MANCHESTER
& LANCASHIRE
FAMILY
HISTORY SOCIETY
Mailman
E-mail Group
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
·1. WHY WAS THE LIST
CREATED ?
·2. WHERE IS
the machine running the list LOCATED ?
·3. WHO CAN
JOIN THE LIST ?
·4. WHAT IS THE
E-MAIL LIST FOR ?
·5. HOW DO I SEND A MESSAGE TO EVERYBODY ON THE LIST ?
·6. WHAT SORT OF MESSAGES ARE APPROPRIATE TO SEND TO THE LIST ?
·7. WHAT SORT OF MESSAGES ARE INAPPROPRIATE ?
·8. HOW DO I SEND AN INDIVIDUAL REPLY ?
·9. HOW DO I KNOW IF A REPLY HAS GONE TO EVERBODY ?
·10. HOW DO I SEND A REPLY TO EVERBODY ON THE LIST ?
·11. WHY DO I SOMETIMES GET TWO COPIES OF A REPLY ?
·12.HOW DO I JOIN THE LIST ?
·13. I HAVE SEEN A SUBSCRIBE COMMAND BUT NOTHING HAS HAPPENED
?
·14. HOW DO I UNSUBSCRIBE ?
·15. I HAVE FORGOTTEN MY PASSWORD ?
·16. HOW DO I EDIT MY OPTIONS ?
·17. HOW DO I FIND OUT WHO IS ON THE LIST ?
·18. I AM GOING AWAY AND DON`T WANT A FULL MAILBOX WHEN I
RETURN ?
·19. I`VE STOPPED RECEIVING MESSAGES, WHAT`S HAPPENED ?
·20. CAN I RECEIVE THE SAME INFORMATION BUT IN FEWER MESSAGES
?
·21. I`VE MISSED SOME MESSAGES, CAN I GET THE OLD ONES ?
·22. WHY SHOULD I CHECK THAT MY EMAIL FORMAT IS PLAIN
TEXT AND NOT HTML BEFORE SENDING MESSAGES ?
·23. DO I NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT VIRUSES ARRIVING IN
EMAIL ?
·24. WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN THE MAIL LIST AND THE
MEMBERSHIP DATABASE ?
·25. WHAT SHOULD I INCLUDE IN MY SIGNATURE FILE ?
·26. BEHAVIOUR ?
·27. I HAVE CHANGED MY ISP - HOW DO I REDIRECT MY MAIL ?
·28. I USE TWO ADDRESSES - CAN I SEND MAIL TO THE LIST FROM
BOTH ?
·29.
WILL I GET SPAM FROM THE LIST ?
·30.
WHY DO WE RECEIVE MESSAGES FROM mlfhs-bounces@genuki.org.uk?
1. WHY WAS THE LIST CREATED ?
Joe Houghton published his email address in the
Manchester Genealogist and the first list of members with email addresses who
had submitted to join in these exchanges was published in Vol.31 No.2 in 1995.
Phil Stringer then offered to set up an email list to avoid having to keep
passing the MG published list around, as he had the ability to install some
software on MAJORDOMO at his work that could do the job easily and it would
provide a central list and avoid duplication of effort. Thus mlfhs@sentinel was
born and has since been updated with new program software (MAILMAN) in March
2005. In January 2007 Phil had cause to
change the list email address, it is now mlfhs@genuki.org.uk
2. WHERE IS the machine running the list LOCATED ?
It runs on Sentinel the PC sitting under Phil Stringer`s desk in IT Services, at the University of Manchester. Phil looks after machines running the Unix operating system, so
sentinel actually runs Unix as well using Sun's Solaris. It is one of the
unofficial services that the university tolerates on its systems when they are
for local community groups and do not impact the work of the university. For
those who like to know such things, sentinel is named after the firm that made
steam wagons. Phil switched to a more modern system called MAILMAN in March
2005. Further to this as already stated in 1. above the list email address
changed in January 2007 to mlfhs@genuki.org.uk
3. WHO CAN JOIN THE LIST ?
All paid up members of the Manchester
& Lancashire Family History Society. It is an added benefit from society
membership, particularly aimed at those members who do not live near
Manchester.
4. WHAT IS THE E-MAIL LIST FOR ?
•To provide a way to pass on
information to members that cannot wait for the next issue of the journal.
•To provide an easy means for society
members to get in touch with other members via email.
•To provide a mechanism for asking all
those awkward questions where you have come to a dead end and want to know what
to try next.
