LISTSERV FAQ's          

General FAQ

1.      What is a LISTSERV?

2.      What types LISTSERV's does ACC support?

3.      How can I request a LISTSERV?

Owner and Editor FAQ

1.      What does a LISTSERV owner do?

2.      What does a LISTSERV editor do?

3.      Can I add or remove owners and editors of my LISTSERV?

4.      How does a LISTSERV owner manage a LISTSERV?

5.      How can I add subscribers to my LISTSERV?

6.      How can I remove subscribers from my LISTSERV?

7.      How can I add a large number of subscribers (more than 50) to my LISTSERV quickly?

8.      Can people subscribe themselves?

9.      How can I see who the owners and editors of my list are?

10. How can I see a list of all the subscribers on my LISTSERV?

11. How can I see whether a certain person is on my LISTSERV?

12. Who can help me with questions about managing my list?

Subscriber FAQ

1.      Who can help me with problems with the ACC official Employee LISTSERVs?

2.      What’s the difference between an open and a closed ACC LISTSERV?

3.      How do I subscribe to an open LISTSERV?

4.      How do I unsubscribe from an open LISTSERV?

5.      How can I post a message to a LISTSERV?

6.      Who can help me with questions about a list?

 

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General FAQ

1.      What is a LISTSERV?

LISTSERV is an email distribution list system that facilitates communication among groups of people. LISTSERV can be used to broadcast announcements and hold discussions. A LISTSERV is a single email list within a LISTSERV system.

2.      What types of LISTSERVs does ACC support?

ACC supports LISTSERVs announcement and discussion LISTSERVs. Announcement LISTSERVs permit one way broadcasts to all the subscribers to a listserv. Only list owners or editors may post messages to an announcement LISTSERV. Discussion LISTSERVs allow all subscribers to the LISTSERV to post messages so they can use the LISTSERV as an email based discussion forum.

3.      How can I request a LISTSERV?

Fill in and submit the FORM to request a LISTSERV. Before you fill in the form, you will need to choose an address for the LISTSERV.  The list address can be up to sixteen characters (before the @ sign), but it can’t contain spaces or special characters. You will also need to know the email addresses of the owners and editors of the LISTSERV.

 

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Owner and Editor FAQ

1.      What does a LISTSERV owner do?

LISTSERV owners manage  their LISTSERV subscriptions and assist the subscribers to their lists with questions and problems. When a LISTSERV owner has a question or problem they can’t resolve on their own, the Help Desk they can contact the Help Desk at 223-HELP or helpdesk@austincc.edu and they will assign someone in the Information Technology department to help.

2.      What does a LISTSERV editor do?

A LISTSERV editor can only post messages to a LISTSERV. Editors can’t manage list subscriptions.

3.      Can I add or remove owners and editors of my LISTERV?

The Information Technology department can add or remove LISTSERV owners and editors for you. A current owner of the LISTSERV must email a request to have owners or editors of the LISTSERV updated to the Help Desk at helpdesk@austincc.edu. The owner’s request must include the email address of the LISTSERV to be updated and the email addresses of the owners and editors to be added or removed.  The Help Desk will assign someone to update the list and the owner who requested the changes will be notified when the updates are done.

4.      How does a LISTSERV owner manage a LISTSERV?

A LISTSERV is managed by sending commands to the LISTSERV system by email. An email message is addressed to LISTSERV@austincc.edu. A command to make LISTSERV do something like add a new subscriber to the list is typed in the email message. The message is sent, and the command is executed. All interaction with LISTSERV takes place through short commands sent by email.

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5.      How can I add subscribers to my LISTSERV?

·        If you have an email signature turn it off.

·        Address an email message to listserv@austincc.edu

·        Type a subject line that will remind you who you added to the list.

·        In the body of the message type

QUIET ADD listname username@xyz.com firstname lastname

replacing listname with the name of your LISTSERV, username@xyz.com with the email address you want to add, first name with the new subscriber’s first name and lastname with the  new subscriber’s last name.

·        Send the message.

6.      How can I remove subscribers from my LISTSERV?

·        If you have an email signature turn it off.

·        Address an email message to listserv@austincc.edu

·        Type a subject line that will remind you who you removed from the list.

·        In the body of the message type

QUIET DELETE listname username@xyz.com

replacing listname with the name of your LISTSERV and username@xyz.com with the email address you want to delete.

·        Send the message.

