Owners Guide for Mailing Lists (aka LISTSERV, L-Soft)

Logging In

Mailing list owners can use the L-Soft interface to manage their lists. To login to the interface, visit http://list.csulb.edu and log-in with your campus email address and password.

How do I manage my list?

We recommend that you use the web interface to maintain your list.

1. Go to the LISTSERV Home Page
2. Click Log In
3. On the Login Required screen, enter your BeachID Credentials (e-mail address and password).
4. Click the Log In button. When you log in the first time you will be returned to the main list archives page, but with a different toolbar at the top - with more options.
5. From the List Management drop-down menu select List Dashboard. The List Dashboard shows all of your lists. The List Dashboard Moderation section alerts you of any messages that are awaiting moderation. The reports table at the bottom of the screen shows list configuration and list activity.
6. Many list configuration options are available directly from the Dashboard. From here you can configure your lists and view, add or delete subscribers.
7. To configure your list manually, click the List Management menu, click List Configuration, and click Manual List Configuration.
8. We recommend that you create a Info, Welcome, and Farewell messages (see below for details).
9. Select Log Out when you are finished with your LISTSERV session.

How can I see who has subscribed to my list?

There are three ways to view subscribers:

• You can view your list subscribers on the web by using the List Dashboard - click List Management > List Dashboard. Click on [View] in the Subscribers column.
• Or you can view list subscribers by clicking List Management > List Reports > Subscriber Reports. Click the down arrow for Select List and select your list. The subscribers will be listed in the Subscriber Names column.
• Or you can view list subscribers via email. Address an email to listserv@list.csulb.edu and put the following in the body of the message : review listname

How can I create Welcome, Farewell and INFO messages?

We recommend that the list owner create Welcome, Farewell and INFO messages for their list.

To create or change your Welcome, Farewell and INFO messages:

1. Log In to LISTSERV.
2. Select List Management > List Configuration > List Configuration Tasks
3. If you own more than one list, use the drop down arrow in Select List: to select your list
4. Select the Mail Templates tab
5. Follow the on-screen instructions

Do I need to subscribe to my own list?

Yes. If you want to see the messages you need to subscribe to your own list. We recommend that you create the Welcome message first, so you can see your own Welcome message.

What is the "List Title" and how do I change it?

The List Title is a one line description, maximum of 100 characters, of the list which is assigned when the list is created. This description is automatically included in the mail message sent to new subscribers. This description also appears in the online web archives listing.

To change the List Title:

1. Log In to LISTSERV
2. Select List Management > List Dashboard, Click on [Configure], then Edit Manually
3. or select List Management > List Configuration > Manual List Configuration.
4. This first line in the list header is the "List Title"
5. Type in your new List Title
6. Click on Save at the bottom of the page
7. You should see the message "The header of the listname list has been successfully replaced."
8. Click on Log Out when you are finished with your LISTSERV session

How can I change the standard "You are now subscribed" message that gets sent to new subscribers?

There are actually three possible places to change this message.

• The SIGNUP1 or "You are now subscribed to the &LISTNAME list" template which includes/imbeds the $SIGNUP template.
• The ADD1 or "You have been added to the &LISTNAME list" template which includes/imbeds the $SIGNUP template.
• The $SIGNUP or "Standard message to new subscribers " template.

When a user subscribes to a list, LISTSERV sends the SIGNUP1 message.

When a list owner manually adds a subscriber to a list, LISTSERV sends the ADD1 message, unless "Do Not Notify the User" has been selected.

By default, both the SIGNUP1 and the ADD1 messages imbed the $SIGNUP message by including a .im $SIGNUP command in those message templates.

To completely eliminate the SIGNUP1 and the ADD1 messages, edit those messages as described below. Add the .QQ command as the first line of each template. This will cancel the message.

To change these messages:

1. Log In to LISTSERV
2. Select List Management > List Configuration > List Configuration Tasks
3. If you own more than one list, use the drop down arrow in Select List: to select your list
4. Select the Mail Templates tab
5. Follow the on-screen instructions

How can I change the default bottom banner?

