A Sample "Hello" Document
The following document is an example of an extensive "hello" document that you might want mailed to new members of your mailing list.
This is a real document, used by the "Rhapsody" mailing list. It is reprinted here by permission of the author, Vince Sabio.
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* PLEASE SAVE THIS WELCOME MESSAGE! *
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Welcome to the Rhapsody Discussion List ...
The purpose of this
list is to provide an open forum for the posting
and discussion of news and information relating to the Rhapsody operating
system. That means that ANYTHING Rhapsody related
is fair game. However,
if you have something that is not somehow related to Rhapsody -- for
example, Apple's stock increased by two points -- it would be better to
post it to one of the more general Macintosh-related forums; subscription
information for two of them is provided below.
Commercial announcements
are allowed and encouraged, but please follow
the guidelines listed in the Posting section of the Rhapsody Discussion
List FAQ (see item 6 below), or on the web at
<http://user.icx.net/~bgiles/rhapsody/posting.html>.
This list is hosted on a Lyris List Manager mailing list manager, provided to us by Acme Corp. As such,
we are guests on this server,
and a level of decorum commensurate with our status as guests will be
enforced on this list. Please keep discussion civil and constructive,
and take heated discussions and non-constructive comments off the list.
Failure to do so will result in the subscribers' posting privileges
being revoked by the
listmoms for a "cooling off period."
The listmoms for the Rhapsody Discussion List are:
Bruce Giles <bgiles@icx.net>
Randy
Meadows <rmeadows@fgm.com>
Vince Sabio <listmom@telephonet.com> (list owner)
To send a message to all three listmoms at once,
use the
address <rhapsody-owner@clio.lyris.net>.
Please feel free to contact any of us with questions regarding the
Rhapsody Discussion List or if you experience any
problems with the
server.
Just so that you have all the commands neatly contained in one place,
here is just about everything you will need to
know. Note that the list
is running on a Lyris List Manager; this is a very new (and VERY NICE!) server,
so be aware that the commands might be different from those that you
are
used to using on other list managers. (For more information on Lyris List Manager, see
<http://www.lyris.com/>.)
1. First of all, almost
everything that you might need to do on the
server is most easily and effectively performed via its web interface
at <http://clio.lyris.net/rhapsody/>.
2. In case you do not have Web access, here are some key commands; in all cases, the default server address is <lyris@clio.lyris.net>. Other
addresses are shown where
appropriate. Note: Commands may be placed in either the subject line or in the body of the message:
SUBSCRIBING:
subscribe rhapsody your_name
join
rhapsody your_name
alternate address: join-rhapsody@clio.lyris.net
UNSUBSCRIBING:
unsubscribe rhapsody
leave rhapsody
alternate address: leave-rhapsody@clio.lyris.net
SETTING MEMBERSHIP TO DIGEST MODE:
set rhapsody digest
SETTING
MEMBERSHIP TO INDEX MODE:
set rhapsody index
SETTING MEMBERSHIP TO DISCUSSION MODE:
set rhapsody mail
TEMPORARILY
SUSPENDING MAIL FROM THE LIST:
set rhapsody nomail
RESUMING MAIL FROM THE LIST: (command depends on your preferred mode)
set rhapsody mail
set rhapsody digest
set rhapsody index
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
set rhapsody ack
(sends you a confirmation message when your
posts are distributed)
set rhapsody noack
(no confirmation message when posts are distributed)
RECEIVING COPIES OF YOUR OWN POSTS:
set rhapsody repro
(receive copies of your own posts)
set rhapsody norepro
(do not receive copies of your own posts)
SETTING YOUR PASSWORD:
set rhapsody pw=mypassword
(where "mypassword" is the password you wish to set)
DETERMINING YOUR MEMBERSHIP
SETTINGS:
query rhapsody
RETRIEVING THE CURRENT VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT:
get rhapsody hello
MORE INFORMATION ON LYRIS
LIST MANAGER'S COMMANDS:
help
RETRIEVING THE CURRENT LIST FAQ:
Send a blank e-mail message to:
rdl-faq@clio.lyris.net
RETRIEVING THE CURRENT LIST OF RHAPSODY RESOURCES:
Send a blank e-mail message to:
rhapsody-resources@clio.lyris.net
RETRIEVING THE
CURRENT LIST OF RHAPSODY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
Send a blank e-mail message to:
rhapsody-faq@clio.lyris.net
POSTING TO THE LIST: You must be a
subscriber to post messages. Sending
mail to this address will distribute it to all the members of the
mailing list:
rhapsody@clio.lyris.net
3. CHANGING YOUR SETTINGS/ADDRESS VIA THE WEB INTERFACE: To do this, go
to <http://clio.lyris.net/rhapsody/> and click the link in the "Change
Your Settings"
section. You'll need to enter your e-mail address and
password (if you chose one) to continue.
