Listserv - Commands Related to the Help-Net List ================================================ Written by Uzi Paz (For e-mail contact: user is uzi and domain is poboxes.com) This version's date: 19 January 2003 Contents ======== 1. General information 2. Setting the way you wish to receive your messages from Help-Net 3. Other settings. 4. Archive commands 5. References for this file and for more information 1. General Information ====================== * All settings and commands mentioned below should be posted to the Listserv address , i.e. to LISTSERV@UNL.EDU . * Commands should be posted as separate lines in the BODY of that message. * Help-Net is maintained by a program named Listserv, version 1.8e , and this document refers specifically to Help-Net. Instructions might be slightly different for other Listserv mailing lists, especially if they are run by a different version of Listserv. * On this document I summarize only the important commands and settings. There are other less useful commands which will not be mentioned here. 2. Setting the Way You Wish to Receive Your Messages from Help-Net ================================================================== There are three options to receive messages from Help-Net: a) separate messages b) digest format c) index format * In order to switch to separate messages from a digest format, use: SET HELP-NET NODIG * In order to switch to separate messages format from Index format, use: SET HELP-NET NOIND For those who use the IND or DIG option, in LISTSERV version 1.8e you can set whether you prefer to receive the index or digest messages in HTML format or not, by using the settings: SET HELP-NET HTML or SET HELP-NET NOHTML and SET commands can be combined, e.g.: SET HELP-NET INDEX HTML For those who are already set their subscription to receive messages separated (and this is the default for new subscribers) there are a few further options according to the following keywords (use only one of them): 1) FULLHDR to receive messages with all header fields 2) SHORTHDR to receive only header fields which a typical subscriber may use. 3) SUBJECTHDR similar to full header but the messages you receive from Help-Net will include the tag [H-N] added to the subjects of Help-Net's messages. 4) DUALHDR adds the important headers to the BODY of the messages from Help-Net. It is good when one uses a network that removes the original headers. You may use one of the keywords in a command in the following manner: SET HELP-NET keyword e.g. SET HELP-NET FULLHDR You may combine the above command with NODIG or NOIND, e.g. SET HELP-NET NODIG SHORTHDR If one does not receive messages in a Digest format, and willing to receive them in a digest format, there are two types of digest formats: "MIME Digest" and "NOMIME Digest". "NOMIME Digest" is a format in which Listserv bundles many messages into one message and the messages in the digest are just piled one below the other. "MIME Digest" also refers to bundling messages into a single message, but Listserv Uses MIME extension, and e-mail programs which support it, allow the digest message to be seen as a folder which includes all messages as if they were messages in that folder. This option requires that the e-mail program will support it, and otherwise the NOMIME Digest is better. Setting to a digest format with MIME is made by the command: SET HELP-NET DIG MIME or setting to a digest with NOMIME: SET HELP-NET DIG NOMIME Those who like to read only few messages, may ask to receive only the index of the messages posted each day, by using the command: SET HELP-NET INDEX They will then receive each day only the list of messages including a serial number for each of them, and they may then use the reply option to request only the messages that are of interest to them. * The default setting for new subscribers, is SUBJECTHDR. 3. Other Settings ================= * To signoff from Help-Net use the command: SIGNOFF HELP-NET * To subscribe to Help-Net use: SUB HELP-NET your_full_name where you should put your real name instead of your_full_name * On Listserv Version 1.8e , you can also define the subscription settings in the "SUB" command, using the following structure: SUB HELP-NET your_full_name WITH settings e.g. in you wish to use the settings for SHORTHDR and REPRO (the REPRO setting is defined below) you should use the command: SUB HELP-NET your_full_name WITH SHORTHDR REPRO * To temporarily turn messages off: SET HELP-NET NOMAIL * To turn them on after turning them off: SET HELP-NET MAIL * To change your name, just use again the subscription command with a different name. (There is no need to signoff). * To change subscription address, you should still do it when receiving messages on the old address: On Listserv version 1.8e you can do the following: send a message using the old address with the command: CHANGE HELP-NET new_address Another way: you can do the following: send a signoff request using the old address, and confirm using the old address, and then subscribe again using the new address. If you cannot do that, contact the list owner and request the list owner to do that. Use the generic address for Help-Net's list owner: help-net-request@unl.edu . * To query your subscription options, use: