subscription renewal, add the following keyword to the header of your list using either the manual list header configuration method or by selecting the Renewal keyword from the List Maintenance tab of the configuration wizard:

• Renewal= interval

• Renewal= interval,Delay(number)

• Renewal= interval,Delay(number),Probe

Where interval is a period of time such as Weekly, Yearly, 6-monthly, or something similar, and Delay(number) is an integer corresponding to how many days LISTSERV will wait for the renewal confirmation to arrive.   (See "Renewal=" in Appendix B of the "List Owner's Manual" for more information on renewal and delay periods; see Chapter 4.9 above, for more information on the "Probe" parameter.) Note that you can have multiple interval parameters; see the entry for "Renewal=" in Appendix B for details.

The confirmation request sends an email to each subscriber asking them to send the command CONFIRM listname back to LISTSERV.  If the subscriber does not do so within a certain length of time, LISTSERV automatically deletes the subscription.  The default delay time is seven days.  If you wish to use the default delay time, it is not necessary to code ",Delay(7)" into your Renewal parameters. 

NOTE: You may wish to increase the delay time to accommodate users whose subscriptions expire over holidays (such as the Christmas/New Year's week) to avoid accidental deletions. Also, be aware that confused subscribers can and will send the CONFIRM command back to the list, rather than to LISTSERV. LISTSERV's default filter will catch these commands and forward them to the userid(s) defined by the "Errors-To=" keyword.

Subscription renewal can be waived for certain users (such as list owners, editors, redistribution lists, etc.).  To do this, simply issue the command:[QUIET] SET listname NORENEW FOR net-address to LISTSERV.  It is most advisable to do this in the case of redistribution lists, as they broadcast the renewal notice to their users, who a) cannot renew the subscription and b) become very confused when they see the notice, often sending "what does this mean?" mail to the list. 

You can also issue the CONFIRM command on behalf of a subscriber: [QUIET] CONFIRM listname FOR net-address. Note that active users of the list (people who post regularly to the list) will never be required to renew their subscriptions, nor (if subscription "probing" is enabled) will they ever be sent the passive subscription probe. LISTSERV presumes that such users have valid addresses, and it does not require a renewal confirmation from them.

 

Why are attachments I send not arriving to my subscribers?

Texas A&M Technology Services discourages sending attachments using Listserv. Sending attachments, especially large attachments, to a large number of people can cause A&M's email system to become bogged down and result in slow email delivery for everyone on campus. To avoid that, send links to files hosted on web servers rather than sending the files themselves. However, we also recognize that this is not always an option.

If you must send an attachment via Listserv, please limit to the size of the attachment to 1MB or smaller in order to comply with A&M's bulkmail guidelines. However, even small attachments may not arrive at your subscribers' email for a variety of reasons. Some of these are related specifically to listserv, but others may relate to email servers.

Listserv has several options that cover how attachments are handled. Some lists make use of the Attachments= keyword which dictates how attachments are handled, and what types of attachments can be sent. Full details on this keyword can be found on the LSoft manuals page. If your list is not using the Attachments= keyword, or if the attachment type is allowed, then there may be a server issue causing the problem.

Some mail servers do not allow certain file types, such as .zip and .exe files, from being sent as an email attachment. These servers will automatically remove these attachments if they deliver the message, or simply block the message entirely.

Some mail servers will send attachments using proprietary, non-standard, formats. A common example of this is Microsoft's TNEF format. A Microsoft Exchange server may be configured to use the TNEF format for attachments, which can cause problems when sending messages to recipients who do not use Microsoft Exchange. Additionally, Listserv does not understand TNEF format and will automatically drop attachments in this format. List owners can set

           Misc-Options=KEEP_EXCHANGE_DATA

in their list header to force Listserv to pass these TNEF formatted attachments to their list recipients, but many email clients will drop the TNEF attachment upon receipt anyway. Exchange customers, and people who have configured Outlook to accept TNEF formatted attachments, will receive them, but other subscribers will not. The best solution to guarantee that all of your subscribers can receive your attachment when you are using a Microsoft Exchange account is to speak to your Exchange administrator and ask them to disable converting attachments to TNEF if they leave the server. Information on turning off TNEF in Outlook can be found on Microsoft's website.