We've been running Listserv on VM for several years and have over 700
lists. In the short time that I've been the listserv administrator, I've
written several q&d tools that access the Listserv 191 disk (the VM
equivalent of the /listserv/home directory in unix), read the list
header files and "do stuff" to help me do my job. Examples include:

* search all list header files for a specified string (a poor substitute
  for the non-existent "scan all" command)

* analyze the list headers and generate reports showing lists with
  various characteristics, including, but not necessarily limited to:
  * lists with no activity for 180 days
  * lists with no subscribers
  * lists with more than 500 subscribers
  * lists with "Send= Public"

* generate a boilerplate email message to the owners of one or more
  lists, either explicitly named, or based on header analysis for
  specific characteristics

* read the list header file to get the list owners, then issue commands
  on his/her/their behalf, so that the command output is sent to the
  list owner(s)

All of these routines are written in REXX, make extensive (though not
particularly elegant) use of CMS Pipelines, and require access to the
list header files on Listserv 191.

We are currently in the process of migrating from Listserv on VM to
Listserv on Solaris, and many of my tools are rapidly become useless.
This is my first excursion into the unix world, and I'm learning as I
go. I've just started learning Perl and haven't written anything useful
yet, so re-engineering my tools for the unix environment is not
something that I'm likely to get done anytime soon. I suspect that
some of the things that I'm doing now can't be done without CMS
Pipelines.

Do other Listserv sites have a need to do the sorts of things that I've
been doing? If so, what kind of tools are you using, and where did you
get them? If they're "homegrown", are you willing to share them?

pdr (even more clueless in unix than i am in vm)

* ----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Paul D. Russell * Senior Systems Engineer * University of Notre Dame
* Email: [log in to unmask] * Web: http://vma.cc.nd.edu/~prussell
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