Here is the other message that new subscribers to Tango-A receive,
which has more to do with logistics of list usage, how to unsubscribe,
set to digest, etc. *** Please save this message in a folder for
these sorts of messages even if you don't need to do any of this
now! ***
First, here is a quick summary of the more-often asked questions:
1. To set your tango-A subscription to digest, send the command
set tango-a digest
in the BODY of a message to [email protected]. You will get
a request back for confirmation, which you will reply to per the
instructions with the request. (Note that the digest will always
include all postings, so you can either choose digest or choose to
filter by topics but not both.)
2. To unsubscribe from Tango-A send the command
unsubscribe tango-A
to [email protected]. You will have to confirm this, as
explained above.
3. Can I get my Tango-A and Tango-L digest in one? No, although they
operate as complementary lists, they are implemented as 2 separate
lists to permit people to subscribe to either or both depending on
whether they want to see announcements and/or discussion on Tango.
So you can reduce your mail to TWO digests.
Here is the "canned" message. (Other than references to the "topics"
capability, pretty-much everything here applies to Tango-L as well
if you replace "Tango-A" with "Tango-L".) - Shahrukh
=======================================================
Mon, 20 Sep 1999 06:55:39
Your subscription to the TANGO-A list (Announcements of Argentine Tango
Events) has been accepted.
Welcome to [email protected]!
Last revised 11 September 1999
*********************************************************************
NOTE: You are receiving this file as a result of your subscribing to the
TANGO-A list (Announcements of Argentine Tango Events).
There is another complementary list TANGO-L which is for General
Discussion of Tango-related topics. You may also want to subscribe to
that list, which you do by sending e-mail to <[email protected]>
with the message
subscribe LISTNAME Firstname Lastname
in the body of the message (replacing "Firstname Lastname" with your
actual first and last names and "LISTNAME" with Tango-A or Tango-L as
appropriate).
*********************************************************************
This list uses the TOPICS feature of Listserv to provide a segregation of
postings by subject matter or other grouping. Even if you are familiar
with Listserv, you should understand the topics feature well to use it
effectively. Please read Section 7A for details about the topics feature.
CONTENTS
========
0. How to unsubscribe from this list (and how NOT to)
1. Introduction -- Why you should read and save this message
2. Use of the Digest option to reduce your mail volume
3. How to change your subscription or subscription options
4. Sending messages to the everyone on the list
5. Who can join? Why might you be removed from the list?
6. Submission Guidelines and Policies (READ THIS before posting anything!)
7. Information on other LISTSERV commands
7A. **IMPORTANT** How to use the TOPICS feature
8. Whom to contact for other questions related to operation of the list
0. How to unsubscribe from this list (and how NOT to)
=====================================================
To unsubscribe from this list, send the command
unsubscribe TANGO-A
to [email protected]. If you need help unsubscribing an old e-mail
address that you no longer use, send e-mail to
[email protected], indicating the complete address that you
want removed (or, if you don't remember it exactly, any information that
will help identify it, such as portions of the old address). Do NOT send
e-mail to the entire list asking to be removed from the list, as you may
get 500 copies of these instructions telling you the right way of doing
it!
1. Introduction -- Why you should read and save this message
============================================================
TANGO-A is a public electronic mailing list for Announcements of
Argentine Tango Events. It is sponsored by the MIT Ballroom Dance Club,
but is a general discussion list for everyone in the worldwide Argentine
Tango community.
Please read this message completely and then SAVE IT FOR FUTURE
REFERENCE, even if you are familiar with LISTSERV and/or the TANGO-A
list. This might look like a waste of disk space now, but in 6 months you
will be glad you saved this information when you realize that you cannot
remember what are the lists you are subscribed to, or what is the command
to leave the list to avoid filling up your mailbox while you are on
vacations. In fact, you should create a new mail folder for subscription
confirmation messages like this one, and for additional "welcome
messages" from the list owners that you are will occasionally receive
after subscribing to a new list.
