Chuck Brandstater wrote:
> I have been asked to delete a certain list message that was sent yesterday.
> How, if at all, can I do so, in the next couple of days (which I guess
> would be ideal) or perhaps after our weekly archive is generated?

Editing the list logs on request is, as has been mentioned, a very poor
idea, for many reasons, not the least of which is if you do it once, for
one person, you have little excuse for refusing the next request/demand.
I have never edited the notebooks for any of my lists save for technical
reasons, to correct something which interfered with retrieval (well, once
I removed an item which was a copy of copyrighted, proprietary material,
taken from an e-newsletter which was available only by paid subscription;
we were going to be sued bigtime if it wasn't removed).

However, to do it by email, first identify the notebook where the
item resides by sending to the LISTSERV host site the command
INDEX listname

If the item is in the current log you'll want the last one listed.
Place the list on hold, by sending the command:  HOLD listname

send the command:    GET listname logxxxxx

When it arrives, edit the log (if you totally delete the item it will
mess up the indexing, so you might want to leave a note, in place of the
original, that it was removed, by whom, and why), then PUT it back by
making the first line:  PUT listname logxxxxx

Free the list by sending the command:  FREE listname

If you wait until after the current log is complete, and the next started,
you don't have to do the HOLD/FREE routine, nor do you need to if you have
other control over postings to the list while you are working on the log.

However, I would advise against doing it at all unless there is a *very*
good, compelling reason.  Just because someone wishes he hadn't said
something, or said it differently, doesn't cut it, in my book.

Douglas Winship   [log in to unmask]