[1] From: Willard McCarty <mccarty@phoenix.princeton.edu> (309)
Subject: Humanist help page
Humanist Discussion Group:
Basic information for members
(December 1995)
1. Addresses for Humanist
2. Your subscription address
3. Unsubscribing and changing your subscription parameters
4. Accessing the archives for Humanist
5. Adjusting your mailer
6. ListProcessor commands and procedures
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The following assumes that you are a current member of Humanist. For=20
information on how to subscribe, see the instructions on the homepage=20
at the URL=20
http://www.princeton.edu/=FF7Emccarty/humanist/index.html#Subscribe
If you have no access to the World Wide Web, then contact the
Assistant Editor, Christopher Fox, cgfox@rci.rutgers.edu.=20
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1. Addresses for Humanist
a. Humanist itself (for submitting normal contributions):
humanist@lists.princeton.edu
b. The Humanist Web (main source of information):
http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/
c. Humanist archives (log files &c.):
gopher://lists.Princeton.EDU:70/11/humanist
d. The Editor, Willard McCarty (for extraordinary reasons): =
=20
mccarty@phoenix.princeton.edu
e. Assistant Editor, Christopher Fox (for technical assistance): =20
cgfox@rci.rutgers.edu
f. ListProc (for adjusting your subscriptionparameters):
listproc@lists.princeton.edu
2. Your subscription address=20
One of the most frequent sources of confusion for members of=20
Humanist is communicating with the software that handles=20
subscriptions. This software, called ListProcessor, can only=20
recognize you as the "owner" of your subscription if you use=20
the full address with which you have subscribed. If your=20
address changes in any way, the ListProcessor will not=20
recognize you. Changes can occur because your system=20
administrator has altered some portion of the address or=20
reconfigured the machines in your local network, or because=20
you yourself have changed accounts. On most systems, when you=20
move to a new account you can arrange to have mail forwarded from=20
the old one, but to the ListProcessor you are not you unless=20
you send messages from this old account.=20
If your address has changed, then, follow this procedure before=20
attempting any other modifications of your account:
a. Log on to your old account.
b. Verify your current subscription address and parameters by=20
sending the command=20
set humanist
to the Princeton ListProcessor, at listproc@lists.princeton.edu.=20
(Caution: use an e-mail program or client for sending this and=20
other ListProcessor commands, not your web browser, which may=20
send mail under a different address.)=20
c. Send the command=20
set humanist address [your current password] [your new address]
(Note that your password is given in the results from the=20
set humanist command.
If you can no longer access the account under which you have subscribed,
send a note to the Assistant Editor requesting assistance. If at all=20
possible, anticipate any changes in address by updating your subscriptio=
n=20
accordingly.
Note that Humanist normally allows only one subscription per person.=20
3. Unsubscribing, postponing and resuming mail,=20
and changing your other subscription parameters
Except for unusual circumstances, you should manage your subscription
directly by issuing commands to the ListProcessor (listproc).=20
Commands are issued by sending e-mail to the ListProcessor. You=20
should NOT use a subject line, and, if you have multiple requests,=20
you can only issue one command per line of text. Unless otherwise=20
indicated, no password is needed, but (as above) you must send commands=
=20
from the original subscription address, or listproc will automatically=
=20
reply by telling you you are not subscribed.
The following commands are the most widely used:
UNSUBSCRIBE
To cancel your subscription to Humanist, issue the command=20
unsubscribe humanist. =20
POSTPONE
Many people wish to suspend delivery of their mail when they are
unable to check on it for extended periods of time. We stronly=20
suggest you do this, since most accounts allow only a limited disk=20
quota, which when exceded leaves you unable to receive any mail=20
at all. To postpone delivery without canceling your subscritpion,=20
use the command=20
set humanist mail postpone.
RESUME
To resume delivery of Humanist, use the command=20
set humanist mail
PASSWORD
The passwords automatically assigned to subscriptions can be difficult=
=20
to remember. Although you can look up your password at any time by=20
issuing the set humanist command, you may still want to change it. =20
If you do so, you should not use your own account password, since=20
that poses a serious security risk. To change the password, sent=20
the command=20
set humanist [old password] [new password]
HELP
Any further questions you have may be answered by sending a help
command to listproc. Help gives a list of all available
commands, some of which can only be used by the owners of the list=20
(this list is reproduced below. Further information about the
command can be requested by sending a help [command] request. =20
Finally, if you are completely lost, you may contact the=20
Assistant Edistor.
