The first thing you need to do when your list is set up by the system
administrator is configure it and create WELCOME and INFO files. This section
will discuss some of the more important issues to consider when configuring
your list and refer you to sections of the Command Reference section for
commands related to each item discussed.
a) It is important to have WELCOME and INFO files in most cases. The
INFO file serves the purpose of informing potential users what your list
is all about. The INFO file should have a full description and any restrictions
imposed on the list membership. Potential subscribers should be able to
get the INFO file and decide upon reading it whether they want to subscribe
to your list. The WELCOME file should also tell what the list is about
but additionally should give instructions for how to get in touch with
list owners and/or moderators and give any rules and regulations of membership
in the list. For creating INFO and WELCOME files see section 6.A.1 EDIT
and section 6.A.2 PUT.
b) Do you want your subscriptions to your list to be open, closed, or
owner-controlled? Open means that anyone can subscribe to your list without
needing your prior approval. Subscription is by simply sending a message
to the ListProcessor asking to be added to the list. Owner-controlled means
that all subscription commands from users get forwarded to someone who
you designate as your subscription manager. If you, the owner, do not designate
a subscription manager, then you, the owner, become the subscription manager
by default. Closed means that no one can submit a subscribe command to
your list. You, the owner, may add people to your list but if anyone tries
to send a subscribe command they will get back a message saying that the
list is closed to subscriptions. For configuring your list as OPEN, CLOSED,
or OWNER-CONTROLLED see section 6.x.x CONFIGURATION
listname password OPEN-SUBSCRIPTIONS, section
6.x.x CONFIGURATION listname password
CLOSED-SUBSCRIPTIONS, and section 6.x.x.x CONFIGURATION
listname password OWNER-SUBSCRIPTIONS.
c) Do you want your list to be moderated or unmoderated? Moderated means
that all messages sent to the list by subscribers must be approved by the
list moderator before anyone else can see them. There are two types of
moderation. In moderated-no-edit the moderator is presented with the message
and a tag number. The moderator may then approve or discard the message
as is. In moderated-edit the moderator may not only approve the message
but also may edit it before sending it back to be posted to the list. Unmoderated
means that all messages sent to the list automatically get forwarded to
everyone subscribed to the list without the moderator's approval. If you,
the owner, do not designate a list moderator, then you, the owner, become
the subscription manager by default. For configuring your list as moderated
or unmoderated see section 6.B.x.x CONFIGURATION
listname password MODERATED-EDIT, section 6.B.x.x
CONFIGURATION listname password MODERATED-NO-EDIT,
and section 6.B.x.x CONFIGURATION listname
password UNMODERATED.
d) Do you want your list to be hidden or visible? Hidden means that
anyone requesting a list of all lists known to the server will not see
your list. Visible means that people requesting information about lists
supported by your server will see your list. You can have a visible list
and still restrict the amount of information people can obtain about your
list. For configuring your list as hidden or visible see section 6.B.x.x
CONFIGURATION listname password HIDDEN
LIST and section 6.B.x.x CONFIGURATION
listname password VISIBLE-LIST.
e) How much information can people get about your list? Every list has
an info file, a one line description, a series of attributes or settings,
and a list of its subscribers. You can restrict access to each individual
piece of this information, either only to list subscribers, to the general
public, or to no one. To control who can review your list see section 6.B.x.x
CONFIGURATION listname password REVIEW-TO-
To control who can obtain your list statistics see section 6.B.x.x
CONFIGURATION listname password STATISTICS-TO-
To determine whether anyone can see a list of your subscribers see section
6.B.x.x CONFIGURATION listname password
DEFAULT CONCEAL YES|NO
f) Will there be archives of your list, and if so, who will have access
to list archives? In addition to archives of material sent out by your
list you can also have archives of supplementary material. You control
access and determine whether a password is needed to access these materials.
For information on configuring archives of the list messages see section
6.B.x.x CONFIGURATION listname password
ARCHIVE To determine who can get access to the archives see
section 6.B.x.x CONFIGURATION listname password
ARCHIVES-TO-
g) How much information do you want to get about your list's operation? Getting list information and error messages is discussed in section 6.B.x.x CONFIGURATION listname password DEFAULT PREFERENCES and in section 6.F.x SET PREFERENCES with the following options for the preferences:
1. If your list is open, do you still want to know about all new subscribers? CCSUBSCRIBE CCUNSUBSCRIBE
2. Every time someone sends a request for a list of recipients, for information, for list statistics for a review of the list or a run command, do you want to receive a copy of the ListProc's response? CCREVIEW CCSTATISTICS CCINFORMATION CCRECIPIENTS
3. Every time a message comes in from someone in your 'ignore' file or someone not subscribed to your list if private, do you want to know? CCIGNORE
4. Do you want copies of all error messages? CCERRORS CCALL
These questions must be considered seriously because the more information
you request, the more mail you will be getting. If you want all of these
informational messages and you have an active list, you could get hundreds
of informational messages filling up your mailer each day. You can designate
someone else as recipient of all error messages if you want error messages
monitored but cannot take the time to do it yourself. To designate someone
as recipient of error messages see section 6.c.x.x CONFIGURATION
listname password DELIVERY-ERRORS-TO address
h) Is your list going to be mailed out as a digest or not? A digest
is a group of many messages sent out together in a single 'digest' message
and has the advantage of not filling up your users' mailboxes with large
amounts of mail from an active list. On the other hand, it delays the sending
of individual messages until enough messages have been received to make
up a digest. In a less active list this may be undesirable. To determine
whether your list is sent out as a digest or not, see section 6.B.x CONFIGURATION
listname password DIGEST frequency when
Keep in mind when a new list is set up that listproc has some built
in defaults. These defaults may be changed by the ListProcessor manager.
ListProc defaults are listed below with short explanations. Longer explanations
can be found in the various command sections below dealing with each of
these options. ListProc distribution defaults are:
Everything is open, that is the default list allows maximum access to all users. If you want a restricted list you must change those defaults.
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