Lately it has happened rather frequently that I have tried to sign off a list, but have been refused because the 'Validate' parameter is set to 'All commands'. I have always been rather sceptical about the need for this parameter, but in the early years of Listserv I used to encounter it only on rare occasions. The purpose of this parameter as stated in LISTKEYW MEMO is: ...to protect you from UREP hackers who might issue a command "from" your userid@node to change the name under which you appear on the list to something impolite. I think that every user has the right to unsubscribe from a list whenever he/she wants. I have the following suggestions: 1. Sites should not give 'Validate= All commands' as part of the suite of list parameters which are presented to new list owners. Lists should be changed to 'Validate= Store only' (that's the default) unless there is a compelling reason for 'All commands'. 2. The parameter should be changed to disclude the SIGNOFF command from its effects. Perhaps there are good reasons for this parameter which are unknown to me. I would be eager to hear about them. As far as I know, this parameter has not changed in version 1.6. Therefore, this message applies to EARN and non-EARN sites alike. David Sitman Computation Center Tel Aviv University