Managing a Listserv mailing list

Details

A ListServ mailing list can be managed with a web based interface or by sending commands to the list via email.

The web based interface can be found at:

  1. Go to http://listserv.dartmouth.edu.
  2. Log in using your full Dartmouth email address, e.g. firstname.m.lastname@dartmouth.edu, with your email password. NOTE: If you are a student, you will need to add your class year following the lastname; e.g., john.a.doe.18@dartmouth.edu.
  3. To locate your list, either scroll through the lists and click on your list, or use the Access Unlisted Lists search box.
  4. From the menu bar, select your desired activity in the List Management menu.

A list can also be managed via email by a list owner or a subscriber. To manage the list via email, send email to listserv@listserv.dartmouth.edu with an appropriate command in the body of the mail message. The most frequently used commands include:

Initiated by List Owners

  • ADD listname emailaddress firstname lastname: Adds a subscriber to the list and notifies the subscriber of the addition (e.g., ADD Cabin-Trail John.Doe@dartmouth.edu John Doe).
  • QUIET DELete listname emailaddress: Removes a subscriber from the list, but does not notify the subscriber of the deletion (e.g., QUIET DEL Cabin-Trail John.Doe@dartmouth.edu).
  • GET listname (NOLOCK): Returns the list of subscribers, including any concealed subscribers without removing the list from service [e.g., GET Cabin-Trail (NOLOCK)].
  • GET listname (NOLOCK HEADER): Returns the configuration information about a list without locking the list [e.g., GET Cabin-Trail (NOLOCK HEADER)].

Initiated by Subscribers

  • SUBscribe listname username: Adds a user to the list of subscribers (e.g., SUB Cabin-Trail John Doe).
  • SIGNOFF listname: Removes a user from the list of subscribers (e.g., SIGNOFF Cabin-Trail).
  • REView listname: Sends the user a list of the subscribers (e.g., REV Cabin-Trail).
  • INDEX listname: Sends the user a list of the archive files (e.g., INDEX Cabin-Trail).
  • SEND filename: Sends the user an archive file listed by the INDEX command (e.g., SEND Cabin-Trail.LOG0701E).

Listserv is a rich environment. There are facilities that control Web distribution of archives, topics within a list, automatically deleting failed addresses, and many other features. An interactive product demonstration of the web interface used for listserv management and documentation are available on the L-Soft Website.

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