Free at Last!

How to unsubscribe from
(and subscribe to) Internet mailing lists

Types of lists

Mailing lists are processed by software designed for that purpose. Administrative requests are sent to the list server process. Mail to people on the list is sent to one account on a server that is then re-sent to all the people on that list. Examples of the commands to unsubscribe or subscribe to lists using common types of list processing software are listed below. Do not chat when you send these requests. List processors are not sentient entities and will not appreciate it. Other commands than these may also work. If you don't know the type of list, send all four. It still taxes the net less than sending administrative requests to the list subscribers.

Subscribing

If the address to which you want to subscribe begins with

listproc@

You send a message to the listproc address (as provided in the list of mailing lists), you leave the subject line blank (this is important) and the content of the message should read

subscribe listname Firstname Lastname

So, for example, were Franz Bibfeldt to subscribe to the Tillich-Bonhoeffer list, he would write:-

subscribe dbpt-l Franz Bibfeldt

and send it to

listproc@neiu.edu

Franz is then subscribed under the address from which he sent the email. He could expect to receive confirmation of his subscription to the list and other details (e.g., of how to contribute and how to unsubscribe). Ideally, he would save this information for when he wanted to unsubscribe.

listserv@

You send a message to the listserv address (as provided in the list of mailing lists), you leave the subject line blank and the content of the message should read

subscribe listname Firstname Lastname

So, for example, if Soren Kierkegaard were to subscribe to the list for New Religious Movements, he would send this message:-

subscribe nurel-l Soren Kierkegaard

to listserv@listserv.ucalgary.ca

Again, he could expect to receive confirmation of his subscription to the list and other details (e.g., of how to contribute and how to unsubscribe). He would save this information for when he wanted to unsubscribe.

mailbase@

To join a mailbase list write to:-

mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk

with the message:-

join listname Firstname Lastname

Example:-

join feminist-theology Regina Olson

On subscription, she would receive details of how to send messages to the group etc.

majordomo@

To subscribe to a Majordomo list of the form:-

majordomo@lightlink.com

You should write to the relevant address with the message:-

subscribe <listname> your-e-mail-address

So, were Franz Bibfeldt to subscribe to the Psychology of Religion list, he would write:-

subscribe psyrel-l

or

subscribe psyrel-l franz@bibfeldt.edu

He would receive subscription confirmation and further details about the list.

Other

Other addresses (such as listname-request@ or listname-owner@) are addresses to which you have to write to a real person in order to ask to join. In this case, use conversational English to request subscription of a real person. These -request lists may be moderated (Under the right circumstances, this results in a higher quality of discussion. It will definitely limit the volume of mail coming through the list, as one person will have to read everything).

What if I don't know the type of software that is running the list

Try them all. The wrong form will bounce.

Unsubscribing

Netiquette - Manners are important!

Newbies sometimes seem to think that listowners and the web are employees of their local service provider. They make their needs known on a continuum from demands to firm requests, as if the listowner will lose her job if she doesn't comply. Listowners are unpaid and usually serve at listowners because of an interest in the subject matter and because no one else wanted the job. Know that going into it.

The most important thing to know about list manners is that you must not post administrative requests, such as subscribe and unsubscribe, to Internet mailing lists. Even polite ones. Each post to an Internet mailing list is re-sent to all its subscribers. This can number in the thousands. In so doing, you not only advertise to the global community that you haven't a clue about Internet mailing lists but people have to wonder about your resourcefulness, your character, and possibly your parents' marital status. Moreover, you inconvenience others unnecessarily, tax servers all over the world, waste bandwidth, and inspire "me, too!" thinkers to follow you into the dark forest of listserv madness. In a word, do not just hit reply to unsubscribe.

Mores are unwritten codes. Sometimes they are unspoken. The underlying mores of the Internet require that you first do everything possible to solve a problem yourself before asking for help. In UNIX parlance, this is referred to as RTFM (M stands for manual. I leave the rest to your imagination. As you have tried to solve the problem yourself by coming here, so I will do my best to give you the help you need.

I may have sent you this URL. If I did, you probably posted an administrative request to a list to which I subscribe, or that I own. I own, or co-own, the following lists: psyrel-l@lightlink.com, lcm-l@lightlink.com, spirit-l@newciv.org, methods-l@newciv.org, and dbpt-l@neiu.edu so if you have difficulty with these directions, just write to me. Please do not ask me to unsubscribe you without first attempting to unsubscribe yourself. I am a grad student and work full-time and I only mother Ursula.