(If you've forgotten your password, you can type in your e-mail
address
in the field at the bottom of the page and click "Get password" to
request Lyris List Manager to e-mail your password to you.)
At the
following page, you can read messages, post a message, adjust
your settings, or unsubscribe. From the settings page you can change
your status (MAIL, DIGEST, INDEX, or
NOMAIL), choose whether or not to
see your own messages, or choose whether or not you want to receive a
separate acknowledgement via e-mail when one of your messages is
posted
to the list. You can also change your e-mail address if you need to.
When you change your settings, make sure you click the "Save" button at
the bottom
of the page.
4. ARCHIVES: The RDL archives are available on the Web, at the following
URL: <http://clio.lyris.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?visit=rhapsody>
5. RDL WEB SITE: The Rhapsody Discussion List has a web site at
<http://user.icx.net/~bgiles/rhapsody/>. The web site includes all the
information in this document, PLUS a list of common questions and
answers, and a list of Rhapsody resources, both on and off the Internet.
Please visit the site
and let us know what you want to see there.
6. OBTAINING THE FAQ AND OTHER DOCUMENTS: You can receive the current
version of the Rhapsody Discussion List FAQ
by e-mail at any time by
sending an e-mail message to <rdl-faq@clio.lyris.net>. The subject line
and body text of your message are ignored. Simply sending a blank
message to this address is sufficient.
You can receive a current list of Rhapsody resources by sending a blank
e-mail message to
<rhapsody-resources@clio.lyris.net>.
You can receive a current list of Rhapsody questions and answers by
sending a blank e-mail message to
<rhapsody-faq@clio.lyris.net>.
7. BOUNCED MAIL: One of the key features of Lyris List Manager is its ability to handle
mail bounces transparently to the list
owner; as such, bounced mail will
be handled primarily by the Lyris List Manager.
8. POSTS/REPLIES FROM DIGEST USERS: You *must* change the Subject: line
when replying to a digest; all posts with "RHAPSODY DIGEST" in the
Subject: line will be rejected by the server (you will receive a
"rejection letter" when this
happens).
PROBLEMS: If you have ANY problems related to the Rhapsody Discussion
List, *please* do not post them to the list. Listmoms (list managers)
are at your disposal for this very purpose; please avail yourself of
the resource:
Bruce Giles <bgiles@icx.net>
Randy Meadows
<rmeadows@fgm.com>
Vince Sabio <listmom@telephonet.com> (list owner)
To send a message to all three listmoms at once,
use the address
<rhapsody-owner@clio.lyris.net>.
If you have any questions about the list or the Lyris List Manager, feel free
to contact any or all of us. (NOTE: I currently
manage five mailing
lists; please be sure to state in your message which list you are
referring/subscribed to. Thanks!)
Once again, welcome to
the Rhapsody Discussion List.
- Vince Sabio
Rhapsody List Owner
listmom@telephonet.com
OTHER LISTS:
As I mentioned earlier, here are two very good Macintosh-related mailing
lists:
Mac-L: Macintosh News and Information
Format: Open subscription/open discussion
Server: listserv@list.nih.gov
In body: subscribe Mac-L your_name
MacMarines: A
Macintosh advocacy/activist group
Format: Open subscription/moderated/very little discussion
Server: listmaster@marlowe.net
In body: join macmarines
your_email_address
DISCLAIMER:
The Rhapsody Discussion List is not associated with Apple Computer
Corporation or its affiliates. The
list is an independent open forum
for news, information, and discussion relating to the Rhapsody operating
system. The server and resources for the Rhapsody Discussion List
are
provided by Acme Corp, Ltd., which also has no association
with Apple Computer Corp.
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