(EN) UV DISTRIBUTION LISTS. User's guide

How does the mailing list service work?

The mailing list service is managed by a mailing list software: Sympa . The software comes with a web environment of mailing lists .

To perform actions related to mailing lists (subscription, change your options, etc.), you have two options:

To send a command to Sympa , do the following:

  • You send a single command , write it in the subject of the message and leave the body of the message blank.
  • If you send several commands , leave the subject of the message blank and write all the commands inside the body of the message. Be careful : Sympa will not process your message if you do not respect the following rules:
    • Write each command in a new line.
    • Write a message in plain text, not in HTML (without format).
    • Your message can not contain anything other than Sympa commands (no signature should be included).

A description of all the commands you can send to Sympa is available in / sympa / help / mail_commands .

Subscription to mailing lists

Subscribing to a mailing list is very simple:

  1. Choose the address with which you want to subscribe to the list. 

    You should choose an address that you frequently check to offer a good storage capacity for your emails: some lists distribute many messages, which sometimes contain large attachments.

    Of course you can subscribe to the same list with different email accounts. In that case you will need to repeat the subscription process for each different email address.

  2. Send a message to listserv@llistes.uv.es from the address you want to subscribe to the list. 

    Sympa is not a person but a list management robot. So it's no use sending you loving words! ;-)

  3. In the subject of the message, write: subscribe nnombredellist Name Surname (change 'nameoflist' by the name of the list you want to subscribe to and indicate your own Name).
  4. Leave the body of the message blank . 

    To save time, you can send several commands in the same message. To do that, follow the instructions available in the How a mailing list service workssection

After this, you will receive a message telling you whether your request has been accepted or not : if the subscription to the list is subject to some type of approval, the owner of the list must decide whether or not to subscribe to it. If so, do not send several requests: it is useless since you will get the same result. Possibly you can send a message directly to the owner of the list (name of the list-request @ llistes.uv.es ) to explain why you want to be a subscriber of the list ...

Note: sometimes you will have to confirm your subscription request before it is processed. If so, please follow the instructions indicated in the message you received.

Depending on the type of list (list with subscribers subject to conditions or not) and the availability of the owner of the list, you may not receive news immediately . It does not help to send several requests.

If your request is accepted, the message you will receive will confirm your subscription to the list. This message (the welcome letter) contains several pieces of essential information:

  • your password from the list . This password is the same for all the lists to which you are subscribed with the same email account. You can change it online after accessing the web environment of the mailing list server;
  • detailed information about the list : its purpose, the internet address where the message file is available, etc.
  • the rules applicable to the list and its members : allowed and forbidden topics, legal information, privacy policies, etc.

You must save your subscription notification : you may need it before to remember your password or to send an accurate command to Sympa (example: command signoff). In general, we recommend that you save all your subscription notifications to mailing lists .

You can also subscribe to a list through the interface of the mailing list . To do that, do the following:

  1. Go to the home page of the list web environment and enter .
  2. Go to the information page of the list you want to subscribe to.
  3. In the side menu, click on the link 'Subscribe' .

Enter the mailing list environment

To enter the mailing list environment, use the authentication form located in the upper right column of the web interface. When you have entered, your email address and profile will be displayed there (subscriber, moderator or owner).

The authentication process varies according to your personal situation:

  • If the organization that offers the mailing list service uses Single sign-on technology (a single account and a single authentication, for example through a CAS system), you will prefer to enter with your unique account. To do so, click on the "Go" button next to the ' Authentication [name of the used system] ' testo. Then, write your login and password to enter the authentication server. 

    If you have already entered another service that is using the same authentication system, your authentication will be automatic. Refresh the page if necessary.

  • If no single authentication process is applied, you must use your list password. In that case, enter through the classic method: enter the email address with which you subscribed to the list as login and your list password in the 'Password' box.

If you do not remember your list password, click on 'Lost password?'. After indicating your email address, you will receive an email with a validation URL.

  • If no unique authentication process is applied and you do not have a list password yet , click on First connection? 'and enter your email address.You will receive a confirmation URL. Then you can choose your password.

Remember: the list password is a special password that you will only use for the mailing list service.

Check your subscriptions

To see all the lists to which you are subscribed, you need to access first. Subsequently, a list of all your lists will be shown, including a brief description of each of them, in the "Your lists" form in the column on the left.

To see the information page of a list, click on the name of the list . The information page includes a description of the list (objective, applicable rules when a message is sent, etc.), whose length will vary according to the list.

From this information page, you can:

The number of people subscribed to the list is permanently displayed in the left menu . To check the list of subscribers, click on the link 'Check subscribers' in the left menu (if the owners of the list decide to deny access to the list of subscribers, this link will not be available). The list of subscribers shows the email addressesand the name of each of the subscribers (the name is indicated depending on the subscription method used by the subscribers)

By default, each page shows 25 subscribers. You can browse through the pages using the navigation arrows or show more subscribers per page. You can also sort the subscribers according to the email address, domain or name by clicking on the corresponding column header.

The names of the list of owners and moderators are shown in the left menu . You should never write directly to the owners or moderators of the list. If you want to ask a question or make a comment, you should use the following address: nameoflist-request@llistes.uv.es (change 'nameoflist' by the name of the list in question).

To know when you subscribed to the list and when you have last updated your subscription options , click on the link "Subscriber options" in the left menu.