Finally, if you subscribe a list that I administer, I require that you use your real name when posting to the list. Almost any email address is acceptable, but I refuse to post messages from entities with such names as "StudMuffin666@aol.com" on my lists. Yes, this is entirely arbitrary.

When all else fails

You can get help from a real person. Actually, at least two real people. First, you can send mail to list-owner. If you check the headers on your unwanted list email, there is often an Errors to: field. That is your list owner. It is often a name such as owner-dbpt-l@neiu.edu. You can write to the owner and beg for help. Tell the full story.

List owners sometimes have lives. Postmasters, on the other hand, do not. If you know where the list originates, you can always write to postmaster@wherever.the.list.is. Internic requires that every domain have a postmaster so your mail will go somewhere. You probably won't get an immediate response. Welcome to the Internet. You are paying your dues.

Majordomo

You send an email to majordomo@whatever the domain is. For example, Franz sends an email to majordomo@newciv.org saying:

unsubscribe spirit-l franz@bibfeldt.edu

Listserv

You send an email to listserv@whatever the domain is. For example, Franz sends an email to listserv@ucsbvm.ucsb.edu saying:

unsubscribe aril-l franz@bibfeldt.edu

Listproc

You send an email to listproc@whatever the domain is from the address you are subscribed under. This part is important: Leave the subject line blank. For example, Franz sends an email to listproc@neiu.edu saying with a return address of franz@bibfeldt.edu that says:

unsubscribe dbpt-l

Mailbase

You send an email to mailbase@whatever the domain is. For example, Franz sends an email to mailbase@newciv.org saying:

leave feminist-theology franz@bibfeldt.edu

Snags

First snag

You have to unsubscribe the exact name you are unsubscribed under or you will hear about it from the list server. For example, if Franz is subscribed under franz@theology.bibfeldt.edu and sends a message saying:

unsubscribe franz@bibfeldt.edu

there is a possibility that the list processing software will object and tell him that he is not subscribed. Some list software is smart enough to figure this out (It's called mungedomain. Most isn't. Some lists will allow you to send a rev listname for listserv and listproc or who listname for majordomo. The list administrator might have disabled the feature to protect subscribers' privacy however. In that case, you are back to writing the listowner or postmaster.

Second snag

You don't know the domain where the list is coming from. For example, aril-l is sent from ucsbvm.ucsb.edu. Truncating the domain name to ucsb.edu will bounce your message (on the day I write this. The Internet is nothing if not dynamic). Turn on "long headers" in your email software and you will not only see where your mail come from but the path it took to get there. If you are using the Eudora mail program, chose the "Blah Blah Blah" icon.

Third snag

You're getting mail but the list server tells you that you aren't subscribed and you've tried the solutions under First Snag. Unsubscribe using every email address you've ever had in both long and short forms. Then write the listowner, postmaster, and your own help disk.

Famous list problems and solutions

Problem: Too existential - Can't unsub from kierkegaard@stolaf.edu using directions

Solution: Send unsub request to listserv@stolaf.edu instead of to kierkegaard-request@stolaf.edu,which I believe is the mailbox of a real person who may or may not check her mail. Try leaving the subject line blank. If you find yourself existentially trapped on the kierkegaard list, write to

postmaster@stolaf.edu

explaining your situation. Please don't spam the list with unsubscribes.

Problem: Can't unsub from feminist theology list using

unsubscribe

Solution: leave feminist-theology franz@bibfeldt.edu

Problem: Can't unsubscribe from dbpt-l@neiu.edu

Solution: If the listproc@neiu.edu doesn't work, write the listowner and I will save you within a day or two. Don't spam the list.

Personal help and feedback

If you find other little tricks about various lists and would like to add them here to save your fellow Internet travelers, send me email. And if you still can't unsubscribe and you're desperate, write to me and I'll try to help.

Christine

P.S. A Note About Franz

Several people have asked me who is Franz Bibfeldt. According to University of Chicago Magazine, Franz is a theologian known to generations of scholars (and one Playmate of the Year), Franz Bibfeldt has led a life that-to paraphrase Twain-has been greatly exaggerated.. Find out more about Franz Bibfeldt.

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