Add and delete members

Membership list and mail delivery

List security: command-confirm or password-protected

Other tasks

Send commands to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu

1. Start your e-mail program.
2. Address a mail message to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu. Don't put anything else in the mail header.
3. In the message text, type the commands you want to use (see below). You may put as many commands as you want in the message, as long as each command is on a separate line.
4. Erase any signature lines and/or turn off auto-inclusion of your signature file. (LISTSERV treats signature lines as commands and will send error messages saying "unknown command".)

Parts of the command line

listname = your list's ID (3-15 characters)
userid@address = a person's ID and e-mail address
Firstname Lastname = a person's actual name
options = a person's mail choices such as REPRO, NOMAIL, DIGEST

Example of message with commands sent to LISTSERV

     To      : listserv@listserv.ksu.edu
     Cc      :
     Attchmnt:
     Subject :
     ----- Message Text -------------------------------------
     ADD     news-l   president@whitehouse.gov    Bill Clinton
     DELETE  news-l   editor@ksu.edu
     ADD     news-l   editor@lan.ksu.edu   William White
     REVIEW  news-l
     GET     news-l   LOG9709

Add a person to the list

Send one of the following command formats to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu. ADD gives the person a subscription notice; QUIET ADD doesn't.

           ADD listname userid@address Firstname Lastname
     QUIET ADD listname userid@address Firstname Lastname

Add many people to the list

Send the following text to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu, filling in the list's ID and the members' IDs, addresses, and real names.

     QUIET ADD listname DD=X IMPORT
     //X DD *
     userid1@address  Firstname  Lastname
     userid2@address  Firstname  Lastname
     userid3@address  Firstname  Lastname
     /*

Using QUIET ADD means all the people will be added to the list without receiving a subscription notice. Using just ADD means all the people who are added will receive a subscription message.

Delete a list member

Send either one of these commands to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu:

           DELETE listname userid@address
     QUIET DELETE listname userid@address

DELETE gives the member a cancellation message; QUIET DELETE doesn't.

Delete multiple people from a list

Send commands to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu with ok begin as the first line and ok end after your last command:

     ok begin
           DELETE listname userid1@address
           DELETE listname userid2@address
           DELETE listname userid3@address
     QUIET DELETE listname userid4@address
     QUIET DELETE listname userid5@address
     QUIET DELETE listname userid6@address
     ok end

DELETE gives the member a cancellation message; QUIET DELETE doesn't.

Change a member's ID and/or address

To make a change, you actually have to delete the member's old subscription and then add them again with their new ID and/or new address. Send a message to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu using both of the following commands:

     QUIET DELETE listname userid@address
     QUIET ADD listname newuserid@newaddress

Get the membership list

     REVIEW listname

Find a member and their mail-delivery settings

Send either of these commands to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu. If you know the member's ID and address, use the first command. If you only know the member's address, use the second command. If you only know the member's real name, you'll have to get the membership list (see above).

     QUERY listname FOR userid@address
     QUERY listname FOR *@address

Find which members are using a specific mail-delivery option

Send any of these commands to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu.

     QUERY listname WITH CONCEAL FOR *@*
     QUERY listname WITH NOMAIL FOR *@*
     QUERY listname WITH REPRO FOR *@*
     QUERY listname WITH TOPICS: topics FOR *@*

CONCEAL shows all members who have concealed subscriptions on your list. NOMAIL shows all members who have turned off their mail delivery from your list. REPRO shows all members who are getting copies of mail they send to the list. WITH TOPICS: shows all members who are only receiving list messages on the specified topic.

Set mail-delivery options for a member

Send any of these commands to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu.

     QUIET SET listname options FOR userid@address
     QUIET SET listname NOMAIL FOR userid@address
     QUIET SET listname REPRO FOR userid@address
     QUIET SET listname DIGEST FOR userid@address

Standard options available include MAIL/NOMAIL, DIGEST/NODIGEST, ACK/NOACK, CONCEAL/NOCONCEAL, REPRO/NOREPRO. For a complete list of options, see the section "Options that may be set" in the online List Owner's Manual.

