HARPER@CSC.FI ("Robert Harper Finland", CSC) (01/30/91)
I wrote to find out a couple of things about the operation of LISTSERV to LSTERN-L. Here is the authorative reply from the man who wrote the programme and put in the CONFIRM code. On Tue, 29 Jan 91 13:05:00 O Robert Harper (CSC) Finland said: > >I have a couple of questions. > > > >1) Is there any way a LIST OWNER can determine if a subscriber > > has his options set to MAIL or NOMAIL. > >2) Is there any way that a List Owner can disable the CONFIRM option, > > or can certain subscribers be EXEMPTED from receiving CONFIRM messages. > > 1) Yep, QUERY list FOR user@node. > > 2) Sure. For confirm, you just need to put * Renewal=None in the list > header. To exempt some subscribers from CONFIRM messages, you may use > SET list NORENEW FOR user@node > -turgut So it looks like a list owner CAN modify the list headers to disable the confirm messages. In the past all the management of the list headers has been the responsibility of the Postmaster at Irlearn, and I have been dealing with the day to day management of the lists. Today that ment dealing with about 80 mail messages... it gets tough sometimes. I have messaged the people responsible and if they are listening hopefully the list headers of the Biosci lists can be changed so that Renewal=None This is not a trivial task, and I would hate to try to manage the whole operation from Helsinki when I think it could be managed so much easier by the local Postmaster who has the tools for this sort of operation. We never talk about the way messages are passed from IRLEARN to GENBANK, or how messages go from the UK to GENBANK. To do so would create more confusion than dispel it... it is that complicated. If anyone is really interested in the mechanics of it then they can write me personally and I will try my best to explain. One last bit of advice. I have seen lots of people REPLYING to the BioSci lists saying CONFIRM this/or/that. The CONFIRM is a LISTSERV COMMAND and if you send a confirm message to ANY OTHER address than LISTSERV@IRLEARN then you have made a big mistake. Uncle Rob's golden rule of networking if you are writing a message with CONFIRM in it make sure it is going to LISTSERV@IRLEARN You have made a mess of your nest if you send it to any other address. -=ROB=-