Good work John!  If I ever use the probe feature I will surely use your
handy template :) Thanx for sharing it with us.

All the best,

David


On Mon, 3 Feb 1997, John F. Witherspoon wrote:

> Not to insult anybody's intelligence, but I thought I would share what I
> came up with as a replacement for the default PROBE1 template (included in
> default mailtpl file).  I thought it could head-off some whining by making
> subscribers feel as though the message was being sent to them primarily for
> their benefit.
>
> >>> PROBE1 &LISTNAME Operating Instructions
> &WEEKDAY, &DATE &TIME
>
> This message is sent as an automatic, periodic reminder to &LISTNAME
> subscribers letting them know how to manipulate their subscriptions for
> maximum benefit.
>
> Some common commands (which you should send to &MYNAMES if you wish to
> invoke them):
>
> SIGNOFF &LISTNAME
>
> This ends your subscription to the list and stops list mail from being sent
> to you.
>
> SET &LISTNAME DIGEST
>
> This causes the &LISTNAME to stop forwarding incoming messages to you as it
> processes them.  Instead, it sends you one large message on a &KWD(DIGEST,3)
> basis that contains any individual messages of the period strung together
> end-to-end.  This is useful for subscribers who do not wish to be bothered by
> the arrival of random messages, or who find it time-consuming to open, read,
> and close individual messages.  To stop digest delivery and resume "instant"
> message delivery, just send the same command except with the word NODIGEST
> instead of DIGEST at the end.
>
> SET &LISTNAME INDEX
>
> This is very similar to DIGEST, except that the server sends only listings
> of subjects of messages that have been posted to the list along with
> instructions for retrieving messages that are of interest.  Send SET
> &LISTNAME NOINDEX to turn off index delivery and resume "instant" delivery.
> Note that digest and index are mutually exclusive -- setting one cancels the
> other.
>
> SET &LISTNAME NOMAIL
>
> You would use this if you were going on vacation, for instance, and did not
> wish to have messages delivered while you were away.  On your return, when you
> wanted &LISTNAME to start sending you mail again, you would issue the same
> command except with MAIL replacing NOMAIL at the end of it.
>
> SET &LISTNAME DUALHDR
>
> If your e-mail reading software does not reveal the senders' names on your
> incoming e-mail, invoke this command.  It causes Listserv to include
> relevant header information in the text body of incoming &LISTNAME messages
> sent to you.
>
> If you are interested in previous postings to &LISTNAME, they are available
> at www.reference.com on the world wide web.
>
> A Listserv subscriber "User's Guide" is available at the Listserv web site
> at www.lsoft.com for those wishing to know more about the workings of
> Listserv software.
>
> Please note that this message is sent to all users not only as a brief
> operational FAQ, but also as a &LISTNAME subscription "probe."  If this
> message "bounces" on its way to a subscriber, or if a subscriber's mail
> gateway generates an error while handling this message (and this can happen
> even though this message eventually reaches a subscriber), the Listserv
> software takes further steps to verify that the subscriber's e-mail address
> is in working order (this can be of great benefit to a subscriber who is
> unaware that his e-mail account is malfunctioning and possibly not
> delivering his mail to him).  The probing mechanism automates error
> processing and saves the &LISTNAME owners from having to deal with errors by
> hand; for that reason, the &LISTNAME owners ask you to tolerate the minor
> inconvenience of receiving this message on a periodic basis.
>
> If you ever have questions or comments about the &LISTNAME list, please write to
> the list owners at the generic address:
>
> &OWNER
>
> Thanks again for your interest in &LISTNAME.
>