On Thu, 20 Apr 1995, Winship wrote: > On Thu, 20 Apr 1995, Dave Kinnaman wrote: > > > * Subscription= Open,Confirm > >.... > > But is there some other compelling reason why would-be subscribers should > > normally have to say "Yes, I really mean it, please subscribe me to the > > list?" Does the confirmation loop serve some other, important function? > > The purpose is to be sure mail can get back and forth between the > subscriber's address and the LISTSERV address. Sometimes the subscriber > can contact LISTSERV but LISTSERV can't contact the subscriber, which > means they wouldn't get their mail so they shouldn't be subscribed > from that address as everything will probably bounce. They can then > contact you and you can try to figure out why they never receive the > confirmation message (happens fairly often) or go ahead and ADD them > with the proviso they'll be deleted at the first hint of trouble > (but then you'll have an error message to work with, which may be > more helpful than anything you can drag out of the wannabe subscriber). I think it is also used to prevent someone from faking commands to LISTSERV for a number of things, including, deleting everyone on a list because of a problem with the list/list-owner.... We use it here because we know that the 'telnet addr 25' is well known on the internet and is used to fake mail. I don't know if the 'elmheaders' 'From:' field can also do this, but that would make it even easier. This is because a 'Review list- name' is so easy to obtain for any LISTSERV list....and with that you have a list of all subscribers. It is not necessary to do a 'Validate= Yes, Confirm'...but it is safer. Again, using it is up to you. I have found that once subscribers understand why it is in place, they appreciate the effort of the Listowner to make the list safer. This can often be made clear in a 'Welcome Message' to new subscribers. --Trish