MKAug Mailing List

Milton Keynes Acorn User Group
Mailing List

The mailing list is currently our primary method of communication between MKAug members. Only those in the Milton Keynes Acorn User Group can actually post to this list.

How is the mailing list run?

The mailing list is run from Marc Warne's home computer using the Ant Internet Suite running on a RiscPC 700. Usually, the e-mails will get processed about once per day. On weekdays, I log on once per day (usually around 07:35) to collect and send my e-mail. As it is posted offline, your article(s) should be sent to all other members the next day. On weekends and holidays, I log in many more times, so theses will get processed a lot faster.

Whenever mail gets sent to maillist@alphapro.demon.co.uk or mkaug@alphapro.demon.co.uk, the Mailing List Robot will process them. Any mail sent to 'mkaug' is sent to all the members on the MKAUG Mailing List. As I can only collect/send mail while I am online, there will probably be a delay before it gets sent out. I usually go online at least once per day, so the delay should not be too long.

Mail which is sent to 'mkaug' is not looked at by the robot, but it just forwarded to all MKAUG recipitants. Mail sent to 'mailing' list /is/ looked at, and acted upon. The command is in the subject, and usually the body of the message is ignored. See 1.5 for a list of commands.

Signing off the list

If you wish to sign off the MKAUG list, send a message to maillist@alphapro.demon.co.uk with the subject 'SIGNOFF mkaug'. Whatever is in the body of the message does not matter.

Signing onto the list

You can only sign onto the list by e-mailing Marc Warne and asking him to let you back on.

Sending a message to the list

If you wish to send a message to the list, e-mail mkaug@alphapro.demon.co.uk with your message. It will be automaticially processed by !MailList written by Maurics Hendix. Some guidelines for posting:

Make sure what you post is not offensive
Although small binaries are allowed, they must be on-topic and no larger than 50K
Make sure what you post is relevant!

Commands on the mailing list

Requests to the MailList Robot are case-insensitive and should be sent in the Subject: of the message. Except for one or two commands the MailList Robot will totally ignore the body of the message.

The following requests are available for (potential) subscribers to a list on this host:

Command Information
Help Get an overview of possible requests
SIGNON <list> Subscribe to a list.
SIGNOFF <list> Unsubscribe from a list.
BOUNCE Bounce the message, headers intact. This can be useful if you want to check whether the robot can be reached from your site.
LISTS Get an overview of the lists served by this host.
HOSTS Get an overview of all known hosts that run MailList (Does not appear to work).
INFO <list> Sends general information about the list.
GET <keyword> Performs the same action as SEND <keyword>.
SEND index Send an index of the files available from the mail-server.
SEND <file> <size> Send the <file>. Where <file> is the name of the file as it appears in the index. The optional is the maximum size in kB of separate messages. This allows you to receive large files in several chuncks spread over several mails. This is useful if a gateway or host between you and the robot does not accept messages bigger than a certain length. If you're not sure a size of 100 will usually work. To find out the optimum you have to do some experimenting yourself.
SET <list> NOMAIL Temporarily stop receiving mail from a <list>. This can be useful if you are going to be on vacation.
SET <list> MAIL Start receiving mail from the <list> again.

Command	Information
Help	Get an overview of possible requests
SIGNON <list>	Subscribe to a list.
SIGNOFF <list>	Unsubscribe from a list.
BOUNCE	Bounce the message, headers intact. This can be useful if you want to check whether the robot can be reached from your site.
LISTS	Get an overview of the lists served by this host.
HOSTS	Get an overview of all known hosts that run MailList (Does not appear to work).
INFO <list>	Sends general information about the list.
GET <keyword>	Performs the same action as SEND <keyword>.
SEND index	Send an index of the files available from the mail-server.
SEND <file> <size>	Send the <file>. Where <file> is the name of the file as it appears in the index. The optional is the maximum size in kB of separate messages. This allows you to receive large files in several chuncks spread over several mails. This is useful if a gateway or host between you and the robot does not accept messages bigger than a certain length. If you're not sure a size of 100 will usually work. To find out the optimum you have to do some experimenting yourself.
SET <list> NOMAIL	Temporarily stop receiving mail from a <list>. This can be useful if you are going to be on vacation.
SET <list> MAIL	Start receiving mail from the <list> again.