Mailing List
What is a listserv?
A "listserv" is shortened name for list server which is a machine that multiplies single emails enroute to a group of people. It is meant to allow a group of individuals to converse over the email channels without having everyone add everyone else to their CC: list. It also helps get members in and out of the email forum instantly without burdening everyone else the task of constantly updating their list. By "listserv" we mean the computer and the software that runs the service. By "list" we mean the actual collection of emails entered in for a particular group. Specifically, Silver Circle's list is "l-silverc" and the listserver is "lists.psu.edu".
For those in the know, "LISTSERV" is also the brand name for the server software we use made by L-Soft International, Inc.. It is a competing product with the similar majordomo product that many Unix systems (including some PSU departments) run. In fact, our contact email, silvercircle@psu.edu, used to be a majordomo list (sc-contact@math.psu.edu). Now it is also a LISTSERV list.
What is Silver Circle's list used for?
We use the listserv for communication, discussion, and sometimes fun things too. Most of the email we see from the list involves members trying to find other members within a day's notice, or making announcements to the rest of the group. Occasionally a joke will be forwarded in good humor, but everyone on the list has to use their membership responsibly.
Are there rules to the list?
We like to keep our list free for responsible discussion about Paganism and Silver Circle related events. There are a few basic rules that we all agree to to ensure this:
First: You are responsible for your postings. If we grant you access to this listserv, we trust that you have good judgment (mostly common sense) and practice it when sending posts.
Second: You are a member of Silver Circle, former member of Silver Circle, or a friend of the group. We don't have a black and white policy on listserv membership. We just want to make sure you are aware and responsive to the well-being of our members. Mainly we want to keep discussion both Pagan friendly and related somewhat to our group and community, and cut down on SPAM.
Third: You understand the basics of how a listserv list works. What we mean here is that you know how to send and receive emails with the list and know who to ask (l-silverc-request@LISTS.PSU.EDU) for help should you need any. Basic instructions for this are below. How does one use the list? Use of a listserv is fairly simple once you are familiar with its use. A member on the list makes his or her post by emailing the letter to the list address. Silver Circle's list address is l-silverc@lists.psu.edu. This will send a copy of it back to everyone else on the list. If you want to change some settings of how the listserv behaves to you, you can email commands to the listserv's command address which is listserv@lists.psu.edu. Instructions on how to do this are below in the advanced options section.
Interested in joining?
The listserv is not restricted to Penn State Students rather it's open to all Pagan friendly netizens who wish some contact with the group. To join, send an email to listserv@lists.psu.edu with the following in the body: subscribe l-silverc firstname lastname The list will then try to authenticate you before sending the request to the list owners.
Do you wish to leave?
There is an easy way to leave without leaving a possibly embarrasing email on the listserv. You can simply send an email to listserv@lists.psu.edu with [signoff l-silverc] in the body. Need Assistance? If you have any kind of question that needs a human response, please email the l-silverc listserv owners at l-silverc-request@lists.psu.edu and someone will get back to you shortly.
How can I configure the list myself?
You send commands, one per line, in the body of an email to listserv@lists.psu.edu. Make sure commands are all put in the body without any other marks (eg. signatures). The subject line is ignored by the listserver and great for your personal use. For instance, [subscribe l-silverc John Smith] would send a request to the list-owners for John Smith to be added to the list from that email address. The uppercase letters (shown below) are mandatory. The command [set l-silverc ack] will make the listserv send you notification whenever it successfully posted an email from you. This is usually used if you don't want to get a copy of your own postings. [set l-silverc repro] will ask for your own postings to be send to you while [set l-silverc norepro] removes this function. Also if you want to post from more than one email address, but only want to get postings from one of them, set the other account to 'nomail' with [set l-silverc nomail] from that account.
List subscription commands:
SUBscribe listname Subscribe to a list, or change your name if already subscribed
ANONYMOUS -> Subscribe anonymously
SIGNOFF Remove yourself: listname - From the specified list * - From all lists on that server * (NETWIDE - From all lists in the network SET listname options Alter your subscription options:
ACK/NOACK/MSGack -> Acknowledgements for postings
CONCEAL/NOCONCEAL -> Hide yourself from REVIEW Mail/NOMail -> Toggle receipt of mail
MIME/NOMIME -> Prefer/avoid MIME format (especially MIME digests) DIGests/INDex/NODIGests/NOINDex -> Ask for digests or message indexes rather than getting messages as they are posted
REPro/NOREPro -> Copy of your own postings?
TOPICS: ALL -> Select topics you are
<+/->topicname subscribed to (add/remove one or replace entire list)
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