=20
4. Accessing the archives for Humanist=20
All the archives and associated files for Humanist are online and=20
easily searchable by a mechanism known as Harvest, which is accessed=20
via Gopher, to lists.princeton.edu. If you are reading this with a=20
Web browser, use the URL gopher://lists.Princeton.EDU:70/11/humanist;=20
if you are using a Gopher client, go to that address; if you are in=20
a terminal session (e.g. using Kermit or Telix), from your online=20
system prompt, type =20
gopher lists.princeton.edu
then go to the Humanist menu and select a search. All forms of access
require that you enter one or more keywords. =20
5. Adjusting your mailer=20
Note that what you see when you view a message from Humanist is to=20
a certain extent dependent on what "mailer agent" you are using. This=20
is particularly true of the information sent at the beginning of each=20
message, the mail header, which can be quite long and usually consists=
=20
of information you neither want nor need. Many mailers have means of=20
controlling the amount of header you see.=20
Eudora.=20
For a short header in Eudora Light 1.5, set "Show all headers (even ugly=
=20
ones)" in Fonts and Display under the Settings menu, off. For Eudora,=20
see the QualComm Web page at the URL
http://www.qualcomm.com/quest/QuestMain.html
Pegasus Mail.=20
To suppress header information (i.e., all the opening information having=
=20
to do with routing, time of delivery, etc.), simply type the letter=20
"h" when you are reading the message. This will "toggle" the header=20
information on or off for all future messages. (In other words, if=20
the header information is displayed fully, hitting "h" will turn it off=
=20
and display the briefest header possible; if the header information is=
=20
NOT being displayed fully, hitting "h" will turn it on so that all=20
header information will be displayed.) For more information on
Pegasus, see the Pegasus Mail page at the URL
http://www.cuslm.ca/pegasus/pmail.htm
pine.=20
Pine normally suppresses much of the header, showing only four-lines.=20
If you want to see the remainder, select alternate header mode=20
(HdrMode) by typing H when viewing a message -- providing the=20
enable-full-header-cmd option has been checked in Configuration=20
under the Setup menu. In other words, the default for pine is=20
to show you the minimal header. For more information, see the
Pine Information Center, at the URL
http://www.cac.washington.edu:1180/pine/index.html
elm.=20
To change header options, modify the file .elm/elmrc. First make=20
sure that the "weed" parameter appears and is set as follows:=20
weed =3D on
Following should be one or more lines that identify which header lines=
=20
you never want to see, specified by the "weedout" parameter. The=20
default is "Received:"; the list can continue for as many lines as=20
desired, as long as the continued lines all have leading indentation. =
=20
For more information, see the ELM Reference Guide, at the URL
http://gpu.srv.ualberta.ca/application_help/ref_gd.html
Contributions to these notes on configuring mailers are welcome and=20
should be sent to the Editor.=20
6. ListProcessor commands and procedures=20
ListProcessor 7.2
Copyright (c) 1993-95 by
the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN)
Here is a brief description of the set of requests recognized by=20
ListProcessor. Everything appearing in [] below is optional; everything=20
appearing in () is mandatory; all arguments are case insensitive, except=20
mail addresses and passwords. The vertical bar ("|") is used as a logical=
=20
OR operator between the arguments. Requests may be abbreviated, but you=20
must specify at least the first three characters.
Keep in mind that when referring to a (list), that list may be of two=20
kinds: local or remote, unless otherwise noted. When referring to a local=
=20
list, your request will be immediately processed; when referring to a=20
remote list (a list served by another ListProcessor which this system=20
knows about), your request will be appropriately forwarded. Issue a=20
'lists global' request to get a listing of all local and known remote=20
lists to this ListProcessor.
Recognized requests are:
*** GENERAL ***
help [topic]
------------
Without arguments, this file. Otherwise get specific information on the
selected topic. Topics may also refer to requests. To learn more about=20
this system issue a 'help listproc' request. To get a listing of all availa=
ble
topics, generate an error message by sending a bogus request like 'help=20
me'.
lists [local|global [keywords]]
-------------------------------
Get a list of all local mailing lists served by this server, or of all=20
known local and remote lists. If keywords are specified, they are treated=
=20
as a logically ANDed list of strings/regular expressions; keywords can be=
=20
quoted. When keywords are specified, only those lists' descriptions that=20
match the keywords are listed.
release
version
-------
Get information about the current release of this ListProcessor system.
