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Listbox for Novices

  M. Marquina and A. Taddei CN/DCI

There are several typical mistakes that we are seeing regularly from users of the Listbox mailing list service. The first recommendation is to read the documentation! General information is available at URL:

http://consult.cern.ch/dci/mail/listbox

It is full of examples and references, in particular in the user section. If you are responsible for a mailing list, read the list administrator section. However, below we include some guidelines for the most common problems.

1. The most common mistake is users sending a subscription request to a mailing list instead of a mailing list SERVER. To subscribe to a list you should send a mail containing:

    subscribe my-list address@host.cern.ch

   to the Listbox Server:

   Listbox.Server@cern.ch

   and not to the list itself!

2. Be careful with the mail address you want to subscribe. If in doubt, test it.
   • A common mistake is using an address of the form joe@cern.ch. This is not a valid address.
   • Make sure you don't subscribe the list itself my-list@listbox.cern.ch, This will create a loop which will be very annoying for everyone and can even block some systems.
   • Don't surround your address with double quotes " ".
   • If you need more than one line to write your subscription command use the '´ symbol like this:

      subscribe my-list Firstname Familyname \
      my-userid@my-host.cern.ch

3. Think twice before you reply to a mailing list! Check where your reply is going. If you want to answer just one or very few persons, make sure that you don't reply to a list in the same time.

If you have problems or suggestions, send them to Listbox.Support@cern.ch.