2. Use of the Digest option to reduce your mail volume
======================================================
This list is available in a digested or undigested format; unless you
specifically requested a digest, you are subscribed to the undigested
list. The digest option to a list concatenates all the messages over a
period of time (daily for the TANGO-A list) into one message and sends
out the consolidated message, with an index at the top. This reduces the
number of e-mail messages you get and lets you scan the subjects quickly;
however, it is a little more difficult to respond to individual messages.
3. How to change your subscription or subscription options
==========================================================
In case you prefer an option other than the one you currently signed up
for, here are the instructions for subscribing or changing your
subscription options to TANGO-A.
You should e-mail the command(s) shown below in the BODY of a message to
[email protected]. Multiple commands may appear in the same e-mail
message, and are processed sequentially. The exception to this is the
subscribe command, which generates a confirmation message to you that you
must reply to before you are subscribed; until you are finally
subscribed, you cannot change any options (like digest), so you cannot
"subscribe" and "set" in the same e-mail message.
a. To subscribe to TANGO-A (UN-digested):
subscribe TANGO-A Yourfirstname Yourlastname
b. To change to the (daily) digest option to TANGO-A, after your
subscription has been confirmed:
set TANGO-A digest
c. To change from digest to regular mail, use:
set TANGO-A mail
d. You can also turn mail off temporarily with:
set TANGO-A nomail
This may be useful to do if you are going to be away
for some time and don't want your mail to pile up.
e. To turn mail back on (that was turned off with the
"set TANGO-A nomail" command), use the command:
set TANGO-A mail (for undigested), or
set TANGO-A digest (for digested)
f. To unsubscribe completely from a list, use:
signoff TANGO-A or
unsubscribe TANGO-A
Note that the digest/mail/nomail settings are all mutually exclusive, so
that exactly one will always be active (default when you subscribe is
"mail"). This means that you cannot, for instance, receive both the
digested and undigested versions of the SAME list, unless you subscribe
twice under two different e-mail addresses.
4. Sending messages to the everyone on the list
===============================================
To send a message to all the people currently subscribed to the list,
just send mail to [email protected]. This is called "sending mail to
the list," because you send mail to a single address and LISTSERV makes
copies for all the people who have subscribed. This address
([email protected]) is also called the "list address." It generally
takes between a few minutes and a few hours for everyone on the list to
receive the message, but some remote addresses could conceivably incur
delays of a few days, at times.
You must never try to send any command to that address, as it would be
distributed to all the people who have subscribed. All commands must be
sent to the "LISTSERV address", [email protected]. It is very
important to understand the difference between the two, as people on the
list get annoyed if you send commands meant for LISTSERV to the entire
membership of the list!
This list is restricted to receiving messages only from subscribers to
the list, to avoid unwanted "spams." If your submission is rejected, it
is probably because you are sending the e-mail from a different account
than the one you subscribed under. The best method is to use the same
login and machine for sending mail that you used when you originally
subscribed. If this is not practical for you, another option is to
subscribe all of the two or three machines that you use, and set all but
one to "nomail"; this will let you send mail from any of the machines
without receiving multiple copies.
All postings from new subcribers to the list are initially forwarded to
one of a handful of list administrators, who will need to approve your
posting to the list. This catches most postings with format or content
problems from new members--after a few postings, your subscription will
be modified so that you will be able to post directly to the list. Until
then, you may incur 1-3 days of delay before your postings appear on the
list. (In rare cases, other subscribers may also be set to have their
postings reviewed by a list administrator if there are serious or
repeated problems with postings by that susbcriber in either the
formatting or content of that subscribers' messages.)
5. Who can join? Why might you be removed from the list?
=========================================================
Anyone can join the list by sending e-mail to [email protected]
with a SUBSCRIBE command.
(You may subscribe a local redistribution list or a gateway to a local
newsgroup, as long as whatever you do is local to your site. Please send
e-mail, describing what you plan to do, to [email protected]
before you do this, so that we may verify that there will be no
problems.)
Addresses that generate bounced e-mail (i.e., if your e-mail address
stops working) will be dropped automatically; you'll have to resubscribe
when the problem is fixed, by sending the command
subscribe TANGO-A Your Full Name
to [email protected]. After your subscription has been confirmed,
send the command
set TANGO-A digest
to [email protected]. (The digest option is strongly recommended if
you are resubscribing after problems with your address, since it reduces
the number of further bounces that the list administrator has to deal
with if the problem has not cleared, and avoids your being removed again
prematurely. After you have verified that the address is behaving
normally again, you can remove the digest option if you'd like.)
