I own the Games-L mailing list, and in my experience, most users rarely
use the functionality made available by Listserv. Thus, I've tried to make
an easy-to-use interface to most Listserv commands for users who can
access the WWW via a forms-capable browser. I've reached the stage where
I'm ready to let others look at the interface, and receive feedback for
improvements. Check out
<URL:http://center.butler.brown.edu/cgi-bin/lstsrv-gw>
   Currently, the Gateway can do the following:
 
Subscribe to Mailing List
Unsubscribe from Mailing list
Set Subscription Options
Query Subscription Options
Confirm Subscription
Get the Mailing List's File Index
Get File from Listserv
Review the Mailing List's Distribution List
Search Mailing List's Database
Order Listserv Info Documents
Get a List of Mailing Lists
 
   The Gateway can send commands to any list specified within the code
(currently, this is only Games-L). It asks for input from the user, and
builds an appropriate listserv command. This command can be mailed
directly to Listserv for immediate processing, or to another address (such
as the list owner) to approve the command. It is also possible to set up
two classes of commands. (e.g. Currently, signoff commands only go to me,
while others go directly to Listserv and myself).
   This interface doesn't fully exploit Listserv's capabilities. For
instance, when designing the form-interface to Listserv's database
functions, I found that to be complete, I would have to give technical
details about the SEARCH command format, and say "Build your own command
and type it here." (The limited presentations of HTML forms didn't help.)
This, I felt, defeated the purpose. So, I chose to limit the possibilities
to those searches which I thought subscribers might wish to utilize.
   During this test phase, I welcome any and all comments and feedback.
After I incorportate all feedback into a finished product, I plan on
making the Perl code available to anyone who wishes it.
 
Take care,
 
David
 
David W. Baker | [log in to unmask] | <URL:http://www.netspace.org/users/dwb/>