LISTSERV creates a default bottom banner with unsubscribe instructions for your list. If you want to add more information in the bottom banner then you should modify both the BOTTOM_BANNER and BOTTOM_BANNER_HTML mail templates

To change the default bottom banner :

1. Log In to LISTSERV
2. Select List Management > List Configuration > List Configuration Tasks
3. Select the Banners tab
4. Click on the TIps link for HTML vs. Text Banners for an explanation of creating both plain text and HTML banners
5. If you own more than one list, use the drop down arrow in Select List: to select your list
6. Modify both the BOTTOM_BANNER and BOTTOM_BANNER_HTML mail templates

How can I view, add to or delete subscribers from my list?

There are several ways to view, add or delete subscribers.

1. Log In to LISTSERV
2. Select List Management > Subscriber Management & then select the Single Subscriber tab
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Don't forget to Log Out at the end of your session

Or

1. Log In to LISTSERV
2. Select List Management > List Dashboard
3. Click View in the Subscribers column
4. Follow the on-screen instructions
5. Don't forget to Log Out at the end of your session

To add many subscribers at once (bulk add) see the instructions below: How can I add or delete many addresses (bulk add) at one time?

How can I add or delete many addresses (bulk add) at one time?

One way to delete or add many addresses is to use the bulk add option.

1. Log In to LISTSERV
2. Select List Management > Subscriber Management and then select the Bulk Operations tab
3. Read the functions carefully before making your selection since some of the functions will remove all subcribers from your list

The input file must be a plain text file (with the extension of .txt) and must contain one address per line, optionally followed with a space (or TAB) and the subscriber's name. The input file cannot contain quotes. For example:

emailaddress firstname lastname
emailaddress

Click the Help button in the upper right for more information

To add subscribers to lists in bulk using e-mail commands:

1. Address a message to: listserv@list.csulb.edu
2. In the body of the message type:
   quiet add listname dd=ddname import pw=yourlistservpassword
   //ddname dd *
   emailaddress1 firstname lastname
   emailaddress2 firstname lastname
   emailaddress3 firstname lastname
   /*

To remove subscribers from lists in bulk using e-mail commands:

1. Address a message to: listserv@list.csulb.edu
2. In the body of the message type:
   quiet del listname dd=ddname brief pw=yourlistservpassword
   //ddname dd *
   emailaddress1
   emailaddress2
   emailaddress3
   /*

A second method for adding subscribers to lists using e-mail commands:

1. Address a message to: listserv@list.csulb.edu
2. In the body of the message type:
   quiet add listname emailaddress1 firstname lastname pw=yourlistservpassword
   quiet add listname emailaddress2 * pw=yourlistservpassword
   quiet add listname emailaddress3 firstname lastname pw=yourlistservpassword

A second method to remove subscribers from lists using e-mail commands:

1. Address a message to: listserv@list.csulb.edu
2. In the body of the message type:
   quiet del listname emailaddress1
   quiet del listname emailaddress2
   quiet del listname emailaddress3

How can I stop my list from sending messages (prevent new postings from being processed)?

My list keeps sending the same message over and over again (looping). How can I stop my list from sending any messages until I get the problem fixed?

You can prevent new posting from being processed by issuing "hold" command. This will hold all messages until a "free" command is issued.

1. Log In to LISTSERV
2. Select List Mangement > List Configuration > List Configuration Tasks
3. If you own more than one list, use the drop down arrow in Select List: to select your list
4. Under Useful Commands: select Hold listname

Subject tagging is a subscriber setting, not a list setting.

How do I add a subject tag to my list?

The subject tag (e.g. Subject: [Beach-Cert] ) is defined at the subscriber level, not the per the entire list. The subject tag must be a single word (i.e., no spaces).

Default-Options are found on the Subscription list configuration tab.

You can adjust subscriber settings by doing the following

1. Log In to LISTSERV
2. Select List Management > List Configuration > List Configuration Tasks
3. Select Subject Tags and enter the subject tag as one word.
4. Change the Default-Options to include SUBJecthrdr option.

If the list contains subscribers that were added before the subject tag was added, follow these steps to modify subject tag settings:

1. Select List Management -> List Dashboard
2. Click [View] to modify subscriber settings.
3. Add a check mark next to Header Style, then click the Submit button to see current settings.
4. Put a check mark next to each subscriber, then change the drop-down to Subject.

Subscribers can change their personal settings if so desired.