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SSC LYRIS email Lists FAQ

Question: What is a listserv?

Answer: See the main page.

Question: I am a member of list X, I get all its messages, but when I try to send I message I get it back with a note that I am not a member of the list and thus cannot post messages to it. -Jane Doe

Answer: This is usually caused by the fact that for every email account at Salem State there are two different email addresses that will take mail to the same mailbox, in your case: jdoe@salemstate.edu and jane.doe@salemstate.edu. To the SSC mail server these are two versions of the same address (actually, the latter is an alias of the former), but to the rest of the world, including our email list server, they are different.

Our lists are typically configured not to accept mail from non-members to prevent spam and other intrusions, so if you signed up to a list as jane.doe@salemstate.edu but now are sending a message to the list with the return address jdoe@salemstate.edu--which is the default return address in Groupwise--the listserv has no way of knowing that you are a member of the list.

So here is what you can do to solve this problem:

• Make sure you sign up for your lists as jdoe@salemstatete.edu, your return address.
• If you are already a member of a list as jane.doe@salemstate.edu, you can do one of the following things:
  1. Unsubscribe from the list and resubscribe (see below for information on unsubscribing and subscribing)
  2. Log on to the Lyris site for your list and change your email address (see below for information on changing your settings)
  3. Contact your list administrator and ask him/her to change your email address
  4. Contact the SSC academic listmasterand ask him to change your email address
  What you should not do is send a message to the whole membership to request to be taken off the list. It is very bad netiquette to do so.

Question: How do I unsubscribe from list X

Answer: There are a number of ways. Choose the one that works for you:

1. Most lists attach a footer to each message sent to the list which provide a link to unsubscribe. For any one message, each footer is different for each recipient, so that if that link is clicked it will unsubscribe you. You may still get a message asking you to confirm the unsubscribe.
2. Log on to the Lyris site for your list and unsubscribe (see below for information on changing your settings)
3. Contact your list administrator and ask him/her to take you off the list
4. Contact the SSC academic listmasterand ask him to take you off the list

Question: How do I change my settings for LIST-X to set my account to receive no mail while on vacation, to unsubscribe, or to change my email address?

Answer: There is a login web page associated with your particular list from where you can enter the Lyris site. It looks like this

http://listserv.salemstate.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=LISTX

(Make sure you replace the word LISTX with for the actual list name, that is, the part that comes before the @ sign in the list's address.)

TO set your account to receive no mail for a while, click on Status and select NOMAIL.

Question: A friend of mine wants to join LIST-X. What does she have to do?

Answer: The easiest way for most lists (unless they are closed lists) is to go to the joining page for that list. The address looks like this:

http://listserv.salemstate.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?join=LISTX

(Make sure you replace the word LISTX with for the actual list name, that is, the part that comes before the @ sign in the list's address.)

Enter all required information. Some lists are set up so that you need a permission password to join. YOu will have to get it from the list's administrator. The page may also ask you for a personal password ("Choose a password that will identify you"). That is your own made up password so that only you can enter your persoal settings page.

Of course, you can always ask the list's administrator to add your name/address to the list, and in most cases they'll be happy to do it.

Question: Who can create a mailing list?

Answer: Anybody associated with the college can. Faculty can create a list by using the form on this site or contacting Jon Aske. Students can also need this service need a faculty sponsor to create a list. Staff and others associated with the college who want to create a non-academic list should contact IT.

Question: What kinds of lists can I create?

Answer: You can create lists for your classes, for department faculty members, for alumni, for majors, or for special insterest groups of any kind, such as clubs or organizations.

Question: What if I want to have a say as to what is posted on a particular list?

Answer: Lists can be either moderated or unmoderated. In a moderated list, the list administrator gets to preview messages that are sent and approve them or reject them. It's your choice. Moderating messages can be done either by email or on the Web.

Question: Why would I want to have a list for my class?

Answer: A list can increase the quantity (and quality) of contact between professor and students as well as among students. In a commuter school such as ours, anything that increases the contact time between professor and student and the cooperation and exchanges among students is to be welcome. It is true that it will involve a bit more work for you, but the results are well worth it.

Question: I don't want a "chat list" where everybody can write to. I just want to send information to a bunch of people without hearing back from them. Can I do that?

Answer: There are two types of lists: one way (announcement) lists and two-way (discussion) lists. In the former, only certain people are allowed to send messages, such as the list creator/administrator. In the latter any member can send a message to every other member. You can choose what you want your list to do.

Question: How do I explain to my students what a listserv is?

Answer: You can tell them the following (answer provided by John Green):

A "listserv" is an e-mail mailing list. Here is how it works. The members of our listserv are the students in the class and myself, the teacher. When any member of the listserv sends an e-mail to the address xxxxx@listserv.salemstate.edu, that message is sent to all the members, including the person who sent the message . If you reply to a message that was sent to the listserv, your reply will also go to all the members.

Try it now if you want. Use the reply function on your e-mail program to respond to this message. But remember that everybody in the class, including myself, will receive your message.

If you want to respond to a message that was sent to the listserv but you want your response to go only to the person who wrote the message, you should enter that person's e-mail address when you write your reply instead of using the "reply" function of your e-mail program. I passed out a list of e-mail addresses in class this morning to make it easier for you to do that if you want.

I will use the listserv any time I need to send a message to the whole class. For example, if I am ever sick and have to cancel class, I will send everybody an e-mail. If class is cancelled because of bad weather, I will use the listserv to make any announcements I need to make.

But you can use the listserv too, any time you have something to say and you want to share it with the others in the class.

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