Subscriber List Definition

The Subscriber List wizard lets you define the settings of a subscriber list or edit an existing list.

Note: A subscriber list is only fully editable while it is "empty", meaning that there are no subscribers on the list. For a non-empty list, only certain settings are editable.

For a Hybrid Subscriber List (which augments the features of a standard subscriber list with the advanced features of a LISTSERV list, covering advanced use cases such as email discussions groups), the wizard has eight pages:

General, List Type, List Options, Posting Restrictions, Topics, Profile Fields, Profile Field Details, and Summary

The top row of the wizard displays links to these pages. The page that is currently open is highlighted. Depending on the choices made on some of the wizard pages, other pages may become disabled or may be shown in different versions. If a wizard page is disabled, then it means that this page is not necessary with the current choices and can safely be ignored.

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List Options Page: Customize Various Aspects of List Behavior

Note: This screen is disabled for a subscriber list in standard announcement mode and is not visible at all if the LISTSERV Maestro administrator has disabled Hybrid Subscriber Lists for the account or group.

The screen defines the general options of the LISTSERV list, depending on the list type. The following tabs may be available:

Standard:

• General Options
• Reply Behavior
• Bounce Handling
• List Archive

Advanced:

• Administrative Messages
• Subscription Notifications
• List Visibility
• Subscription Options
• Subscription Options (Defaults)
• Change Logs
• Delivery Options

To switch between the different tabs, select the name of the tab you want to go to from the drop-down menu in the tab header.

General Options

Defines some of the general options for the list:

• List Administrator EMail Addresses: Supply at least one email address that will become the administrator (owner) address(es) of the LISTSERV list.

  Click the Edit link to supply new addresses or edit the existing ones. Enter the desired email addresses (one per row). Any non-empty rows are interpreted as an administrator address and must contain a valid Internet email address.

• General List Options - Use mail merging: Check if you want to be able to use mail-merging on this LISTSERV list even when doing "normal" (standard submit) postings. When using this LISTSERV list as the designated recipients for a mail job, you have the choice (in the recipients wizard of the mail job) to choose between a "special submit" and a "standard submit". With special submit, mail merging is always enabled (no matter the setting made here); however, this also circumvents other features of the list, like the list archive or any DIGEST settings. With a standard submit, mail merging is normally not possible (and therefore also some tracking types that rely on mail merging are not possible). However, if you check this option here, mail merging will also be possible together with standard submits.

Reply Behavior

Defines the email address that will be used in the Reply-To field of all emails distributed to this list using "standard submit" (see above) or postings made by subscribers. In other words, when recipients click the [Reply] button in their email client, then this address will receive the reply.

• Sender: The reply-to address will be the same address as found in the From field of the mail, meaning that any reply will go to the actual sender of the mail.
   
• List (as a new posting): Only available for discussion-type or user-defined lists. The reply-to address will be the list's address, meaning that any reply will go to the list as a new posting.
   
• Both Sender & List: Only available for discussion-type or user-defined lists. A combination of both the above Sender and List (as a new posting), meaning that the reply will be mailed both to the actual sender as well as to back to the list as a new posting.
   
• List Administrator: Only available for announcement-type or user-defined lists. The reply-to address will be the first of the administrator addresses as specified on the General Options tab.
   
• Separate Address: The address as specified here in the field (must fill out the field with a valid Internet address).

Also select when the settings are to be applied: Always (i.e. even if the sender has supplied a "Reply-To" address of his own) or only if the sender has not supplied a "Reply-To" address of his own.

Bounce Handling

Defines how bounces will be handled, determining what happens if email distributed over this list, using "standard submit" (see above) or postings made by subscribers, bounces back to LISTSERV as undeliverable.

• Only collect bounce information (for manual processing): Do not do anything with the bounced mail, simply collect them for further manual processing.
   
• Remove subscribers immediately on first bounce: If a message sent to a subscriber bounces back to LISTSERV, then that subscriber is immediately removed from the list.
   
• Remove subscribers after X bounces within Y days: If email sent to a subscriber bounces back to LISTSERV, and this happens at least X-many times within a period of Y-many days, then remove this subscriber from the list. The default is to remove after 100 bounces within 4 days.

For additional bounce handling options, click on the Show advanced bounce handling options... link.

If you have selected one of the automatic bounce handling options above, then you can also specify whether or not this should actually result in an automatic removal of addresses from the list (which is the default) or if the bounce analysis should only be forwarded (via email).

If you select automatic removal, then a notification about all removed addresses will be sent to the specified group of people, and you also have the choice if you also want to be notified about any temporary bounces and bounces for addresses that are not actually subscribed to the list.

