What methods of authentication are available for mailing lists?
Authentication
All messages to ListServ and all
postings to ListServ lists require authentication, with the exception
of lists configured for open subscription and/or unmoderated posting.
The method of authentication is among the parameters chosen by the
owner and set up by IRT at the time of list creation. Authentication
can be either by confirmation or by password. Confirmation is the
method most commonly used at Drexel and MCP Hahnemann universities.
Authentication by confirmation
When
you send a command to ListServ or a posting to your ListServ list,
ListServ compares your exact email address to its authorized list of
list owners, list editors, or subscribers. If your email address
matches exactly and you are authorized for the function you are
attempting, ListServ immediately sends you a confirmation request. Use
the Reply feature in your email client; if the text of your message appears, Delete it; completely empty the content of the message body, including signatures, and type OK
in the text field; click Send to send the message back to ListServ.
You're done! ListServ inserts a coded message number in the Subject line, so be sure you do not delete or alter the Subject line in the confirmation message.
In
the Drexel system, the above confirmation method of authentication will
ordinarily be used with all commands to ListServ and with all messages
to ListServ lists. If you do choose to use a password (see next
section), that process replaces the confirmation and no confirmation
request will be sent to you.
Authentication by password
The
alternative method for authenticating your commands to ListServ and
messages to ListServ lists is with a password. The password, when used,
must appear at the end of the first line of your set of commands in the
form pw=yourpassword, where yourpassword is the code you have chosen (see next section).
How do I set my ListServ password?
Setting up your password
If you expect to use a
password for any ListServ functions, then your first action after
receiving your list name is to set up your password. You will use this
password in your command messages to ListServ to authenticate your
commands. To set up your password with ListServ, send an email to listserv@lists.drexel.edu with the following command: pw add newpassword
where
newpassword is the password you have chosen to manage your ListServ
list(s). Do NOT use your email password or any other secure password
for this purpose; you will frequently be sending this password as plain
text with your messages to ListServ. There, it can easily be read by a
malicious hacker.
If you forget or need to change your ListServ password, send an email to listserv@lists.drexel.edu with the following command: pw reset
ListServ
will send you an email to confirm this command. Reply to this email;
Delete the text, if any, and type OK and Send it back to ListServ. This
deletes your old password. You can then set a new password using the pw
add newpassword command described above.
How do I populate my mailing list with members?
From Classlist
Return to http://www.drexel.edu/classlist/ and follow the instructions to populate your list with all the members of your class.
Using your own separate list
Once you have a list of addresses in an Excel spreadsheet or a plain text list, you can send an email to listserv@lists.drexel.edu from the email account used in setting up the list. To subscribe people to your list, you use the add command.
To
add one user at a time, the command is thus: add listname username
where listname is the name of your list (the string that comes before
"@lists.drexel.edu"), and username is the email address (of the form
userid@domain.name) of the person being added. Authenticate by
confirmation (or use your password). The user will be notified of their
subscription.
To add a large number of users, the format is thus:
quiet add listname dd=ddname import
//ddname dd *
userid1@host1.com
userid2@host2.com
…
useridn@hostn.com
/*
where
“quiet” is an optional parameter that, when included at the beginning
of the first command, will NOT notify the users that they have been
subscribed. If you use the quiet parameter, it should appear exactly as
it does in the above command. Listname is your list's name (before the
@ sign of the list address), and ddname is a temporary name to identify
the list of addresses. Authenticate by confirmation (or use your
password).
Populating a list: What to do if ListServ asks you to supply the Full Name for the username you have added
If the
username was already subscribed to another list with the Full Name, ListServ will supply the Full Name of the user when you subscribe it to the current list. If the Full Name does not already exist in association with the username, ListServ will ask you for the Full Name. You may supply it by using the following format for the add command:
note: All italicized text in the commands only denotea modifiable portions of each command.
add listname username Full Name
where
Full Name is at least two words separated by a space.
Or, you may decline to supply the Full Name by using the following format for the add command:
add listname username *
Alternatively, you can use the following format (the bulk add command) for adding many users at once. This format does not demand the
Full Name:
quiet add listname dd=ddname import
//ddname dd *
userid1@host1.com
/*
Populating the List: What to do if ListServ appears to truncate your command line before the end
ListServ limits the length of any command line to about 80 characters; longer lines will "wrap" and the wrapped segment will not be read as part of the line. Instead, “wrapped” sections will be read as a new command line and will often cause errors. Also, certain illegal characters (notably "/") will cause ListServ to truncate the line. To add long addresses or addresses containing the "/" character, use the following format:
All italicized text in the commands only denote modifiable portions of each command.
quiet add listname dd=ddname import
//ddname dd *
userid1@host1.com
/*
To delete a username that is too long or contains illegal characters, use the following format:
quiet delete listname dd=ddname
//ddname dd *
userid1@host1.com
/*
All italicized text in the above commands only denote modifiable portions of each command.