What Address Do I Use To Join A List?

Finding an address, through what ever reference does not automatically help you with the necessary commands needed to subscribe or use the address (the control address) to which you need to send those commands.

• If the list is a MAILBASE list then it will be based at MAILBASE (in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne UK), all mailbase lists take the form:

• listname@mailbase.ac.uk

  and all subscriptions should be sent to:

• mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk

• However, if it says you have to send a message to something like LISTSERV, MAILSERV, LISTPROC or MAJORDOMO then you have got the right address for subscription, for you just need to substitute these names for the name of the list you want to subscribe to. Otherwise you will need to:

  Check What Kind Of Mailing List Server Is Running At The Host

  To do this you can send the standard message that works with all mailing list servers: HELP.

• If you sent to the correct address then you will get HELP information, otherwise you will get some kind of error message.

• The message HELP, like all commands to mailing list servers needs to be on its own at the start of the body of the message. It is also a good idea to turn off your signature before sending a message to a mailing list server, as this avoids it trying to process your signature text as a series of commands.

• Before mechanically going through the different mailing list server names, you can do a bit of basic deduction to see if the host computer is part of BITNET.

  If a host is part of BITNET or EARN then:

  • it may well show .BITNET at the end of the address
  • the list name will end in -L (THISLIST-L)
  • the list name will be 8 characters or shorter and will be in UPPER CASE

• If you find that the host is part of BITNET or EARN then it should be running a version of the Listserv software, and you can send your subscription for a list that is called listname@host.bitnet to listserv@host.bitnet.

• If the address is simply listname@host then it is worth trying listname@host.bitnet.

• If you have tried both of these without success then it may be that the host needs to be contacted through a gateway. If that is the case then you will need to change the form of the address from:

  listserv@host.bitnet to:BR> listerv%host@cunyvm.cuny.edu

• If the host does not appear to be part of BITNET then you can simply send a HELP message to each possible server, substituting MAJORDOMO, LISTPROC, MAILSERV in turn for mailingserver. Thus if the list is listname@host then send your HELP message to mailingserver@host.

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