If you select no automatic removal, then you need to specify the group of people to which the bounce analysis shall be forwarded instead.

Furthermore, you can define the Passive Probing behavior of the list.

To again hide the advanced bounce handling options, click on the Hide advanced bounce handling options. This however is only possible if the advanced options are set to their default values, i.e. if you have non-default advanced options, then you can also not hide the advanced options.

List Archive

Defines if a list archive is to be kept, and how, and who can access it.

Note: This tab is only available if the option of creating LISTSERV list archives has been enabled for your LISTSERV server by the Maestro administrator (this is a setting in the Administration Hub).

Define whether or not postings to the list will be archived. If an archive is to be kept, then define how often a new archive file is to be created by the system and who is allowed to access and view the archive.

For the latter two options, there are two modes of specifying the necessary details: In Standard Mode, only the most common settings are available. In Advanced Mode, all possible options are available. Toggle between the two modes with the Switch to Standard Mode and Switch to Advanced Mode links at the bottom of the tab.

Administrative Messages

Defines settings for the administrative messages that LISTSERV sends out to the list subscribers in various situations:

• Use texts from English default template "maestro.mailtpl": The texts for the administrative messages are taken from the default template (in English language).
   
• Use texts from custom template: The texts for the administrative messages are taken from the specified custom template (specify the template name without the .mailtpl extension). A custom template can be used both for customization and/or translation of the texts.

Also select whether or not the text in the template contains HTML code so that the outgoing messages are sent as HTML emails.

Subscription Notifications

Defines if LISTSERV will send a notification message when a subscriber subscribes to the list (or more precisely, when a subscriber confirms his subscription to the list) or unsubscribes from it.

If you select to receive notification messages, then you can also specify an address to which the notifications will be sent. If you do not specify an address, then the notifications will go to the list administrator.

List Visibility

Defines who will be allowed to see this list (when using LISTSERV's features of asking for available lists) - nobody can see the list, all subscribers in the service area of the list, or everyone.

Subscription Options

Defines the additional options subscribers of the list can choose from:

• Digest Behavior: Check if you want to give subscribers the option to enable the "Digest" mode for their subscription. With the digest mode enabled, they will no longer receive the postings to the list as individual emails; instead, everything is compiled into a single digest email. If you enable this option, then you must also specify the rules that are used to compile and send out the digest email to all subscribers that have enabled the digest mode.
  
  Also, if your list is configured to use a bottom banner, then this banner will, by default, not be included at the bottom of each individual message in the digest (to avoid a repetition of this banner throughout the digest). Instead, the banner will only appear once, after the digest's table of content. To avoid this behavior and instead include the bottom banner with each individual message in the digest, check the corresponding option.
   
• Subject Tag: These settings define which subject tag will be used for subscribers that have selected to receive emails with the "normal LISTSERV header, with list identification tag in subject" (for example to be able to better filter their incoming emails from this list). Either select to use the list name as the subject tag or provide an individual subject tag. In addition, you have the option to add a sequence number to the subject tag.
  
  Subscribers who have chosen other header styles than "normal LISTSERV header, with list identification tag in subject", will receive the normal email subject without a subject tag. An exception of this rule may be made for subscribers who have selected to use "sendmail-style" email headers. If you want to Also add the subject tag for subscribers with this email header style, check the corresponding option. Note that this will add the subject tag for all subscribers with this header style, i.e. in contrast to the normal LISTSERV header style, where the subscriber has the choice of having the subject tag included.

Subscription Options (Defaults)

Defines the default subscription options that any new subscriber of the list will initially use. Subscribers may later change their own subscription options to different values, but these are the options that they initially start with.

• Default Subscription Style: Defines the default subscription style of new subscribers. Depending on other list settings (if list archives and/or list digests are enabled), the following subscriptions styles may be available:
  • Individual Postings (No Digest): The subscriber will receive individual emails for each posting to the list.
  • Plain Text Digest: The subscriber will receive a regular digest in plain text format, with a compilation of all postings since the last digest.
  • MIME Digest: The subscriber will receive a regular digest in MIME format, with a compilation of all postings since the last digest.
  • HTML Digest: The subscriber will receive a regular digest in HTML format, with a compilation of all postings since the last digest.
  • Plain Text Index: The subscriber will receive a regular email in plain text format, with an index of the subject lines of all postings since the last index (but not the actual message content of the postings).
  • HTML Text Index: The subscriber will receive a regular email in HTML format, with an index of the subject lines of all postings since the last index (but not the actual message content of the postings).
  