5. HOW DO I SEND A MESSAGE TO EVERYBODY ON THE LIST ?
All e-mail messages sent by
registered members of the list should be addressed to mlfhs@genuki.org.uk
6. WHAT SORT
OF MESSAGES ARE APPROPRIATE TO SEND TO THE LIST ?
•Requests for help with genealogical
problems.
•Answers to other peoples questions
that you think will be of interest to other members.
•If somebody asks for something to be
looked up and you are going to do it for them, then tell the list to prevent
duplication of effort.
•If you come across a new source of
information that you think will be of interest, then announce it but if you are
new to the list, please try and make sure that what is new to you is not common
knowledge to everybody else.
When you send messages or replies to
the list, please follow the normal email conventions such as:
•Ensure the subject line describes
the topic of the message. e.g “Help Wanted” is very uninformative, “1891 census
search for CROSS in Lytham” is far better. If a readers mailbox has a lot of
messages in it you need something to catch their eye.
•Do not quote a previous message in
total. Quote just enough to make sense and identify what you are replying to.
It is hard work scrolling round a lot of text to find out what is new.
7. WHAT SORT OF MESSAGES ARE INAPPROPRIATE ?
•Anything not related to the
M&LFHS, genealogy, Family History, local history or the use of computers to
help with your research.
•Acknowledgements to thank other
members for information received or services provided. But if you have asked
for some work to be done and nothing has appeared to say its complete
then a group reply is appropriate here to stop other people doing it.
•Long discussions about specific points.
If this starts to happen then the participants should take it upon themselves
to open a private discussion and hopefully when a consensus is reached it may
be appropriate to post a summary to the list.
•When you reply to a list message
just quote as much text from the previous message as is relevant. Cut out all
the irrelevant material otherwise it gets too big and readers don't want to
have to wade through what they have already read.
•Messages about viruses and email
scams - if you feel a message needs to be posted, contact the list manager.
•Advertising or anything of a
commercial nature. If you wish to send something which is of this nature but
which you still feel would be of benefit to list members, contact John Marsden
or Judith Sellers at office@mlfhs.org.uk who will advise you
whether it can be posted.
8.HOW DO I SEND AN INDIVIDUAL REPLY ?
The list is set up so that a simple
reply to a message will just go to the originator. It will depend to some
degree on which software you use to read mail and how it is configured but if
you just reply it is unlikely to go to everybody else on the list.
9. HOW DO I KNOW IF A REPLY HAS GONE TO EVERBODY ?
If a copy of the reply comes back to
you then it has gone to the list, as of course you are a member of the list.
10. HOW DO I SEND A REPLY TO EVERBODY ON THE LIST ?
Again it depends on the mail software
you are using but on most packages there is a group reply option which sends a
reply to the originator and to the list as well. Another way to do it is to put
mlfhs@genuki.org.uk in the copy or cc
field which your mail software may have.
11. WHY DO I SOMETIMES GET TWO COPIES OF A REPLY ?
If somebody sends a group reply to a
message that you sent, so that everybody on the list sees the message, then you
are likely to receive two copies. That is because you get the direct reply and
because you are on the list you get the copy that goes to the list as well.
12.HOW DO I JOIN THE LIST ?
Phil Stringer introduced a new program in March 2005
called MAILMAN to manage the list. It is easier to use and has more facilities
than it`s predecessor MAJORDOMO. To join go to http://mailman.genuki.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/mlfhs
Go to "Subscribing to MLFHS" and fill in the boxes giving your email
address, your name and membership number. (These are Mandatory requirement for joining).
Then pick a Password, confirm the Password and then decide YES or NO to the
question on the daily digest option. This option presents the messages in
batches once or twice a day rather than have the messages arrive separately.
Then press the SUBSCRIBE button and you are on the way to becoming a list
member. Certain checks will be carried out to confirm eligibility and then you
will start to receive the messages.
13. I HAVE SENT A SUBSCRIBE COMMAND BUT NOTHING HAS HAPPENED ?
When you send
a subscribe command to MAILMAN it does not get executed immediately. It is
passed to the list maintainer (currently Phil Stringer) who confirms that it is
OK for an individual to join. So you have to wait for the list maintainer to
read and deal with their e-mail.
14. HOW DO I UNSUBSCRIBE ?
To
unsubscribe go to http://mailman.genuki.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/mlfhs
Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your subscription e-mail address in
the box provided (unsubscribe or edit options) Then press the button, another
page will appear with a second unsubscribe button, press this as well and that
is the process completed. This procedure is if you wish to permanently
unsubscribe, if you are only wanting to stop receiving mail temporarily you
simply change
"Mail delivery" in Edit Options from Enabled to Disabled.
