Your Mailing List Subscription Options

How to change your address, avoid receiving spam, and other subscription settings

Once you've subscribed to a list and chosen whether to receive individual messages or digests, you can control various other subscription settings. The exact settings vary from list server to list server. Most list servers let you change the address under which you are subscribed and prevent your name from appearing on lists of subscribers. For a few commands, we show "???" in the tables below instead of a command: this means that either there is no such command, or that we don't know about it.

Some list servers provide a Web-baed interface that you can use for changing your subscription settings. All Lyris lists can be configured on the Web, along with many ListProc lists. Check the welcome message you received when you subscribed!

Displaying Your Subscription Settings

To see what settings your subscription currently has, send the following command to the administrative address (the list server name followed by @ and the host computer name, like majordomo@gurus.com) for the list, typing the command in the body of the message (replacing listname with the exact name of the list):

Commands to Display Your Subscription Settings

List Server Command

LISTSERV query listname

ListProc set listname

Majordomo ???

Lyris query listname

Changing Your Address

If your e-mail address changes, you can sign off from the list using your old address and sign onto the list using your new address. But what if you no longer have access to your old account? Write to the list manager and ask him/her to change your address (be sure to mention your old address, your new address, and the list name).

Some list servers have a command that allows you to change your own address. In order to verify that you are actually the subscriber who you say you are, the list server may require that you provide a password, which is included in the welcome message that you get when you subscribe to the list.

To change the address at which you receive messages from the list, send the following command to the administrative address for the list, typing the command in the body of the message (replacing listname with the exact name of the list):

Commands to Change Your Address

List Server Command

LISTSERV ???

ListProc set listname address password new-address

(Replace password with the password you received when you subscribed to the list, and new-address with your new address. ListProc identifes you by the password.)

Majordomo unsubscribe listname old-address
subscribe listname

(Replace old-address with your old address, the address under which you used to be subscribed to the list.)

Lyris set listname email=[new-address]
(This command has to come from your old address.)

Receiving Daily Digests

For high-volume lists, it may be more convenient to receive all the messages for the day (or other period of time, as defined by the list manager) rather than individually. If you use a good e-mail program (like Eudora), a better idea is to have your e-mail program sort the mailing list messages into a separate incoming mailbox, where you can read them. But some older, crummier e-mail programs (like AOL's) can't do this, so digests may be a good idea.

Majordomo doesn't handle digests by switching a setting: instead, you unsubscribe from the regular list and subscribe to the digest list, which usually has the name listname-digest.

Commands for Receiving Digests

List Server Command

LISTSERV set listname digest (to receive digests)
set listname nodigest (to receive individual messages)

ListProc set listname mail digest (to receive MIME-formatted digests)
set listname mail digest-nomime (to receive unformatted digests)
set listname mail ack (to receive individual messages)

Majordomo unsubscribe listname
subscribe listname-digest (to receive digests)

unsubscribe listname-digest
subscribe listname (to receive individual messages

Lyris set listname digest (to receive digests)
set listname mail (to receive individual messages)

Stoping the Mail Temporarily

If you are going to be away for a week or two, you can tell the list server not to send you list messages whiel you are away. When you get back, you can turn the flow back on. You miss a bunch of messages, but it's usually better than getting home to a mountain of list mail.

Commands to for Going on Vacation

List Server Command

LISTSERV set listname nomail (to turn mail off)
set listname mail (to turn mail back on)

ListProc set listname mail postpone (to turn mail off)
set listname mail ack (to turn mail nack on; replace "ack" with "digest" if you prefer)

Majordomo ???

Lyris ???

Seeing Who Is Subscribed to the List

For some lists, you can get a list of the subscribers to the list. For other lists, this capability is turned off, usually to preserve the privacy of subscribers. If so, the following commands may only send you general information about the list, without the list of subscribers. Send the following command to the administrative address for the list, typing the command in the body of the message (replacing listname with the exact name of the list):

Commands to See Subscribers

List Server Command

LISTSERV review listname

ListProc recipients listname

Majordomo who listname

Lyris review listname

Concealing Your Name on the Subscribers List

You can prevent your name from appearing on the subscribers list by concealing it. To conceal your name, send the following command to the administrative address for the list, typing the command in the body of the message (replacing listname with the exact name of the list):

Commands to Conceal Your Subscription

List Server Command

LISTSERV set listname conceal

ListProc set listname conceal yes

Majordomo ???

Lyris ???

Which Lists Are You On?

The list server can tell you which lists (of the lists that are hosted at that site) you are subscribed to. Send the following command to the administrative address for the list, typing the command in the body of the message (replacing listname with the exact name of the list):

Commands to Display Which Lists You Are Subscribed to

List Server Command

LISTSERV which

ListProc which

Majordomo which

Lyris which

Amazing unanimity!

Copyright 1999-2000 Margaret Levine Young, one of the Internet Gurus.
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http://lists.gurus.com/settings.html page last changed on January 14, 2000.