7.      Can people subscribe themselves to LISTSERVs?

Yes. The LISTSERV must be set up so that people can subscribe. If you would like to have your listserv set up so people can subscribe themselves contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@austincc.edu or 223-HELP (223-4357). Let them know that you need assistance with your LISTSERV and they will assign someone to set up a new LISTSERV with open subscription or change an old one to open subscription for you.

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8.      How can I see who the owners and editors of my list are?

·        If you have an email signature turn it off.

·        Address an email message to listserv@austincc.edu

·        Type a subject line that will remind you that you are checking list owners and editors.

·        In the body of the message type

REVIEW listname SHORT

replacing listname with the name of your LISTSERV.

·        Send the message.

You will get back a  message that shows the LISTSERV owners and editors.

9.      How can I see a list of all the subscribers on my LISTSERV?

·        If you have an email signature turn it off.

·        Address an email message to listserv@austincc.edu

·        Type a subject line that will remind you that you are checking list subscribers.

·        In the body of the message type

REVIEW listname

replacing listname with the name of your LISTSERV.

·        Send the message.

You will get back a messages that shows the LISTSERV owners and editors.

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10.  How can I see whether a certain person is on my LISTSERV?

·        If you have an email signature turn it off.

·        Address an email message to listserv@austincc.edu

·        Type a subject line that will remind you that you are checking for a subscriber.

·        In the body of the message type

SCAN listname lastname

replacing listname with the name of your LISTSERV and lastname with the last name of the person you are looking for. You can scan for the person’s email address, first name, last name or any part of them.

·        Send the message.

You’ll get back a message that shows whether the person is on the list. If more than one person matches what you scanned for, all the matches will be sent to you.

11.  How can I see how many subscribers are on my LISTSERV?

·        If you have an email signature turn it off.

·        Address an email message to listserv@austincc.edu

·        Type a subject line that will remind you that you are checking list subscribers.

·        In the body of the message type

REVIEW listname SHORT NOHEADER

replacing listname with the name of your LISTSERV.

·        Send the message.

12.  Who can help me with questions about managing my list?

LISTSERV owners should contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@austincc.edu or 223-HELP (2223-4357). Briefly describe the question or problem. The Help Desk will assign a trouble ticket to a LISTSERV specialist who will contact you as soon as possible.

 

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Subscriber FAQ

1.      Who can help me with problems with the ACC Official Employee LISTSERVs?

Employees are assigned to Official Employee LISTSERVs based on Human Resources Records. Contact Bobetta Burns, bburns@austincc.edu or 223-7571, in the Human Resources Records department if your Employee LISTSERV assignments aren’t correct.

2.      What’s the difference between an open and a closed ACC LISTSERV?

Anyone may join an open listserv without an owner of the LISTSERV adding them or approving their subscription. Subscriptions to a closed LISTSERV are controlled by list owners. The LISTSERV owner must add new subscribers to the listserv. ACC’s announcement LISTSERVs are usually closed, and our discussion LISTSERVs are usually open.

3.      How do I subscribe to an open LISTSERV?

·        If you have an email signature turn it off.

·        Address an email message to listserv@austincc.edu

·        Type a subject line that will remind you that you are checking for a subscriber.

·        In the body of the message type

SUBSCRIBE  listname firstname lastname

replacing listname with the name of the LISTSERV you want to subscribe to, and first and lastname with your first and last name. Don’t put your email address in the message body. LISTSERV takes your address from your subscription email message.

·        Send the message.

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4.      How do I unsubscribe from an open LISTSERV?

·        If you have an email signature turn it off.

·        Address an email message to listserv@austincc.edu

·        Type a subject line that will remind you that you are checking for a subscriber.

·        In the body of the message type

SIGNOFF  listname

replacing listname with the name of the LISTSERV you want to subscribe to. Don’t put your email address in the message body. LISTSERV takes your address from your subscription email message.

·        Send the message.

5.      How can I post a message to a LISTSERV?

To post a message to a LISTSERV address an email to the individual LISTSERV you want to post the message to.  For example, to post a message to a an ACC LISTSERV named COMMITTEELIST-L, address the message to COMMITTEELIST‑L@austincc.edu. Type the message you want to post in the email message body and send it.

As a LISTSERV subscriber you can only send messages to the LISTSERV if you are a list editor. If you try to post a message and you aren’t a list editor your message will not be distributed to the LISTSERV. Your message will be sent to one of the LISTSERV editors who will post it to the list if they decide it is appropriate to do so.

6.      Who can help me with questions about a list?

Except for the Official College LISTSERVs, the owner of the LISTSERV you subscribe to will answer your questions or help with problems using the LISTSERV.  

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