* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MIT Information Systems (Operations & Systems) will host a LISTSERV electronic mail-distribution list on MITVMA.MIT.EDU if it pertains to MIT business, or at least is sponsored by a member of the MIT community, even if its subscribers are mostly elsewhere. A request to establish a list must be sent to Postmaster from a member of the MIT community who will accept responsibility for the list, and can speak for the group whenever questions arise regarding either mechanics or usage. If the load on the system from lists not pertaining to MIT business becomes a problem, we may have to re-evaluate hosting of such lists. If the list appears to be abandoned (i.e., the owner cannot be reached via the registered address), the list will be deleted. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | This file is to help you in creating a List of your own | | on the LISTSERV at MITVMA. | | LISTSERV cannot create a list automatically. The LISTSERV | | maintainer must initally create the list for you. However, | | after creation, maintenance of the list is the responsibility | | of the owner or owners. | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Below, you will find a sample LISTSERV List Header. Each line of the list header begins with an asterisk (*). Complete the information requested and send it (only the header please, and a cover letter, if you wish) via e-mail to POSTMASTER@MITVMA.MIT.EDU. Upon receipt of the list header, the LISTSERV maintainer will contact you. *After* your list has been created, you should ask LISTSERV for additional information by sending the following commands to LISTSERV@MITVMA.MIT.EDU info listownr info refcard -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Communicating with LISTSERV is done in one of two ways, interactively or via e-mail. If e-mail is used, send the LISTSERV commands to LISTSERV@MITVMA.MIT.EDU The commands should be places in the text part of the mail. From a CMS account use the 'tell' command, or e-mail. From a VMS account use the 'send' command, or e-mail. From the MITnet or Internet use e-mail. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please fill in the ListName, ListTitle and Owner fields and make your changes (as necessary) to any of the other keyword parameters. A description of list header keywords can be found following this sample list header. * What is the name of this list ? * From 4 to 8 characters from the following set: A-Z 0-9 $#+-_ * ListName= XXXXXXXX * Example---> SAMPLE-L * * What is the title of this list ? * ListTitle= XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX * Example--> A Sample Discussion List * * What is the e-mail address of the owner of this list ? * (There can be more than one owner, just dup the line) * Owner= XXXXXX@XXXX.XXXXXX.XXXX.XXX.XX (Xxxx X Xxxxxx) * Example--> Owner= NHART@MITVMA.MIT.EDU (Noel P Hart) * * Review= Public * Subscription= Open * Send= Public * Notify= yes * Reply-To= List,Respect * Files= No * Ack= No * Validate= Store Only * Renewal= Yearly * Confidential= Service * Service= Local * Notebook= Yes,G,Monthly,Public * Stats= None * Errors-To= Owners * *********** A description of list header keywords ************* The following is a description of the list control keywords that appear in the header of each list. Whenever default values are supplied for the keywords, they are listed first in the description. Words enclosed in parenthesis are "(generic parameters)" which define a set of possible values for a keyword operand. A desctiption of 'Generic Parameters' such as net-address, access-level etc. can be found following 'List control keywords'. List control keywords --------------------- *********************** * Ack= Yes | Msg | No * *********************** Defines the default value of the "ACK/NOACK" distribution option for the corresponding list, ie the value assigned to new users when they subscribe to the list. This value can be altered by subscribers ("SET" command), but not by users who are not signed on to the list. This means that this option will always be in effect when distributing mail from people who are not on the distribution list. Yes Messages will be sent when your mail file is being proces- sed. Additionally, a short acknowledgment with statistical information on the mailing will be sent back to you, in case a link failure prevented you from receiving the messa ges. This is the default. Msg Messages will be sent when your mail file is being proces- sed. Statistical information will be sent via messages, but no acknowledgment mail will be sent. No A single message, but no acknowledgment mail nor statistics will be sent when your mail file is being processed. ************************************ * Confidential= No | Yes | Service * ************************************ Indicates whether the list should be hidden from users or not. A con- fidential list will not appear on the "List" command output. "No" is the default value and indicates that the list is not confidential. "Service" indicates that the list is to be hidden from users who are not in the list's service area (see "Service=" keyword) but not from other users. "Yes" means that the list is unconditionally confidential. ********************************************* * Editor= (net-address1),(net-address2),... * ********************************************* Defines the list editor(s). When used in conjunction with the "Send= Editor" option, it causes all mail sent to the list to be automatically forwarded to the first person listed in the "Editor=" keyword, who will then send it back to the list at his discretion. The editors are the only persons (with the list owners) who are allowed to mail directly to the list. Note that ANY editor can send mail to