UIUC Webmaster's Forum Listserv

Purpose

The listserv provides a forum for exchanging information about resources, techniques, good practices, and general news related to the UIUC web presence.

You can browse the archives at http://listserv.uiuc.edu/archives/uiucwebmasters.html

Subscribing

Your contributions will help to make this list a valuable resource for each of us. Please consider joining the listserv and also encourage friends and colleagues, who are involved in any aspect of the web, to join.

Subscription is easy; just submit your information to begin receiving Webmasters' listserv email! 

If you encounter any problems, email Tim Offenstein at timo@uiuc.edu -- he'll be happy to help you.

Sending Messages

To send a message to all those currently subscribed to the list, email UIUCWEBMASTERS@POSTOFFICE.CSO.UIUC.EDU. This is known as sending mail to the list, because you send mail to a single address and LISTSERV makes copies for all who have subscribed. UIUCWEBMASTERS@POSTOFFICE.CSO.UIUC.EDU is also called the list address. Never send commands to that address, since that email is distributed to all subscribers.

Commands must be sent to the LISTSERV address, LISTSERV@POSTOFFICE.CSO.UIUC.EDU.

It is important to understand the difference between the list address and the LISTSERV address. Fortunately it isn't complicated. The LISTSERV address is like a fax number that connects you to a machine, whereas the list address is like a phone number that connects you to a person. 

However, if you make a mistake and dial a fax number when you wanted to talk to someone on the phone, you quickly realize that you used the wrong number and try again. No harm will have been done. On the other hand, if you accidentally make your fax machine call someone's voice line, the person receiving the call will be inconvenienced, especially if your fax machine then re-dials every 5 minutes.

The fact that most people will eventually connect the fax machine to the voice line so the the calls stop, does not mean that you should continue to send faxes to the voice number: people would get mad at you. It works much the same way with mailing lists, but you are calling hundreds or thousands of people simultaneously. Consequently, a lot of people will be upset if you consistently send commands to the list address.

Unsuscribing

You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF UIUCWEBMASTERS" command to LISTSERV@POSTOFFICE.CSO.UIUC.EDU, or by signing off at the Webmaster listserv subscription page.

Useful Commands

You can also tell LISTSERV how you want it to confirm the receipt of messages you send to the list: 

• To also receive your own messages, send a "SET UIUCWEBMASTERS REPRO" command. After a while you may find this is annoying, especially if your email program does not tell you that the message is from you when it announces new mail's arrival.
  
• To receive a short acknowledgement instead, send a "SET UIUCWEBMASTERS ACK NOREPRO" command. An acknowledgement from LISTSERV will look different in your mailbox directory. With most email programs, you will know at a glance that this is an acknowledgement you can read later. 
  
• Or you can turn off acknowledgements completely with "SET UIUCWEBMASTERS NOACK NOREPRO". Following instructions from the list owner, your subscription options have been set to "NOACK REPRO" rather than the usual LISTSERV defaults.

For more information about subscription options, send a "QUERY UIUCWEBMASTERS" command to LISTSERV@POSTOFFICE.CSO.UIUC.EDU. 

This list is available in digest form. If you wish to receive the digested version of the postings, issue a "SET UIUCWEBMASTERS DIGEST" command, or set your preferences at the Webmaster listserv subscription page. 

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@POSTOFFICE.CSO.UIUC.EDU.