Good work John! If I ever use the probe feature I will surely use your handy template :) Thanx for sharing it with us. All the best, David On Mon, 3 Feb 1997, John F. Witherspoon wrote: > Not to insult anybody's intelligence, but I thought I would share what I > came up with as a replacement for the default PROBE1 template (included in > default mailtpl file). I thought it could head-off some whining by making > subscribers feel as though the message was being sent to them primarily for > their benefit. > > >>> PROBE1 &LISTNAME Operating Instructions > &WEEKDAY, &DATE &TIME > > This message is sent as an automatic, periodic reminder to &LISTNAME > subscribers letting them know how to manipulate their subscriptions for > maximum benefit. > > Some common commands (which you should send to &MYNAMES if you wish to > invoke them): > > SIGNOFF &LISTNAME > > This ends your subscription to the list and stops list mail from being sent > to you. > > SET &LISTNAME DIGEST > > This causes the &LISTNAME to stop forwarding incoming messages to you as it > processes them. Instead, it sends you one large message on a &KWD(DIGEST,3) > basis that contains any individual messages of the period strung together > end-to-end. This is useful for subscribers who do not wish to be bothered by > the arrival of random messages, or who find it time-consuming to open, read, > and close individual messages. To stop digest delivery and resume "instant" > message delivery, just send the same command except with the word NODIGEST > instead of DIGEST at the end. > > SET &LISTNAME INDEX > > This is very similar to DIGEST, except that the server sends only listings > of subjects of messages that have been posted to the list along with > instructions for retrieving messages that are of interest. Send SET > &LISTNAME NOINDEX to turn off index delivery and resume "instant" delivery. > Note that digest and index are mutually exclusive -- setting one cancels the > other. > > SET &LISTNAME NOMAIL > > You would use this if you were going on vacation, for instance, and did not > wish to have messages delivered while you were away. On your return, when you > wanted &LISTNAME to start sending you mail again, you would issue the same > command except with MAIL replacing NOMAIL at the end of it. > > SET &LISTNAME DUALHDR > > If your e-mail reading software does not reveal the senders' names on your > incoming e-mail, invoke this command. It causes Listserv to include > relevant header information in the text body of incoming &LISTNAME messages > sent to you. > > If you are interested in previous postings to &LISTNAME, they are available > at www.reference.com on the world wide web. > > A Listserv subscriber "User's Guide" is available at the Listserv web site > at www.lsoft.com for those wishing to know more about the workings of > Listserv software. > > Please note that this message is sent to all users not only as a brief > operational FAQ, but also as a &LISTNAME subscription "probe." If this > message "bounces" on its way to a subscriber, or if a subscriber's mail > gateway generates an error while handling this message (and this can happen > even though this message eventually reaches a subscriber), the Listserv > software takes further steps to verify that the subscriber's e-mail address > is in working order (this can be of great benefit to a subscriber who is > unaware that his e-mail account is malfunctioning and possibly not > delivering his mail to him). The probing mechanism automates error > processing and saves the &LISTNAME owners from having to deal with errors by > hand; for that reason, the &LISTNAME owners ask you to tolerate the minor > inconvenience of receiving this message on a periodic basis. > > If you ever have questions or comments about the &LISTNAME list, please write to > the list owners at the generic address: > > &OWNER > > Thanks again for your interest in &LISTNAME. >