the list while only the FIRST one will receive copies of mail sent to the list. The file will be forwarded to the editor 'as is', without being included in a mail envelope. This method makes sure that the original "Resent-" tags (if any) and "To:" keyword are preserved. BITNET editors will receive the forwarded mailfile in their mailbox in Netdata format (or whatever is the default format for their operating system), while non-BITNET editors will receive it via their mailing system with an extra mail envelope being generated to enclose the original (unaltered) mailfile. IMPORTANT NOTE: The editor MUST be a human person, not a file server, list server, mailer, or suchlike. Specifying a program's mailbox as "Editor=" could result in a mailing loop. ************************************************ * Errors-To= (mon-address1),(mon-address2),... * ************************************************ Defines the person or list of persons that are to receive rejection mail for the list. The default value is 'Postmaster', and it is recom- mended that the owners change it to 'Owners' or 'Owners,Postmaster' as soon as they become familiar with Revised LISTSERV. ******************* * Files= Yes | No * ******************* Indicates whether files can be sent to the list or not. The default value is "Yes". *********************** * Formcheck= No | Yes * *********************** Indicates whether files to be redistributed to the list must have a FORM of REDIST to be accepted or not. The default value is "No", but can be changed to "Yes" if for some reason it is suspected that files can be accidentally sent to the list userid without being intended for redistribution. Note that on some systems the FORM field is imposed by the networking software and cannot be changed by the user. ******************* * Language= idiom * ******************* Defines the language in which information mail and messages are to be sent to subscribers of the list. The postmaster must have provided the required data file to the server, of course. The default language is "English". Currently only information mail is available in several languages. A further release might incorporate customized messages by using the :country tag in BITEARN NODES to determine the idiom to be used. ************************** * Local= node1,node2,... * ************************** Defines the nodes which are to be considered as 'local nodes' for both service area checking and mail header grouping. The local node is automatically considered as a 'local node' and does not have to appear in the list. Subscribers from any of the local nodes will receive separate pieces of mail with a single recipient in the "To:" field -- in other words, they will never receive a grouped piece of mail as non-local recipients would if there are more than one recipient in their node. Note that 'node' is a generic term that means "anything after the '@' sign in the network address". For instance, "FRECP11" and "VAX2.LAB1.LAN" are both valid node names. Note: On MITVMA.MIT.EDU, "Local" means MIT sites only. **************************************************************** * Notebook= No | (Yes,(fm),(interval)|Separate,(access-level)) * **************************************************************** Indicates whether or not an automatic log of every piece of mail sent to the list is to be kept, and defines at which interval of time its file name must be changed and who is allowed to retrieve it from the server. The default values are "Notebook= No,A,Single,Private". (fm) Is the filemode of the disk on which the notebook is to be kept. This information is of little importance to users, except perhaps to the users of the server's host computer who might, in certain circumstances, be allowed to LINK to one of the server's disks (containing public information). Contact the local LISTSERV operation staff for more infor- mation. (interval) Defines the filetype of the "notebook" file for the list, as indicated below (the filename will always be the same as the list name): Single: A single file of filetype "NOTEBOOK" is created. Yearly: A new file is started each yearly, filetype is "LOGyy" Monthly: The filetype is "LOGyymm" Weekly: The filetype is "LOGyymmw" (w in "A"-"E") Separate: A separate file is kept for each mailing (eg digests). The filetype is "yy-nnnnn" (sequential counter). Note: notebooks can now be retrieved by means of the GET command. A list of all available notebooks can be obtained with a GET NOTEBOOK FILELIST command. ******************** * Notify= Yes | No * ******************** Defines whether the list owner is to receive notification of new subscriptions and deletions, etc. The default is "Yes". ********************************************* * Owner= (net-address1)|(access-level1),... * ********************************************* Defines the person or list of persons who "own" the list. They are responsible for controlling access to the list and defining the list control keywords which are best suited to the purpose of the list. The default value for this keyword which should ALWAYS appear in the list header is the list of the userids of the postmasters. Any combination of explicit network addresses and complex access-levels is acceptable, for example: Owner= BIG@BLUE,(STAFF-L),Owner(MAIN-L) An interesting application is to create a STAFF-L list containing the userids of all the local LISTSERV staff members and set the "Owner=" keyword of all local lists to "Owner= (STAFF-L)". This way when there is a change in the local LISTSERV management it is not necessary to modify the headers of all the lists -- just modify the STAFF-L list. ****************************** * Peers= (peer1),(peer2),... * ****************************** Defines the (global) list of all the servers in the world that are