*** FOR LISTS ***
information [list]
------------------
This file if no list is specified, otherwise get information about the
specified list.
purge (password)
----------------
Remove yourself from all mailing lists on this host.
recipients (list)
-----------------
Get a list of the current subscribers.
review (list) [short|description|subscribers]
---------------------------------------------
Review the list's settings, get the list's general information file and=20
get a listing of the current subscribers for the specified list.
run (list) [(password) (cmd [args])]
------------------------------------
Run the specified command with the optional arguments and receive the=20
output from stdout and/or stderr. To get a listing of all available=20
commands to run, omit the arguments, i.e. issue a 'run (list)' request.=20
You have to belong to the specified list, and must have obtained the=20
password from the list's owner; the owner's address may be found in the=20
Errors-To: header line of each delivered message.
set (list) [(option) [arg[s]]]
------------------------------
Without the optional arguments, get a list of all current settings for
the specified list. Otherwise change the option to a new value for that
list (or the list default if that value is missing).
Valid arguments are: mail [ACK|NOACK|POSTPONE|DIGEST]
password (current-password) [new-password]
address (current-password) (new-address)
conceal [YES|NO]
preference [preferences]
Issue a 'help set' request for more information.
+
query (list)
------------
Same as 'set (list)' with no arguments.
statistics (list) {[subscriber email address(es)] | [-all]}
-----------------------------------------------------------
Get a listing of non-concealed subscribers along with the number of=20
messages each one of them has sent to the specified list. If the optional=
=20
email addresses are given, then statistics will be collected for these=20
users only.
For example:
stat foo user1@domain user2@domain
will generate statistics about these two subscribers. "-all" compiles=20
statistics for all users that have posted on the list (whether currently
subscribed or not).
subscribe (list) (your name)
join (list) (your name)
----------------------------
The only way to subscribe to a list.=20
unsubscribe (list)
signoff (list)
------------------
Remove yourself from the specified list.
which
-----
Get a listing of local mailing lists to which you have subscribed.
*** FOR ARCHIVES ***
afd (action) {(archive) [/password] [files]} [{(archive) [/password]=20
[files]}]...
fui (action) {(archive) [/password] [files]} [{(archive) [/password]=20
[files]}]...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Automatic File Delivery (AFD) and File Update Information (FUI).=20
Add/delete yourself to archives and/or files, and be notified when these=20
archives or files are updated. "action" can be: add, delete or query. The=
=20
site's manager may manipulate other addresses by listing them after the=20
archive specification(s).
archive (archive name) (password) (action) [args]
-------------------------------------------------
Manipulate archives; the manager may create new archives, remove existing
ones, or reconfigure existing ones. Both the manager and the archive's=20
owners may add, delete or update existing files.
fax (fax-number) (archive | path-to-archive) (file) [/password] [parts]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Same as 'get', but it faxes you the files instead to the specified=20
number.
get (archive | path-to-archive) (file) [/password] [parts]
----------------------------------------------------------
Get the requested file from the specified archive. Files are usually=20
split in parts locally, and in such a case you will receive the file in=20
multiple email messages -- an 'index' request tells you how many parts=20
the file has been split into, and their sizes; if you need to obtain=20
certain parts, specify them as optional arguments. If an archive is=20
private, you have to provide its password as well.
index [archive | path-to-archive] [/password] [-all]
----------------------------------------------------
Get a list of files in the selected archive, or the master archive if no
archive was specified. If an archive is private, you have to provide its
password as well.
search (archive | path-to-archive)] [/password] [-all] (pattern)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Search all files of the specified archive (and all of its subarchives if=20
-all is specified) for lines that match the pattern. The pattern can be=20
an egrep(1)-style regular expression with support for the following=20
additional operators: '~' (negation), '|' and '&' (logical OR and AND),=
=20
'(' ')' (group regular expressions). The pattern may be enclosed in=20
single or double quotes. Note: . matches any character including new=20
line.
view (archive | path-to-archive)] [/password] [parts]
-----------------------------------------------------
Same as 'get' but in interactive mode justs catenates the file on the=20
screen.
[Help intended for owners and editors of lists has been omitted.]
*** OTHER ***
Help is also available on the following topics:
listproc
--------
Learn more about this system and list management software in general.
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