  
• Default Posting Privileges: (Only available for lists of the user-defined type).
  Define which posting privileges will be applied to new subscribers (and also non-subscribers) by default:
  • Normal: Normal posting privileges (as defined by the other list settings, especially the "Send" keyword).
  • User may bypass moderation: Posting is allowed without moderation, even on a moderated list (usually not useful on a non-moderated lists).
  • All postings of user sent to owner(s) for review: Posting is allowed but only after moderation/review through the list owners (usually not additionally useful on lists which already are moderated).
  • User may not post to list: Postings are not allowed (usually not additionally useful on lists where posting is disallowed anyway).
  
  
• Default Acknowledgement Behavior: (Only available for lists of discussion-types or user-defined type.)
  Define the acknowledgement behavior that will be applied to new subscribers by default. This determines how (and if) LISTSERV will acknowledge postings by a subscriber:
  • Do not send any acknowledgement message: Postings by subscribers will not be acknowledged to the poster, but will simply be distributed to the list.
  • Acknowledge postings with a short message: Postings by subscribers will be acknowledged with a short message that is sent back to the posting subscriber.
  • Acknowledge postings with a full copy of the posted message: Postings by subscribers will be acknowledged with a full copy of the original posting that is sent back to the posting subscriber.
  
  
• Set subscribers to "no mail" by default: Check so that any new subscribers will initially have the "no mail" option enabled, i.e. their subscription is suspended and they will not receive any mailings until they set their subscription to active.
   
• Exempt subscribers from renewal and probing by default: Check so that any new subscribers will initially not be included in LISTSERVs mechanisms to probe and/or renew subscriber addresses (this is used to keep the subscriber base up to date and to weed out "dead" addresses).
   
• Hide subscriber addresses from "REVIEW" listing by default: Check so that any new subscribers will initially be "concealed". A concealed subscriber will not appear on the list of list subscribers that can be obtained from LISTSERV using the REVIEW command. There exists a special list setting that defines who is allowed to perform the review command in the first place, i.e. not all users may always execute a review, but even those users who are allowed to do this will not see the concealed subscribers. Note that concealed subscribers of a Hybrid Subscriber List are still visible from inside of Maestro. Also, some privileged users may be allowed to perform an advanced review command that would list even the concealed subscribers.
   
• Default Email Header Style: Define which email header style any new subscribers shall use by default:
  • LISTSERV-style without subject tag: Use the normal LISTSERV-style email header, do not add a special list identification tag to the subject line.
  • LISTSERV-style with subject tag: Use the normal LISTSERV-style email header and add a special list identification tag to the subject line.
  • Sendmail-style (preserves original header): Use the header from the original posting to the list.
  • Other: If selected, please select one of the more advanced header styles from the drop-down menu. These styles are for specific purposes and are usually not used with normal LISTSERV lists: Additional headers in email body, Short headers, Individual "To:" with full headers or Individual "To:" with short headers.

Change Logs

Defines if, and how, change log files will be maintained by LISTSERV for this LISTSERV list.

Select whether or not a change log will be maintained, and if so, how often LISTSERV shall start a new file.

Delivery Options

Defines some general delivery options for the LISTSERV list:

• Suppress "ApprovedBy:" email header: Check if you do not want the "ApprovedBy:" header to be added to all mailings that are approved by a moderator or list owner (usually only applies to moderated lists).
• Remove multi-byte characters: Check if you want all multi-byte characters to be removed from postings to this list. Note that this can cause trouble on internationally used lists, where languages other than the English language may be used for postings.
• Assign new RFC822 Message-ID: header field value: Check if you want LISTSERV to assign a new value for the RFC822 Message-ID: header field. Important: Relevant Internet standards for email strongly recommend to forward the Message-ID: header field as provided by the sending email client unchanged. Checking this option causes LISTSERV to disobey this, which may promote mailing loops. On the other hand, checking this option solves a problem with email providers that bounce messages with duplicate Message-ID: fields. This most notably may happen to Gmail subscribers who are set to use the REPRO subscription option and expect to receive a copy of their own list postings. This copy is only delivered reliably to Gmail subscribers if a new Message-ID: header was assigned when the message passed through LISTSERV.
• If spam checking is enabled at LISTSERV: If the spam-checking feature is enabled at LISTSERV, then specify if this feature shall be used to check all emails that are sent via the list for spam, or not.
• If an email is posted to this list with a sender email address for which a DomainKeys signature key (DKIM key) has been configured at LISTSERV: Specify if in such a case LISTSERV is supposed to use the configured DKIM key to sign the email with a DKIM signature or not.