QUERY HELP-NET * To set options so that you will receive a copy of your own posts, use: SET HELP-NET REPRO * To set options so that you won't receive a copy of your own posts, use: SET HELP-NET NOREPRO * To set options so that you will receive an acknowledgement when LISTSERV distributes your post, use: SET HELP-NET ACK * To set options so that you won't receive a confirmation for your posts, use: SET HELP-NET NOACK * The default setting for new subscribers is: NOREPRO, ACK. * you may combine all settings in a single command, e.g.: SET HELP-NET DIGEST HTML MIME ACK 4. Archive Commands =================== You can search and access Help-Net's archives via WWW on: http://crcvms.unl.edu/archives/help-net.html Here, I shall concentrate on accessing the archive using commands to Listserv. Help-Net messages are grouped in weekly files. To get the messages that were posted to Help-Net on the second week of Mar 1999, use the command: GET HELP-NET LOG9903B Equivalently to get the messages which were posted to Help-Net on the third week of Aug 1998 use the command: GET HELP-NET LOG9808C If you fear that the size of the weekly digest is too big and you want it to be delivered splitted into a few messages, each of them with a size no bigger than say, 20Kb, you may use: GET HELP-NET LOG9808C SPLIT=20 Each message to Help-Net has a message number. The result of any search on Help-Net's archives will also include for each message that match the result, it's message number. If you want to get a message, with the message number 3423, you can use the command: GETPOST HELP-NET 3423 You can use the "GETPOST" command to get multiple messages, for example: GETPOST HELP-NET 2314 2319 2420-2423 2511-2513 2788 will result in posting the following 10 messages to you: 2314, 2319, 2420, 2421, 2422, 2423, 2511, 2512, 2513, 2788 . * The simple search format is: SEARCH HELP-NET keyword(s) e.g. SEARCH HELP-NET music or SEARCH HELP-NET mp3 software The advanced search format will be given by examples: 1) SEARCH usenet IN HELP-NET this is equivalent to "SEARCH HELP-NET USENET" 2) SEARCH usenet IN HELP-NET FROM 1 Feb 1999 will limit the search to dates after and including 1 February 1999 * Comment: in the search commands, you can type "SEA" instead of "SEARCH". 3) SEA usenet IN HELP-NET FROM 1 FEB 1999 TO 23 FEB 1999 will limit the search further so that the search will not include dates after 23 Feb 1999. 4) SEA usenet IN HELP-NET TO 23 Feb 1999 messages which contain the word "usenet" and which have a date up to 23 Feb 1999. * Comment: If you omit the day of the month in the date, the search will include the whole month. * Comment: If you omit the year in a date, the year is assumed to be the current one. * Comment: you can replace the date format with yy/mm/dd for example you can write "99/04/22" instead of "22 Feb 1999". so that: 5) SEA netscape IN HELP-NET FROM FEB to APR will include all messages which contain the word netscape from 1 Feb to 30 April in this year. 6) SEA history IN HELP-NET WITH SUBJECT CONTAINS netscape will search for messages which contain the word "history" and in which their subject contains the word "netscape. 7) SEA history IN HELP-NET WITH SENDER CONTAINS john will limit the search to messages which their poster's address includes the word "john". 8) You can combine the SUBJECT and the SENDER search limits: SEA history IN HELP-NET WITH SUBJECT CONTAINS netscape and SENDER CONTAINS john 9) you can combine everything with the FROM and TO search limits, for example: SEA history IN HELP-NET FROM 99/02/12 WITH SENDER CONTAINS john 10) if you DON'T want the BODY of the message to be searched, you may replace the keywords there with an asterisk. For example: SEA * IN HELP-NET FROM 99/02/01 to 99/02/07 WITH SENDER CONTAINS john the result will be all posts from posters which have the word john in their address, that were posted during the time 1-7 Feb 1999. In this way you can combine FROM, TO, SENDER, SUBJECT, and BODY searches. * Comment: the searches are case insensitive, and the commands are case insensitive, the use of capital letters here is for convenience. 11) You can write "TODAY" as a date and it will be replaced with today's date. You can write "TODAY-8" as a date and it will be replaced with the date that was 8 days ago. the number can be different. e.g.: SEA * IN HELP-NET FROM TODAY-4 WITH SUBJECT CONTAINS netscape will search for messages which contain the word netscape in their subject, in the last 5 days (including today). As we wrote in the top of this document, the information here is not complete, and there are many equivalent ways to use the search. 5. References for This File and for More Information ==================================================== This File and its updates can be retrieved using the command: GET HELP-NET REFCARD This file can also be obtained from WWW on http://help-net.unl.edu/help-net_recard.txt The full Listserv User Guide for Listserv version 1.8c can be retrieved by using the command: GET LISTSERV MEMO A short generic description of the user options and commands can be retrieved using the command: GET LISTSERV REFCARD You may wish to check Help-Net's web pages for further information. They are located on: http://help-net.unl.edu