As per your advice, I've posted a request for a replacement / assistant. No response yet. Sorry we don't live up to your standards... ...I guess we will just have to muddle on as best we can! --- James Newton (PICList Admin #3) mailto:[log in to unmask] 1-619-652-0593 PIC/PICList FAQ: http://www.piclist.com or .org -----Original Message----- From: LISTSERV list owners' forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Paul Russell Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 09:09 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Duplicate Posting problem Change the configuration to "Default-Options= Repro,Review". This will cause postings from future new subscribers to be sent to the moderator for approval. On-topic postings can be approved; off-topic postings can be deleted, or returned to the sender with an appropriate explanation. When the moderator is satisfied that the newcomer is posting in a responsible manner, the newcomer's subscription can be changed to "Noreview". The review/noreview option setting can be changed only by the list owner, not by the subscriber. If you want to impose the same restriction on existing subscribers who have not yet demonstrated their ability to post on-topic, issue the command: quiet set listname review for [log in to unmask] for each subscriber who is to be placed on review. Change "listname" to the list name and "[log in to unmask]" to the subscriber's address. These changes may alleviate the problem, but they will not resolve it. <RANT> As a LISTSERV site administrator, I am concerned by your description of the ignorance and apathy (don't know and don't care) exhibited by everyone involved with the list, including the list owners. It seems to me that the principal problem with the list is not that it may be poorly configured, but rather, that it is poorly managed by owners who are apparently unwilling to accept their responsibilities. We explicitly inform our list owners that they are responsible for the day-to-day management of their lists, including adding and deleting subscribers, serving as the initial contact point for subscribers who have questions or problems, and dealing with any social problems which may arise on the list <http://listserv.nd.edu/guidelines.html>. If the current owners are too busy to be bothered to fulfill their responsibilities, then perhaps it is time to find new owners. The logical place to start the search is with the current subscribers. If none of the current subscribers place enough value on the list to make a commitment to keep it going, then perhaps it is time to retire the list. We have retired more than one apparently active list because the owner left the university without providing a forwarding address and no one else was willing to take on the job. It sounds harsh, but it is realistic. TANSTAAFL. </RANT> -- Paul Russell Senior Systems Administrator University of Notre Dame