ATG2G@ASUACAD.BITNET (Gene Glass) (02/21/90)
The purpose of this guide is to help you understand the use of
listservs. If you have additional questions about the EDPOLYAN list
contact Gene Glass at ATGVG@ASUACAD.
WHAT IS A LISTSERV?
"Listserver" or "LISTSERV" is a special kind of user email account;
instead of a person at the other end there is a program that maintains
lists, stores files, and responds to your commands. The listserver
for EDPOLYAN is LISTSERV@ASUACAD (ASUACAD is a bitnet node at ARIZONA
STATE UNIVERSITY). A "list" or "distribution list" is a list of persons
used by the listserver to distribute mail and files. The list name
(e.g., EDPOLYAN) identifies the particular distribution list.
USING THE EDPOLYAN LIST
EDPOLYAN is like an electronic mailing list. Mail sent to EDPOLYAN is
distributed to everyone on the list.
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To send a message to EDPOLYAN
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Send mail to the list as you would sent mail to any other userid. At
the TO: prompt enter:
TO: EDPOLYAN@ASUACAD.BITNET (the .BITNET is optional on most systems)
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To respond to an EDPOLYAN message
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Respond to the entire list: The EDPOLYAN list is set up to reply
automatically to the list. That is, if you read a message and use
the REPLY command, your response will be delivered to everyone on
the list.
Respond to an individual: Send mail directly to the person's
userid@node address.
MAIL MESSAGE ETIQUETTE
Keep messages relevant to the topic of the list.
Cover only one subject per message.
Be careful when using the REPLY command; mail intended for an
individual will be received by everyone on the list, creating
confusion and increasing network traffic needlessly.
When responding to a message, either "attach" the original message
(if it is short) or lead your response with a clear reference to
the original message.
When requesting information from list members you may want to ask
that they send their responses to you directly; generally the
response rate will be higher because people are more willing to
share information privately than publicly.
Provide feedback to the group. After you have the information you
requested, write up a summary and send it to the list so that
others will benefit from what you have learned.
LISTSERVER COMMANDS
There is a difference between sending mail to a list and sending
commands to a listserver. The commands described in this section are
listserver commands which are sent to listserv@node (e.g.,
LISTSERV@ASUACAD)
rather than listname@node (e.g., EDPOLYAN@ASUACAD).
Listserver commands can be sent from the system prompt or by mail. Use
of the system prompt is recommended because mail is more likely to
produce errors.
The commands in this guide work on an IBM running VM/CMS. If you are
on a VAX computer running VMS substitute "SEND" for "TELL" and "@"
for "AT".
To send listserv commands by mail:
1. Place the listserver@node on the TO: line (e.g.,
TO:LISTSERV@ASUACAD)
2. Place the command (e.g., REVIEW EDPOLYAN) on the first line of the
text (if this doesn't work, try including it in the SUBJ: line).
3. If sending more than one command, put one command per line.
4. Include no blank lines (no double spacing between commands).
Note: There are mail systems which cannot send commands
to listservs without special procedures, EMC2 from Fischer is
one. If you are using such a mail system, send a note
with your listserv requests directly to the listowner
(ATGVG@ASUACAD).
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Joining a listserv
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TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD SUBSCRIBE EDPOLYAN your full name
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@ASUACAD SUBSCRIBE EDPOLYAN your full name
This command will work if the list is an "open" list (EDPOLYAN is).
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Resigning from a list
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TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD SIGNOFF EDPOLYAN
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@ASUACAD SIGNOFF EDPOLYAN
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To receive information about the EDPOLYAN list
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TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD REVIEW EDPOLYAN
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@ASUACAD REVIEW EDPOLYAN
This command will return a file (not mail) to you of the directory
information and a list of current members.
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To obtain a list of EDPOLYAN files
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As of January 1, 1990, there is an archive of EDPOLYAN messages sent
to the list ("log" files). There is one log file for each calendar
year. You can obtain a list of the files currently stored on EDPOLYAN
by issuing the command:
TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD INDEX EDPOLYAN
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@ASUACAD INDEX EDPOLYAN
Once you have a list of the EDPOLYAN files, use the filename and the
filetype in the following command to transfer a file to your
computer:
TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD GET filename filetype
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@ASUACAD GET filename filetype
The log files all have a filename of EDPOLYAN and a filetype of
"LOGyymm" where "yy" = the calendar year and "mm"= the month. To obtain
a file of messages for February of the year 1990 issue the command:
TELL LISTSERV AT SUVM GET DASIG LOG9002
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@SUVM GET DASIG LOG9002
Files (manuscripts) other than the List log have been archived on
EDPOLYAN by its owners. You will see their names when you request the
EDPOLYAN Index. These files can be retrieved just as if they were logs:
TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD GET filename filetype
or on a VAX
SEND LISTERV@ASUACAD GET filename filetype
Whenever you request a file index or a specific file, you will receive
files not mail.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you would like more information on listservs, there are online
help facilities as well as manuals available from the ASUACAD listserv
as well as any other listserv host.
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To obtain online help
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A list of the most commonly used listserv commands will print on your
screen when you issue the following command:
TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD HELP
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@ASUACAD HELP
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To obtain additional information
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A list of information guides available from LISTSERV@ASUACAD will be
send to your screen when you issue the following command:
TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD INFO ?
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@ASUACAD INFO ?
Once you have the list, you may order any guide using the following
command (I have used the guide LISTSERV MEMO as an example):
TELL LISTSERV AT ASUACAD GET LISTSERV MEMO
or on a VAX
SEND LISTSERV@ASUACAD GET LISTSERV MEMO
Any comments, suggestions or corrections to the information in this
guide should be sent to ATGVG AT ASUACAD.
(This guide was adapted from a file written by Dennis W. Viehland.)
February 20, 1990.
_______________________________________________________________________
GENE V GLASS ATGVG AT ASUACAD
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 602-965-2692
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY