Discussion Lists:
Mailing List Manager Commands

• Introduction to MLM's
  • E-Mail Discussion Lists
  • About This Document
  • Which MLM?
  • Sending commands to the MLM
  • Finding Out More About MLM's

• MLM Commands
  • Join a list
  • Leave a list
  • Receive the list in digest format
  • Cancel digest format
  • Suspend mail temporarily
  • Resume receipt of messages
  • Receive copies of your own messages
  • Do not receive copies of your own messages
  • Obtain a list of subscribers
  • Conceal your address
  • Obtain a list of lists
  • Obtain a list of archive files
  • Retrieve an archive file
  • Search the archives

E-mail discussion lists constitute one of the most popular methods of group communication on the Internet. Discussion lists support group communication by providing, at minimum, two basic functions: (1) the ability to distribute a message to a group of people by sending it to a single, central address, and (2) the ability to quietly join and leave the list at any time.

In order to provide these separate functions, an e-mail discussion list typically has two addresses associated with it: (1) a "listname address," the address to which you send any messages that you intend to be read by the list subscribers; and (2) an "administrative address," the address to which you send any commands or requests that affect your subscription to the list. It's easy to remember this distinction by thinking of your local newspaper: the first address is somewhat analogous to sending a "letter to the editor," while the second is like sending a letter to the newspaper's subscription office.

With most discussion lists, the "administrative address" is a computer program called a "mailing list manager" or MLM. The MLM allows the subscriber to subscribe and unsubscribe automatically, without external intervention. There are at least five popular mailing list manager programs used to manage most Internet discussion lists: L-Soft's LISTSERV(R) (formerly called BITNET LISTSERV), Unix ListProcessor (or Listproc), Mailbase, Mailserv, and Majordomo. The commands for subscribing and unsubscribing under most of these programs are the same; however, other useful commands differ greatly from one program to another, and some programs support features that others do not.

This document does not describe all the features supported by any of these programs, only those most commonly used. For more information on any of these programs, send a message containing only the word "help" to the appropriate mail server. Additional programs and commands will be added in future revisions of this document.

This document also does not deal with discussion lists to which one subscribes by sending a message to "[listname]-request," sometimes referred to as "Internet lists." There are a great many discussion lists of this type; some are distribution lists maintained manually by the listowner, while others use some form of mailing list manager software ranging from a simple script to a fairly sophisticated mailing list program. Some require that subscription requests be placed in the message text; others require them to be included in the Subject: line. Because of the variety of methods of maintaining these lists, it is impossible to generalize about their command features. However, as a rule, assume that any discussion list with an administrative address of "[listname]-request" is maintained manually by a human being. Accordingly, you should subscribe by sending a friendly message in plain English to "[listname]-request." If a program responds with instructions for subscribing, follow the instructions.

The latest version of this document is available by e-mail as well as on the World Wide Web:

E-mail:   Send a message containing only the line

          GET MAILSER CMD NETTRAIN

          to LISTSERV@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu.

Web:      lawwww.cwru.edu/cwrulaw/faculty/milles/mailser.html (old address)

    

When you subscribe to a list, you will typically receive a "welcome" message, describing the purpose of the list and telling you how to unsubscribe. Save this message! It tells you which program the discussion list is run under, and how to get further help.

Mailing list managers can be confusing. Many people use the term "listserv" generically, to refer to any list mail server program. To make things worse, the Unix ListProcessor (listproc) program was originally called "listserv," just like LISTSERV(R). Many listproc hosts are still configured with the name "listserv," and will accept commands addressed to "listserv@[host]" as well as to the correct name, "listproc@[host]."

Usually--but not always--you can find out which program a discussion list is run under by examining the message headers. For instance, listproc lists should include a line saying "Unix ListProcessor." However, the best practice is to save any "welcome" message you receive when you subscribe, and to note at that time which set of commands is applicable.

Remember to send all commands to the "administrative address"--[mailserver]@[host]--not to the "listname address". [Mailserver] is the program that maintains the list (either listproc, LISTSERV, mailbase, mailserv, or majordomo); [host] is the address of the host computer (for example, ucdavis.edu or cleo.murdoch.edu.au).

Be sure to leave the Subject: line blank, and to delete any signature file if your mailer allows you to do so.

Always include the name of the list in the message to [mailserver]@[host]. Most mailserver sites maintain many different discussion lists, and it is essential that you tell the mail server which list you are talking about.

For instance, to join the discussion list law-lib@ucdavis.edu, send an e-mail message containing only the command

    SUBSCRIBE LAW-LIB John Doe

For information on how to obtain and install these discussion list packages and many others, see the "Mailing List Management Software FAQ" by Norm Aleks, available at http://www.greatcircle.com/list-managers/software-faq

For background information on the mechanics of starting and running a discussion list, see "Starting and Owning a Mailing List," by Sylvia Caras, [previously] available at http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/apr97/maillist.html

For help finding an Internet Service Provider to host your list, see "Internet Mailing List Providers," at http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/edmonds/usenet/ml-providers.txt

(Note: due to file space limitations and other reasons, many lists do not offer digests.)

Boolean searches are possible using the symbols "&" (and), "|" (or), and "~" (not). For example, to search for "mead" or "mdc" in law-lib, use the command
SEARCH LAW-LIB "mead | mdc"

    //  JOB  Echo=No

    Database Search DD=Rules

    //Rules DD   *

    Search nafta in int-law since 93/6/1

    Index

    /*

    

Once you've received a list of messages matching your query, send another message to LISTSERV@[host] to retrieve the specific messages you want:

   //  JOB  Echo=No

   Database Search DD=Rules

   //Rules DD   *

   Search nafta in int-law since 93/6/1

   Print all of 636 637 640

   /*