Posting to E-mail Lists

This article explains how to post messages to an e-mail list once you are subscribed, and will help you work around the most common problem encountered in posting.

To post to a list simply send an e-mail message to the list name at the host where the list resides. The host for lists maintained by ITC is listserv.montana.edu. For example, to post to the FOUNDERS list, send an e-mail message to:

founders@listserv.montana.edu.

Upon receipt of the message the list server will resend it to all subscribers of the list.

Many lists will accept postings from anyone. However, you may receive an error message such as "Error in delivery to mailing list: access denied" when you try to post to certain lists. If the owner has restricted the list, it may be that you can post only if you are subscribed to it. In extreme cases only the list owner is allowed to post. The most common level of restriction is subscribers-only posting.

Even if you are a subscriber, your posting may be rejected from a subscribers-only list. This happens when the e-mail address from which you are posting is different from the address from which you initially subscribed. For example, if you were logged into your Gemini account when you subscribed, a subscribers-only list will not accept a posting sent by you from your TRex account.

You can run into the same problem if you use a POP-mail client such as Eudora or Netscape. In such cases, when you set up the mail client, you specify the name and address by which the list server identifies you as a subscriber. Each POP-mail client refers to the return address in different terms. Somewhere in the setup, preferences, or options screen of each of these clients is a field in which you specify the address that the recipients of your messages see as your return address. If you try to post a message with an e-mail address other than the one the list server saw when you subscribed, your posting will be rejected.

If you receive an error message in response to a posting attempt, take the following steps to resolve the problem:

• Check your e-mail address to make sure it is correct and the same address that you used to subscribe to the list.

• If your e-mail address is configured correctly, try next to get a listing of the subscribers to determine under what name you are subscribed. You can obtain such a list by sending the review command followed by the list name to the list server. For example, to obtain a list of subscribers for the FOUNDERS list, send the review founders command to listserv@listserv.montana.edu.

  [Note that use of the review command may have been denied by the list owner or may be restricted to subscribers only. If you are unable to get a list of subscribers, re-subscribe from your current address and submit the review command again. Then continue following the instructions listed below to delete the entry that contains obsolete information.]

• The list server will return a list of subscribers to you. Find your entry on this list and make a note of the full address listed for you. If you are subscribed to the list with an address other than your current e-mail address, you will need to unsubscribe the old address and then re-subscribe to the list using your current address.

  If you are using a POP-mail client, you can accomplish this easily by changing the e-mail address in your POP-mail client's setup to the address that you used when you subscribed to the list; then send the unsubscribe command, followed by the list name, to the list server. Using the FOUNDERS list as our example, you would send the unsubscribe founders command to listserv@listserv.montana.edu. In a few minutes, the list server will have removed your name from the list. Now re-open your POP-mail software's setup screen and change the return address back to your current e-mail address. Send the command subscribe founders firstname lastname, where firstname lastname are your actual first and last names, to listserv@listserv.montana.edu and things should run smoothly.

If you are still unable to post to a list, send an e-mail message to the list owner. For any problems associated with a list or questions about the list, you can send a message to the list owner at:

owner-listname@listserv.montana.edu (where listname is the name of the list.)

For example, to contact the owner of the FOUNDERS list, send an e-mail message to:

owner-founders@listserv.montana.edu.

For related information about list services, please see the articles "Subscribing to E-mail Lists" and "Replying to E-mail Lists".

Please contact Allen Porter (ahporter@montana.edu) for additional assistance.

Updated December 1, 1997