A new  type of lists has  been defined as  per Victor's suggestion. Up  to now
there were two types of lists:
 
- Normal (non-moderated) lists, with 'Send= <class>', where '<class>' could be
  either of Private,  Public, Owner and Postmaster. Everybody  who matches the
  '<class>' description can send mail to the list.
 
- Fully moderated lists, with 'Send=  Editor' and 'Editor= user1,user2,...' In
  that case, anything sent  to the list is forwarded to  the first list editor
  (user1). Only the list editors are allowed to actually post something to the
  list (this includes user2,...)
 
The  new type  is called  'Semi-moderated' and  is defined  by setting  'Send=
<class>,Semi-moderated' and 'Editor= user1,user2,...'
 
Example:
 
* Send= Private,Semi-moderated Editor= ERIC@FRECP11,ERIC@CEARN,ET@UKACRL
 
Mail sent to a semi-moderated will be treated in two different ways, depending
on the contents of its 'Subject:'  field. If the subject starts with 'Urgent:'
(case is ignored of course), the list is treated as a non-moderated one, which
means  that the  message will  be  immediately distributed  provided that  the
sender  matches  the  '<class>'  description  (in our  example,  it  would  be
discarded unless it  came from a member  of the list). If  the subject doesn't
start with 'Urgent:', the message is forwarded to the main list editor (unless
of course it came from one of  the editors). 'Re: Urgent:' is treated the same
way as 'Urgent:', so that replies  to urgent letters are by default considered
urgent.
 
The choice of  the 'Subject:' field over some 'X-blah:'  tag has the following
advantages:
 
- It is simpler to understand for end-users.
 
- It is extremely  unlikely that users would modify their  mailing software to
  unconditionally put  'Urgent:' on  the subject  line, as  this could  end up
  building subjects of "Urgent: How's it going today?".
 
- Some sites may not give the user  control over the contents of the header (I
  mean,  it might  not  be possible  to  insert  a new  tag  from an  end-user
  interface - an experienced user might know how to do it though).
 
- It shows up on the database index  and on the RICE mail menu (among others),
  making it easier to identify and process urgent messages.
 
Eric