FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for the Guatemala-Adopt email list. Last revised 12-Jan-2006.

This page covers one section of the FAQ. For a list of all topics see the main FAQ page.


Managing Your List Subscription (unsubscribe, set digest or nomail, etc.)


What is the list server and how do I send it a command?

It's a computer run by a non-profit email list hosting organization called ICORS and located in Maryland, USA. It knows who is subscribed to the list, and sends each email to everyone on the list.

You can control your list subscription by sending commands to the server. You may not need to do so -- the default subscription options are fine for most list members. But if you want to change something, the most useful commands are explained in the following questions.

To send a command, just send an email to:

          listserv@listserv.icors.org

When you send a command, the Subject of the message can be anything you like -- it will be ignored. But don't put ANYTHING else in your message -- no indentation, no signature, no HTML, nothing. Just the command, on a line by itself, like this (but not indented):

          set guatemala-adopt nomail

Commands must be sent from the email address you use to subscribe to the list. If you send them from a diffferent address, they won't work.

This list is not for me. How do I unsubscribe?

Send this command to the list server at listserv@listserv.icors.org:

          unsubscribe guatemala-adopt

How do I stop mail from the list while I'm out of town for a while?

Send this command to the list server at listserv@listserv.icors.org:

          set guatemala-adopt nomail

When you return, send this command to turn your list email back on:

          set guatemala-adopt mail

If you don't want to miss any list messages while you're gone, but are afraid your mailbox will fill up, you can switch to digest mode while you are away and turn off the digest when you return; see the questions below for details.

I'm getting too many emails! What can I do?

You can set your subscription to "digest" mode where you get one long message every day with all of that day's list messages embedded in it, instead of receiving all messages individually in your email.

To do so, send this command to the list server at listserv@listserv.icors.org:

          set guatemala-adopt digest

Digests are normally sent out by the server once per day, a little after midnight eastern US time. If there are a lot of messages in a day, an interim digest may be sent mid-day as well.

How do I reply to messages in a digest?

Reply normally, but pay attention to the Subject line.

Unless you use the "mime" option (see below), the "Subject" line for each digest you receive will describe the digest itself, not the many messages it contains. Please use care to change the subject to match the original message when posting responses -- if you don't, others will see your reply with a subject like:

Re: Guatemala-Adopt Digest - 1 Feb 2001 to 2 Feb 2001

which doesn't tell anyone what you're talking about.

It's really a pain to read all those emails lumped together in the digest. Is there something I can do to make it easier to read?

Yes. You can set "mime digest" mode. In this mode you will receive each digest using the MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) email digest format. Most current mail readers understand this format. The digest still normally comes once a day, and you still get only one email message for each digest. However, when you open this message with a compatible email program you will see each individual list message separately, will be able to read and reply to each one as if it were a separate message, and will not have to change the Subject line as described for a normal digest above.

To set mime digest mode send this command to the list server at listserv@listserv.icors.org:

          set guatemala-adopt mime digest

If you try this option and don't like it, send this command to the server to restore normal digest mode:

          set guatemala-adopt nomime digest

I don't like the digest. How do I go back to individual emails?

Send this command to the list server at listserv@listserv.icors.org:

          set guatemala-adopt nodigest

I don't want any email at all. How do I read the list via the web site?

Send this command to the list server at listserv@listserv.icors.org:

          set guatemala-adopt nomail

See the section on the archives below for information on reading messages via the web site.

The list messages are cluttering up my inbox. How can I keep them separate from my regular email?

There are two options that might help; you can use either, or both.

One simple tool is to add an abbreviated form of the list name, in brackets ("[gadopt]"), to the Subject of every message sent to you by the server, making list messages easier to identify in your inbox. To do so, send this command to the list server at listserv@listserv.icors.org:

          set guatemala-adopt subjecthdr

To turn this option off send this command to the server:

          set guatemala-adopt shorthdr

Another approach is to use a filtering rule in your email program to move Guatemala-Adopt messages into a separate folder so that they aren't all in your regular inbox. Most email programs support this kind of filtering. Here's where to find it in a few popular programs:

For other programs, look in the help under topics like "filtering" or "message rules".

The best filtering method is to move the message into the folder you want when the string "guatemala-adopt@listserv.icors.org" is found in the "To:" or "Cc:" headers.


Copyright © 2006, Guatemala-Adopt list owners. All Rights Reserved. The Guatemala-Adopt list is hosted by ICORS.