Well the query you mention does what you say you want - give addresses
just for people with NOMAIL set, but what you're REALLY wanting is a way
for the lists server to 'send them all a message' rather than just give
you the addresses, and it doesn't have a way to do that, so far as I can
tell (unless your host site is using a DBMS facility to hold the
subscriber listings, then (I think) you could do a custom mail-merge
job).

The mention of parsing is really about the only current option - you
run the query at the time you need to distribute a message about a
policy change, etc., then pass the query result through some process
that converts it into just the email addresses, in a format such that
you can paste them all into the BCC box of an email form, compose your
notice, and send it.  You wouldn't constantly reconfirm this list, you
would simply re-run the query each time another notice was to be
distributed.  The onerous-ness of this process varies according to how
often you feel the need to make sure you have reached (or at least
directed an email toward) everyone listed as a subscriber (and according
to what tools you're familiar with to use for the parsing).  There is
the trade-off between that need, and the subscriber interest level - if
they aren't following the list via the web interface (so they would see
your notices within the regular list traffic), we may wonder if they
really want to receive directed email about the list either.  So the
snag is, how do you determine which Nomail subscribers are following the
list, and which are not?  This question has no simple answer.

But you might implement active renewal - force the subscribers either
to be contributing regularly to the discussion, or to send at least one
email per (however long you choose) to the server to prove they are
interested.  Add a line like this to your list header:

   * Renewal= Yearly,Delay(30)

and the lurkers will get a notice once a year, with 30 days allowed for
them to respond or be unsubscribed. As I understand it, once you store
the header with this line added, then every subscriber (not just the
Nomail ones) who has not posted to the list within the last year will be
sent a renewal notice within 24 hours. This is discussed in section 4.11
of the list owner manual, with specific reference to the Nomail status.



>>> [log in to unmask] 07/08/03 10:14AM >>>
To extend this subject, I have often wanted to have an easy way to
notify nomailers of changes in policy or new methods, etc. Yet with
about 250 "professional" list subscribers who find it easier to read
their messages on a great website that combines about 110 lists (not all
Listserv) in the world on the same subject as mine, but still retain
their posting privileges, I find it onerous to try to work up a list
from the query "with nomail for *@*".  Such a list would have to be
constantly reconfirmed anyway as people are always changing from mail to
nomail and vice versa.

I would hope Listserv would come up with a sorting command that would
give addresses only for nomail people. It would be helpful to be able to
identify and send messages just to "digest" people, too.  Is there any
hope?

Barbara Passmore