> I have a mailing list(teamos2help-l) that someone this afternoon
> posted 1.7MB uuencoded file in a message, he mailer did it as 55
> messages.  I just looged on and received 2 digests with 43 of the 55
> messages that totalled close to 1.4 MB, I'd like to stop any further
> stuff going out, we have close to 450 members and I'm sure mail
> boxes are filling up as I write this.
 
Someone helped you out in time or didn't, by now it's probably too late to
do anything about it.  However, for future reference, I think the first
thing to do would be to slap a "hold" on the list, i.e.
 HOLD listname pw=xxxxxxxx
If that doesn't stop distribution of the rest of the stuff you are
out of luck, it isn't going to be stopped.  We'll assume it works.
 
Now you have time to think about what to do (and beg for help).
If you think the administrator at your host site has time, and won't
be really po at the request, you can beg please delete everything in
the queue for the list.
 
Or, you can try this (no guaranties, but it can work).  After you've
put on the "hold" change the list header to Send= Owner (be sure the
address is different from any address in the header which may have
approved the stuff earlier, if you have another address maybe make
it Send= other.address   or maybe  Send=a.friend.not.subbed.to.list
who won't mind you doing that).  Now, free the list.
 
If you're lucky, the stuff you don't want distributed will be rejected,
returned to sender "you are not allowed to post to..." But, it will do
that with *everything* in the queue for the list.  Then set your header
back to normal.
 
One of the keys is you need to be really quick getting that "hold" command
in fast as possible; sometimes you can beat the actual distribution of
something you know is going to be distributed, which you really don't
want, before it happens.
 
In this instance I don't know if that procedure would work since the thing
was broken into parts and distribution had already started.  Worth a try
in a pinch, though.  Would make an interesting experiment.
 
Douglas
       Douglas Winship   Hays County, Texas  [log in to unmask]
                    Secondary AUTOCAT Listowner
                              MEDLAB-L