On Fri, 31 Mar 1995 16:16:00 EST "s.merchant" <[log in to unmask]>
said:
 
>I try "get ballroom filelist (ctl" and get back "File ballroom filelist
>is unknown to Listserv"
 
The LISTSERV maintainer must set it up for you.
 
>Then I do "get ballroom mailtpl" and get "File ballroom mailtpl is
>unknown to Listserv"
 
Ditto.  Just putting  a  file on  LISTSERV's  disk doesn't  automatically
define is to the LISTSERV file  system. For one thing, how would LISTSERV
know what file access codes you want?
 
>(The only file I _can_ get is DEFAULT MAILTPL (not $DEFAULT MAILTPL).)
 
$DEFAULT MAILFORM  is what the  file was  called until version  1.8. This
file could only  be updated by the LISTSERV maintainer.  With version 1.8
the info  is kept  in a  file with a  different format  and the  name was
changed to avoid  confusions and allow people to  prepare customized mail
templates in  advance (ie before  loading the  new code), for  a smoother
transition.
 
>Yet, the listserv maintainer at mitvma provided us with a default
>mailtpl, which we filled in and which _he installed for us_ and which
>works fine (except that the "Subject:" line in line 1 does not become
>the subject of the mail message as advertised, but rather becomes the
>first line in the body--but I digress...).
 
The  "Subject:" line  is  for the  WELCOME and  FAREWELL  files, where  a
subject  is   optional  (LISTSERV  provides  a   suitable  default).  For
administrative  messages, a  subject  is not  optional.  You specify  the
mandatory subject on the line that starts with >>>.
 
>But I would now like to change the MAILTPL, and continue to have the
>ability to change it occasionally in the future, without bothering the
>listserv maintainer every time.  Everytime this subject comes up on this
>list, the consensus is that (a) yes, it can be done and (b) it doesn't
>need the listserv's maintainer's help and (possibly c) it doesn't need a
>FILELIST either, but none of the approaches seems to work.
 
(a) and not  (b) and (c). It's  just like a WELCOME or  FAREWELL file. On
VM, someone has to define it somehow. This can be the LISTSERV maintainer
defining it in the filelist of his choice, or creating a filelist for the
list owner in which the list owner can later define the file.
 
  Eric