I have a boilerplate file containing instructions on how to subscribe
that I send to anyone I come across who has the need to know.  I
give the standard:   sub listname Firstname Lastname
BUT then give an example, saying that if your name is Jane Doe and
you wish to subscribe to Autocat then the message you send is:
                     sub autocat Jane Doe
 
Judith Hopkins, Listowner of Autocat
     [log in to unmask]
 
 
On Wed, 18 Sep 1996, Winship wrote:
 
> > ->I still advocate that subscribers should be told the drill is:
> > ->
> > ->sub listname Firstname Lastname
> >
> > It would help if listserv itself standardized on some kind of name form
> > here.  Lets say the standard was 'FirstName LastName'.  Sometimes, we
> > get a subscriber who forgets to substitute their own name; they use,
> > literally, 'FirstName LastName'.  Ok, it sounds stupid, right? But they
> > might be new to the net.  Or, in my case, I manage a number of cancer
>
> For generic instructions I use the usual form.  But, if someone is having
> trouble subscribing I make it explicit.  For example, for Jane Doe I
> would tell her to send
>
> SUB AUTOCAT Jane Doe
>
> substituting the proper listname for what ever list is in question,
> of course.
>
> Douglas
>        Douglas Winship   Hays County, Texas  [log in to unmask]
>                     Secondary AUTOCAT Listowner
>                               MEDLAB-L
>