Subscribers and List Owners
List Owners
A listserv is an email-based discussion group that allows members to post email messages to a large number of people at the same time. When you use a listserve you do not need to know who all the members of the group are or their individual email addresses. A mailing list or listserv is often referred to with the shorthand of "list".
When you send mail to a mailing list, you address the mail to the mailing list's name. When the mailing list server receives the message, it expands the name of the mailing list into each of the individual addresses currently on the list and it redirects your message to each of those people, called subscribers. Then, should the membership of the list change, there is only one file containing the addresses of the subscribers which must be updated.
What happened to Majordomo? What is BCPost?
Boston College Information Technology Services (ITS) uses technology from a company called Sympa to manage mailing lists at BC. Prior to using Sympa’s mailing list software, BC used sofware called Majordomo. In early February of 2008, lists were migrated from Majordomo to the Sympa system, called BCPost. BCPost moves beyond the listserv capabilities provided by Majordomo for both users and system administrators. BCPost has a web interface which allows you to access and read archived messages, manage the lists you are subscribed to and/or manage lists you own or moderate.
What are list owners, privileged owners and moderators?
In the BCPost service there are two different types of owners: privileged owners and regular owners. When you request a new list, you are by default the privileged owner. List owners migrated from the Majordomo system are privileged owners in BCPost. A list owner, privileged or regular, does not necessarily need to be subscribed to the list. Learn how to add owners or transfer ownership of a list.
A list owner is a person who handles subscription and unsubscription requests and manages the list's settings and permissions. Privileged Owners have additional privileges beyond regular owners, including:
A list moderator is someone who approves or declines messages sent to a moderated list. A list can have more than one moderator. For lists that are very active, it it a good idea to have multiple moderators. Being a list moderator does not necessarily mean you're a subscriber.
Important Note: If you are the sole owner of a moderated list, you are by default a privileged owner and a moderator. If you add additional moderators, you must then also add yourself as a moderator if you are interested in continuing to serve in that capacity. Learn how to add moderators.
How do I create a new mailing list?
New mailing lists can only be requested by members of the Boston College community. You must be logged in with your @bc.edu email account. The Request a List link will be visible in the banner at the top of the screen. Learn more.
Can I still send commands to my list as I did with Majordomo?
You can still run some commands via an email message. All commands must be sent to the following address: sympa@listserv.bc.edu with nothing in the subject line and only the command typed in the body of the message. Available commands, include:
| Command: | Example: | Result: |
| HELp | will return a message with available list commands (the information in this table) | |
| INFO + listname | INFO bcits | will return information about that list provided the list owner hasn't chosen to conceal the information. |
| LISts | returns a directory of visible lists | |
| REView + listname | REView bcits | will return all the subscribers to the list that haven't selected to conceal their visibility. Similar to the "Who" command in Majordomo. |
| SUBscribe + listname + your friendly name | SUBscribe bcits Joe Smith | will send a subscription request or subscribe you to the specified list |
| UNSubscribe + listname | UNSubscribe bcits | will unsubscribe you from the specified list |
| The following are only available to list owners: | ||
| ADD + listname + full email address | ADD bcits user@yahoo.com |
adds the subscriber - to add multiple subscribers repeat command - one on each line |
| DEL + listname + full email address | DEL bcits user@yahoo.com DEL bcits firstname.lastname.#@bc.edu |
deletes the subscriber - to delete multiple subscribers repeat command - one on each line |
| QUIT | -indicates end of a command sequence -used to ignore email signature |
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What is the best way to prevent Spam from being sent to my list?