Manage your preferences

To simplify the use of lists , you can define a series of personal preferences . There are two types of preferences you can change:

  • your subscriber options , which may vary according to the list;
  • your general preferences , which apply to the entire Sympa mailing list environment.

Change your subscriber options

Your subscriber options may vary from one list to another . To change them, do the following:

  1. Go to the home page of the list web environment and enter .
  2. Go to the information page of the list in which you want to change your subscriber options.
  3. In the left menu, click on the link 'Subscriber options' .
  4. Change the mode of message reception (these options are mutually exclusive, so you can not select several at the same time):
    • digest MIME format : instead of receiving the messages from the list in a normal way, you will receive a summary of them. This summary collects a group of messages from the list, using the MIMEmultipart / digest format
    • digest plain text format : instead of receiving the messages from the list normally, you will receive a summary. The summary collects a group of messages from the list, using plain text format. The frequency of the summary is established by the owner of the list.
    • Listing mode : instead of receiving the messages from the list in a normal way, you will have a list of them. To read the messages, you must navigate through the online file of the list.
    • notification mode : with this mode, you will receive all messages with the body of the message blank: this way you are informed of each message sent to the list in real time, without risk of flooding your inbox.
    • no mail (useful for holidays) : this mode makes it possible for you not to receive messages from the list. It is especially useful when you do not have access to your mail for a long period of time and yet you want to keep subscribed to the list.
    • text only mode : this mode allows you to receive only the text version (text / plain) of a message sent in various formats (plain text and HTML).
    • HTML only mode : this mode allows you to receive only the HTML version of messages sent in both formats.
    • URLized mode : this mode allows you not to receive attachments. However, these documents are available in the list file and you can access them through the URL provided in the message.
    • you do not receive your own messages : this mode allows you not to receive a copy of your own messages.
    • standard (direct reception) : this mode is the default delivery mode; this mode cancels any other delivery mode:
    • Suspended : this mode allows you to suspend your subscription to one or more lists for a certain period or not. Unlike unsubscribing, you can track your subscription and reactivate it at any time by visiting the "Manage your subscription" section.
  5. Change visibility options :
    • listed on the list review page : your name and email address will be shown in the list of subscribers (in case the owner allows to see other subscribers that list).
    • hidden : your name and email address will not be shown in the subscriber list. However, your email address will be visible in the message file of the list if you send one.
  6. Click on the 'Update' button .

Change your general preferences

The general preferences apply to all subscriptions as well as the way in which the interface of your Sympa list server shows it. To change your preferences, do the following:

  1. Go to the home page of the list web environment and enter .
  2. In the form shown in the top right column, click on the link 'Your preferences'
  3. Change your preferences
  4. Click on the 'Send' button of each option that you change.

You can change:

  • your name : if you subscribe to a list from the web interface of the list server, the field 'Name' will be automatically filled in the list of subscribers;
  • the language you want for the web interface (you can change the language on each page of the web interface, your choice will remain even if you change the language on a different page than the 'Preferences' page;
  • the lifetime of the cookie deposited by Sympa in your browser ('Period of expiration of the connection'). By default, the session expires when you close the browser; If you use the list service frequently, we recommend that you choose a longer duration; 

    A cookie is a small file that the web server saves on your hard drive, usually temporarily, with the intention of identifying you as a user of the service. It contains small pieces of information about you: name, email address, last time you accessed, etc.

  • the email address with which you subscribe to the lists (if you subscribe with different email addresses, the address will be changed to the address with which you entered); 

    Be careful: this action will change your subscriptions for all the lists. If you want to change an address from a single list, it is better to unsubscribe from the list and subscribe again with the correct email address.

  • your list password .

The ' Your other email addresses ' section acts as a change of email address.

Search a mailing list

You may need to look up a mailing list. To do so, you have three options:

  • navigate through the different sections shown on the home page of the web environment
  • search a list through the search field : the search string will return all those lists whose name or description matches your search criteria (descriptions of the lists usually consist of short sentences);
  • Click on the ' List of lists ' tab at the top of the page to display all available lists .

Depending on the domain to which your email address belongs (example: cru.fr , fai.com , etc.) and the location to which you belong, you will not have access to the same lists. However, you can subscribe to a list that is not shown if you know the name. To do this, use your email client .

Read the file online from a list

Please check the file documentation

Send a message

Please check the documentation about sending messages

Use the shared document web space

Please check the documentation on shared web space of documents .

Suspending or resuming your subscription of each list

Please refer to the subscription management documentation .

Unsubscribing lists

To unsubscribe from a list, do the following:

  1. From the email address with which you are subscribed to the list, send a message to listserv@llistes.uv.es .
  2. In the Subject field of your email, type: unsubscribe name of the list (change 'nameoflist' to the name of the list you want to unsubscribe from).
  3. Leave the body of the message blank . 

    To save time, you can send several commands in the same message. To do that, follow the instructions available in the How a mailing list service workssection

You can also unsubscribe through the web interface of mailing lists (you will need to repeat the operation for each list you want to unsubscribe from):

  1. Go to the home page of the list web environment and enter .
  2. Go to the information page of the list from which you want to unsubscribe.
  3. In the left menu, click on the link 'Unsubscribe' .
Rev:2019 / 04
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SERVEI D'INFORMÀTICA - UNIVERSITAT DE VALÈNCIA