You have been added to the PHYS-L mailing list (Forum for Physics Teachers) by
rsmith@GULF.NET.
Please save this message for future reference, especially if you are not
familiar with LISTSERV. 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 the "welcome messages" from the
list owners that you are will occasionally receive after subscribing to a new
list.
To send a message to all the people currently subscribed to the list, just send
mail to PHYS-L@UWF.CC.UWF.EDU. 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 (PHYS-L@UWF.CC.UWF.EDU) is also called
the "list address". 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", LISTSERV@UWF.BITNET (or
LISTSERV@UWF.CC.UWF.EDU). It is very important to understand the difference
between the two, but fortunately it is not complicated. The LISTSERV address is
like a FAX number, and the list address is like a normal phone line. If you
make your FAX call someone's regular phone number by mistake, it will be an
unpleasant experience for him but you will probably be excused the first time.
If you do it regularly, however, he will probably get upset and send you a
nasty complaint. It is the same with mailing lists, with the difference that
you are calling hundreds or thousands of people at the same time, so a lot more
people get annoyed if you use the wrong number.
You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF PHYS-L" command to
LISTSERV@UWF.BITNET (or LISTSERV@UWF.CC.UWF.EDU). You can also tell LISTSERV
how you want it to confirm the receipt of messages you send to the list. If you
do not trust the system, send a "SET PHYS-L REPRO" command and 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. After a while you may find that
this is getting annoying, especially if your mail program does not tell you
that the message is from you when it informs you that new mail has arrived from
PHYS-L. If you send a "SET PHYS-L ACK NOREPRO" command, LISTSERV will mail you
a short acknowledgement instead, which will look different in your mailbox
directory. With most mail programs you will know immediately that this is an
acknowledgement you can read later. Finally, you can turn off acknowledgements
completely with "SET PHYS-L NOACK NOREPRO".
Following instructions from the list owner, your subscription options have been
set to "REPRO" rather than the usual LISTSERV defaults. For more information
about subscription options, send a "QUERY PHYS-L" command to
LISTSERV@UWF.BITNET (or LISTSERV@UWF.CC.UWF.EDU).
Contributions sent to this list are automatically archived. You can get a list
of the available archive files by sending an "INDEX PHYS-L" command to
LISTSERV@UWF.BITNET (or LISTSERV@UWF.CC.UWF.EDU). You can then order these
files with a "GET PHYS-L LOGxxxx" command, or using LISTSERV's database search
facilities. Send an "INFO DATABASE" command for more information on the latter.
Please note that it is presently possible for anybody to determine that you are
signed up to the list through the use of the "REVIEW" command, which returns
the e-mail address and name of all the subscribers. If you do not want your
name to be visible, just issue a "SET PHYS-L CONCEAL" command.
More information on LISTSERV commands can be found in the LISTSERV reference
card, which you can retrieve by sending an "INFO REFCARD" command to
LISTSERV@UWF.BITNET (or LISTSERV@UWF.CC.UWF.EDU).