On Tue, 15 Oct 1996 09:19:46 -0400 (EDT), Gabe Goldberg <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
 
> The fault is in the instructions not applying to all
>mailers, and LISTSERV not accommodating how some mailers handle Forwarding
>(adding the ">", which surprised me).
 
I would guess that when LISTSERV was first written, there were maybe 1-2
mail pgms, all mainframe (VM) based.  Then unix came along, but mailers
for it tended to handle things all in much the same way.  Now we have
somthing like 40+ mail pgms as stand-alones or add-ins to other pgms,
each one trying to out-do the other in adding all kinds of fancy
features, and ignoring internet's RFC's.
 
> Mostly, the fault is the mechanism
>being different from and less robust than the initial subscription
>confirmation via Reply.
 
Make the suggestion to [log in to unmask] to change it to the 'OK' confirm
mechanism.
 
>it doesn't work with all mailers.
 
It does, if people can use the mailer.  Sometimes that is not easy I'll
agree, but LISTSERV didn't write their mail pgm.
 
As to the directions not being clear, they are in the mailtpl file and
you can change them as you think best.  I have not liked several of the
directions, especially the long 'welcome' text, and have made changes in
my own lists accordingly.
 
>That doesn't answer the question of whether the changes will stick or
>vanish at each LISTSERV upgrade.
 
Changes you make to customise the mailtpl for your list are transparent
to changes in LISTSERV version.  As far as I know, no old template has
been removed by version changes, although the text has sometimes changed.
Since your modified template overrides the LISTSERV default, it would not
matter even if the default changes.
 
Some new templates have been added to accomodate new features, or to move
the template for existing features into Owner modifiable form instead of
buried in the executable code somewhere.  This means the changes will
most likely 'stick'.  If not, there will be sufficient advance notice to
make modifications.
 
>And (IMHO) SubjectHdr should be default
 
This change only happend in late August of this year.  It is quite new.
As a List Owner, you can make it a default for your list.  Others will
think differently, so as a non-critical option, its default is left 'off'
like most LISTSERV defaults
 
Cheers!
--
 ________________________________________________________________________
 Ben Parker ............ (Oak Park IL) .......... [log in to unmask]