Although a message is sent to you indicating this, you will probably not
receive it (since e-mail to you was bouncing to start with), and the only
way you will know is that you will stop receiving e-mail from the list.
This is the only reason that anyone has ever been dropped from the list
and, since this is a friendly forum, it is hoped that this will always be
the only reason. However, to protect the list and its members, it is
necessary to state that you may be removed from the list, and/or kept
from posting to it, under circumstances including, but not limited to,
the following: Extreme or continued violation of the list guidelines and
policies, or of Internet usage conventions (as determined solely by the
list administrator or list owner, or person(s) designated by the list
administrator or list owner); violation of the acceptable use policies of
the sponsoring institution (MIT); violation of any applicable law,
including copyright law; any other action that, in the sole opinion of
the list administrator or list owner, or person(s) designated by the list
administrator or list owner, may be harmful to the list, its members, or
the computer facilities or networks that support it.
6. Submission Guidelines and Policies (READ THIS before posting anything!)
==========================================================================
You will receive a separate file containing the rules that members of the
list are expected to adhere to. Acceptance and adherence to these rules
is a precondition for participation in TANGO-A. If you have questions
about a particular rule, or wish to verify that a posting is within the
guidelines, please send e-mail to the list administrator at
[email protected]. Please do not ask this on the list, as it
will invariably lead to tangential discussions on the list rules, which
divert from the primary subject of the list.
7. Information on other LISTSERV commands
==========================================
A previous section of this message already told you how to subscribe, and
chance your digest options for the TANGO-A list. Here are a few other
useful commands.
For more information about subscription options, send a "QUERY TANGO-A"
command to [email protected].
More information on LISTSERV commands can be found in the LISTSERV
reference card, which you can retrieve by sending an "INFO REFCARD"
command to [email protected].
This list has been set up so that LISTSERV will send you a copy of your
own messages, so that you can see that the message was distributed and
did not get damaged on the way. If you would rather not get copies of
your own message, send a "SET TANGO-A NOREPRO" command to
[email protected].
7A. **IMPORTANT** How to use the TOPICS feature
===============================================
This list is set up with multiple topics and your subscription will be
set up so that you receive a default set of topics when you first
subscribe (typically all topics). Topics provide a useful "sublist" or
"list within a list" feature if used properly, so it is important to
understand how it works and how you change your selected topics. A set of
topics are predefined for this list--these are the only topics that may
be used. This list has 8 topics as follows: SA, NA-E, NA-C, NA-W, EU-W,
EU-E, AASP, MISC. These refer to geographical regions of the world (South
America, North America-East/Central/West, Europe-West/East,
Asia+Africa+South Pacific) or Miscellaneous (non-geographical)
announcements. There is also a special topic ADMIN for use only by the
list administrator for administrative messages.
Topics are used in two ways:
a. When mail it sent to the list, the sender MUST prefix the subject by
the appropriate topic name. E.g.,
Subject: EU-E: Tango in Slovakia
b. If subscribers wish to receive mail on only a subset of the topics
defined (the default when they subscribe is all topics), they may modify
their subscribed topics with the command "SET TANGO-A TOPICS:" followed
by the list of topics desired. E.g.,
SET TANGO-A TOPICS: SA NA-E NA-C NA-W ADMIN
It is also possible to specify just the topics you wish to add or remove,
as shown in the following example:
SET TANGO-A TOPICS: +AASP -SA
which will add topics AASP, remove topic SA and leave the other
previously subscribed topics unchanged.
*** IMPORTANT *** Make sure that you never remove the ADMIN topic as you
could miss the infrequent but important administrative messages!
8. Whom to contact for other questions related to operation of the list
=======================================================================
If you have further questions, comments or concerns with the management
of the TANGO-A list, you should send e-mail to the administrative contact
for the list, [email protected]. Remember that normal
operations of subscribing, unsubscribing, changing subscription options,
etc., are all handled automatically via e-mail commands (in the BODY of
the message) to [email protected].