Get a month's log of correspondence

Send the following command to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu:

     GET listname LOGyymm

where yymm is the 4-digit number for the year and month.
For example, to get the KTECH-L list's log file for August 1997: get ktech-l log9708

Change your list from command-confirm to password-protected

Password-protected (Validate=Yes) means the owner defines a "personal password" once to LISTSERV, and then uses the password thereafter when sending list changes -- adding or deleting members, or revising the list's setups. Whenever LISTSERV receives a command accompanied by the owner's personal password, it won't ask for an "OK" message because the password verifies the owner's identity. Each owner has only one "personal password" for LISTSERV, regardless of how many lists he/she owns; this one password works for all the owner's password-protected lists. (When a personal password is registered or changed, the owner will still have to confirm or "OK" it to LISTSERV.)

Almost all lists at K-State were initially set as command-confirm. To change your list to password-protected:

1. Send e-mail to the LISTSERV counselor at listhelp@listserv.ksu.edu and request your list be changed. Be sure to specify:
   • that you want your list(s) changed from command-confirm to password-protected
   • the exact ID of each list you want changed

2. Register a personal password with LISTSERV by sending e-mail to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu with this command in the text:

        PW  ADD  mypassword
   

   where "mypassword" is a 6- to 8-character alphanumeric password you choose. This password identifies you to LISTSERV. Don't use your Unix log-on password!

3. After the LISTSERV counselor notifies you that your list has been changed to password-protected, you can add and delete members by sending e-mail to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu with the following format -- where "PW=mypassword" follows each command:

        ADD listname userid1@address Firstname Lastname PW=mypassword
        DEL listname userid2@address PW=mypassword
   

   where "mypassword" is your own personal password. LISTSERV will send a summary report as usual of the membership changes made.

Register a personal password with LISTSERV

Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu with this command in the text:

     PW  ADD  mypassword

where "mypassword" is the password you've chosen. Do NOT use your log-on password! This establishes a personal password as a security mechanism, so LISTSERV can verify that any e-mail from your address is really being sent by you (and not being forged by someone else. So whenever you send list-control commands to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu with your personal password, LISTSERV basically says, "Oh, yes, I can tell that's really you because you provided the secret password that only you and I know."

Forgot your personal password?

If you've forgotten your password, just change it. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu with this command in the text:

     PW  CHANGE  newpassword

LISTSERV will request an "OK" confirmation from you via e-mail.

Change your LISTSERV personal password

You can change your personal password as many times and as often as you want. Send the following command to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu:

     PW  CHANGE  newpassword

LISTSERV will request an "OK" confirmation from you via e-mail.

Add/delete members on password-protected list

Send any of the following commands to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu:

     ADD listname userid1@address Firstname Lastname PW=mypassword
     DEL listname userid2@address PW=mypassword

where "mypassword" is your personal password.

Make ownership changes on the list

1. Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu with this command in the text:

        GET listname (HEADER
   

2. When the header arrives, you'll notice that all the header lines begin with an asterisk (*). It is essential to keep that same format.
   • Copy or cut-and-paste all the header lines into a work space.
   • Change the OWNER= settings and any others as needed.
   • Remove any comment marks (>) in front of the header lines.

3. Copy the updated header into a message addressed to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu.
   Add a PUT command at the top. If you don't know which one to use, use the command-confirm PUT (LISTSERV will tell you if you need a password):
   • For a command-confirm list:   PUT listname LIST
   • For a password-protected list:   PUT listname LIST PW=mypassword

4. Remove any signature lines (or type QUIT above them), then send the message to LISTSERV.

Get a summary of the K-State lists you belong to

Send the following command to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu:

     QUERY  *

This can also show all the K-State lists you own if you're subscribed to the lists you own.

Create a customized welcome message

1. Review the LISTSERV manual section "Customizing LISTSERV's Default Mail Templates".
2. Send this command to LISTSERV via e-mail: GET DEFAULT MAILTPL
3. Once you receive the DEFAULT MAILTPL file from LISTSERV, store it on your local machine. Then make a copy of it and name the copy
   listname MAILTPL where listname is the name of your list. Keep the original DEFAULT MAILTPL file in case you make a mistake and need to copy it again.
4. Edit the $SIGNUP section of your new listname MAILTPL file, inserting the text of your new welcome message. (See "Creating and editing a MAILTPL file for a list")
5. Before you PUT the template file back to LISTSERV, be sure you've defined a "personal password" to LISTSERV by using the command "PW ADD mypassword". If you've done this previously but can't remember your password, send a "PW CHANGE newpassword" command to LISTSERV.
6. Send your new MAILTPL file to listserv@listserv.ksu.edu with the following command at the top of the file's text:    PUT listname MAILTPL PW=mypassword

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Kansas State University
January 7, 2001