California Native Plants Mailing List FAQ

The ca-natives mailing list is managed by software called ListServ, from L-Soft International (http://www.lsoft.com/).

There are a few questions regarding ListServ that get asked frequently, so I have put together a list of commonly used commands. Please save this for future reference.

First, for all commands...

1. Send commands (like "subscribe", "signoff", etc.) to listserv@calypteanna.com, NOT ca-natives@calypteanna.com. The first address goes to the listserv manager software and is processed automatically. The second goes to the entire group, which probably isn't what you (or they) want.

2. Send your message from the same address that you used to subscribe to the list. Otherwise you will receive an error message.

3. Turn off any automatic signature line on your email - it will confuse ListServ.

And now, the frequently asked questions (FAQ)...

1. How do I subscribe to ca-natives?

Send a message from the address at which you wish to receive list messages to listserv@calypteanna.com. In the body of the message, say "subscribe ca-natives your_first_name your_last_name."

2. How do I unsubscribe from ca-natives?

Send a message to listserv@calypteanna.com with the words "signoff ca-natives" in the body of the message.

3. I'm going on vacation. Can I temporarily unsubscribe from the list?

If you would like to temporarily stop receiving mail from the list without unsubscribing, use the command "set ca-natives nomail". To start receiving mail again "set ca-natives mail".

4. I'm not receiving a copy of my own messages - what's wrong?

When the list was first set up, the default setting was to not send people copies of their own messages. This confused many people, so I have now changed the default setting so that new subscribers will receive copies of their own messages. If you are not already set up this way and you would like to receive a copy of your own messages, the command is "set ca-natives repro". To not receive a copy of your own messages, the command is "set ca-natives norepro".

5. How can I receive ca-natives in digest mode?

If you would like to receive one posting per day rather than all of the individual messages, use the command "set ca-natives digest". To receive individual messages, use "set ca-natives nodigest".

WARNING: The digest format is not pretty. Not only will you see everyone's messages, but you will see all the lines that they quoted in their messages. Worse yet, if someone posts to the list in HTML-formatted email (a no-no) it will really be ugly.

Usually a better solution is to use your email software's filtering feature to automatically redirect all ca-natives messages into their own folder. Then they won't clutter up your main mailbox and you can read them at your leisure.

6. I don't seem to be subscribed to the list anymore. What happened?

Occasionally an email address on the list becomes undeliverable. Often this is just a temporary situation which is corrected soon. But I get an error message in my mailbox every time this happens. So if your address is undeliverable for more than a week or two, I will manually delete your address from the list. You are welcome to rejoin from a working address. By the way, if you know that your email address will be turned off soon, I (and the admins of all the other lists you are subscribed to) will appreciate it if you sign off before your address starts bouncing mail.

7. I still can't get something to work - what do I do now?

If your question is not answered here or you have tried these instructions and it hasn't worked, send a message to the list administrator at greg@calypteanna.com.

"ListServ" is a registered trademark of L-Soft International (http://www.lsoft.com/).