for Subscribers
Joining
Subscriber requirements
Each address subscribed to a list must identify an individual.
Other lists may not be subscribed! Participants of another list who wish to receive the email can be invited to subscribe individually.
Sometimes subscriptions are requested for pipes to files, news systems, etc. If (and only if) these are designed to meet troubleshooting requirements, they might be allowed. See the section on pipes, below.
Staying on the list
Addresses stay listed until they are
- unsubscribed by the owner,
- removed by the administrator at the owner's request, or
- pruned because of problems (returned or refused email).
Typical problems include:
- abandoned email accounts;
- storage quota or time allowed for pickup exceeded;
- expired forwarding arrangements or domain remappings;
- persistent uncorrected refusals due to sloppy anti-spamming measures or erroneous "loop" detection;
- broken pipes to file or news systems; or
- infinite loops.
The administrator tries to notify users of problems. These efforts often fail, because their email addresses are not reachable. Up to 20% of the list has been pruned without notice each year.
The administrator will suspend delivery to a problem address and monitor it for a while before pruning.
A name can be associated with each subscribed address. Subscribers with multiple addresses on the list can reduce their chances of getting pruned without notice by listing the same name for each address. This gives the administrator more alternatives for re-establishing contact.
Pipes
Pipes to files, news systems, etc., should not use unmonitored addresses. If the list administrator sends email to a subscribed address, a response from an individual is expected, even if the pipe breaks. (They usually do, eventually.) This can be achieved by subscribing the individual, then filtering that person's email and diverting the portion that comes from the list.
Note: Subscribing the pipe and filtering email that does not appear to come from the list is not equivalent. As long as it works, no one can tell the difference; when it breaks, the administrator can't send notice.
If a pipe breaks, and it becomes apparent that it has not meet troubleshooting requirements, the subscription may be deleted.
The most reliable way to identify email from the reflector (if your software can use it) is the Sender header field, which has one of these formats:
| for 802.1 and ballot lists: | Sender: "IEEE 802.1 list HELP only" <user-name@domain> |
| for the Architecture list: | Sender: IEEE 802 Architecture list HELP only <user-name@domain> |
Some email interfaces may limit the filters to less reliable techniques. With the default subscription options, list email has a subject line tag in brackets ([802.1 - seq#], [802.1_ballot - seq#], or [802-ARCH]) which will not appear on direct mail from the administrator. (Be sure to include at least the opening brackets in the filter pattern; you can expect mail from the administrator to refer to the list.)
Subscribing via ListServ® Web pages
Please note: Subscribing takes multiple steps and involves processing delays. Repeating your request won't help, unless there's doubt it was properly sent.
You can use a ListServ® Web page to manage subscriptions to IEEE lists. See the "Web interfaces" page for two alternatives:
- one which requires a login and allows you to deal with all your subscriptions; or
- one which needs no login but is specific to a single list, and requires confirmations by email.
The ListServ® pages allow you to specify your name along with an email address. Although both show subscriber option settings, the no-login page doesn't always handle them as expected. See the "Options" page for alternatives.
To associate a name with an address which is already subscribed, just issue a fresh Subscribe command.
Subscribing by email
Please note: Subscribing takes multiple steps and involves processing delays. Repeating your request won't help, unless there's doubt it was properly sent.
IF your browser is configured to invoke email,
AND that email interface can set the "From:" header field to the address you want to subscribe,
you may be able to subscribe via the "Email commands" page. The "subscribe" email command generated there allows you to specify your name, and to select whether list email is to be sent to the subscribed address. It is also a convenient way to change those characteristics for an existing subscription.
Note: You might not want email sent to a particular address because you are subscribing several addresses and plan to use a different one to receive. The advantage is that subscribers (usually) can send to the list without a moderator delay.