BRETTW@KSUVM.BITNET (Brett Watson -KSU Libraries) (02/06/90)
With all the problems about people subbing to the list and such, I thought I'd post this note. I send this to anyone who sends UNSUB commands to the list or people who send LISTSERV commands to the list. You can receive this to your disk and when you see someone doing the afore-mentioned, just reply to them sending this file. It's a NICE way of telling them the diff. between the list and the listserver. You insert the name of the list so it works for any list that you're on. ==================== Original Article ======================================= I am sending you this article, which originally appeared on NEW-LIST@NDSUVM1 in response to your recent posting to ----------------------original message-------------------------------- The Best Way to Subscribe to a List (or, Please Don't Send LISTSERV Commands to the List Address) by Ben Geer, BGEER@HAMPVMS Ever since I've been using Bitnet, I've seen a lot of messages on various lists (I'll use PSI-L as an example) that say something like "SUB PSI-L Susan Smith," or "Please add me to this list," or "Please cancel my subscription," or "How do I subscribe to this list?" These messages clutter up mailboxes and list archives, and may not get you subscribed. LISTSERV (the list server program that manages most Bitnet lists) can handle subscription requests automatically, but not if you send them to the list address. You must send them to LISTSERV. In the case of PSI-L, the address to use is LISTSERV@RPIECS. If you send a subscription request to the list address (e.g. PSI-L@RPIECS), it will be sent to all the subscribers of the list, but not to the list server; it may be ignored, and even if it isn't, it will irritate the list owner and the other subscribers. It's fine to send subscription requests directly to the list owner (e.g. I'm the owner of PSI-L, so you could send a request to BGEER@HAMPVMS), but it's simpler to handle your own subscription. Suppose you wanted to subscribe to PSI-L, and your name is Susan Smith. All you have to do is send this message to LISTSERV@RPIECS (*not* PSI-L@RPIECS): SUB PSI-L Susan Smith LISTSERV will then send you a message to let you know that you've been added to the list. No muss, no fuss, and it gets the job done quickly and reliably. Ben Geer BGEER@HAMPVMS