On Thu, 16 Feb 1995, Jeff Finlay, NYU wrote:
 
> I'd like to find out if there's any way to define TOPICS in the header
> so that only I could set all or particular TOPICS for users....
 
The only way for you to have sole control (and the subscribers to have no
control) is to set Validate= All.  However, that also means that
subscribers cannot unsubscribe by themselves without using a password --
*you* would have do individual deletes.
 
You may want want to simply inform your subscribers about the SET TOPICS
comand for them to use themselves.
 
Another semi-workable tack that I've used for a time is that I kept
Validate= Store Only as normal and simply announced to my subscribers that
"from now on, such-and-such will be our topics policy", and I SET TOPICS
FOR for individual subscribers, and simply never told/reminded subscribers
how to change topics themselves.  Most don't know (if your list hasn't
employed topics before).  And in the explanatory notice I sent out, I
buried but included the phrase "changing of topics may be done only by the
list-owner", so that those few who *do* know how to SET TOPICS themselves
would know that the list-owner may just "change it back" if they changed
their settings that I had set for them.  This was an imperfect
arrangement, not foolproof, but it largely worked.
 
[Then later I junked this arrangement and let subscribers change what
they wanted.  My own original purpose was to initially force my
subscribers to start using TOPICs, once we had collectively decided that
was a prefered option.  I deleted OTHER as a topic for all and didn't
tell them they could switch OTHER back on.  I was the only subscriber who
had OTHER turned on, and stray messages would thereby come only to me,
which I'd forward back with a note saying "you've got to use a topic!".  Now
that they've got the hang of it, I have allowed OTHER (i.e., no keyword)
to be used as a topic category.  But if I hadn't used a regimented system
at first, I don't think we'd have adopted the new habit of using topics.]
 
-- Roger Burns    [log in to unmask]