15. I HAVE FORGOTTEN MY PASSWORD ?
If you have
forgotten or wish to change your Password go to http://mailman.genuki.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/mlfhs
and enter your email address against the Unsubscribe or Edit Options button.
Enter on this and at the bottom of the page you will see this option.
16. HOW DO I EDIT MY OPTIONS ?
When you
first subscribe your membership will be set to a number of default options
including FULL membership. If you wish to change this or any other option go to
http://mailman.genuki.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/mlfhs
and enter your subscribed email address against the Unsubscribe or Edit Options
button. Enter this and the full range of options is there for you to make any
necessary changes.
Another
feature you will see from the "unsubscribe or edit options " button
is to get a PASSWORD reminder.
17. HOW DO I FIND OUT WHO IS ON THE LIST ?
Go to http://mailman.genuki.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/mlfhs
Scroll down to MLFHS Subscribers, enter your email address and password and
press the "Visit Subscriber List"
button. The List will then be displayed. There are two lists, one for non-digest members and one for digest members.
They are displayed side by side in numeric alpha order by email address. There
is an option to conceal your address if so desired. To do this go to
http://mailman.genuki.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/mlfhs
and enter your email address against the Unsubscribe or Edit Options button, enter
your password on the next screen, log in and scroll down to the question
"Conceal yourself from the Subscriber List" and enter YES for this
option.
18. I AM GOING AWAY AND DON`T WANT A FULL MAILBOX WHEN I RETURN ?
With the new
MAILMAN system it is now much easier to stop receiving mail temporarily.
This has already been described at question 15 but again all you need to do
is go to EDIT OPTIONS and change Mail delivery from Enabled to Disabled.
19. I`VE STOPPED RECEIVING MESSAGES, WHAT`S HAPPENED ?
If you
receive no messages this could be due to a number of reasons e.g A full mailbox or other problems related to
the member rather than mlfhs. The list may try to send but may suspend
deliveries if messages are repeatedly bounced. Also another possibility could
be due to the members subscription having lapsed, though we usually warn before
a purge of this nature.
20. CAN I RECEIVE THE SAME INFORMATION BUT IN FEWER MESSAGES ?
The only
options now are either FULL or DIGEST membership. With the full version you
will received each message as it is received by the list. In the DIGEST mode
you will receive them packed together, about 10 or 12 at a time.
21. I`VE MISSED SOME MESSAGES, CAN I GET THE OLD ONES.?
Yes, we now
have the MLFHS ARCHIVES, which date back to 1996. They can either be viewed on
line or downloaded by year and month. The viewable option gives you the ability
to view either by [THREAD] [SUBJECT] [AUTHOR] or [DATE]. So go to the MAILMAN
interface at http://mailman.genuki.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/mlfhs
In the first paragraph you will see the MLFHS ARCHIVES link. Click on
this link then make your choice eg. If you wanted to look at February 2005
messages by date, you will go to that month and click on [DATE] . You then have
a hyper-link list in date order also showing subject and author. Click on this
link to read the individual message.
22. WHY SHOULD I CHECK THAT MY EMAIL FORMAT IS PLAIN TEXT AND NOT
HTML BEFORE SENDING MESSAGES ?
A common
error is unwittingly sending messages to MLFHS in HTML format, which is often
the default format that exists in many email programs. HTML is the mark up
language for creating World Wide Web (WWW) internet pages. This default is set
in many programs and results in two copies of the message being sent, one in
HTML and another in PLAIN TEXT. HTML formatting allows different fonts etc. in
your email but all it really does is double the size of each message, so
potentially increasing telephone costs. The fact that this happens is
transparent to the sender but not to a receiver who is operating in PLAIN TEXT
mode. It will also cause problems for MAILMAN, which does not understand it and
for those on the digest list. Each digest user has to deal with hugh amounts of
gobbledygook, which is how the HTML version appears to them.
Some ISPs
give you software preconfigured to use HTML, especially the free ones. Not
surprising really when their income comes from the phone calls.
The rule for
MLFHS is NOT to send HTML messages. There will be an option in your mailer to
switch it off, so check now and disable it. For Example in Outlook Express,
Select TOOLS, OPTIONS, SEND, and select the Plain Text button. Choosing the
plain text button automatically deselects the neighbouring HTML button, select
APPLY before exiting. When the default is set to plain text individual messages
can still be easily changed to HTML if desired, by left clicking on FORMAT on
the menu bar when the individual message is being composed and selecting Rich
Text (HTML) which applies for that specific message. After that message has
been completed and SEND as been chosen the next message that is composed
reverts to plain text without further action being necessary.
Failure to
send in plain text causes annoyance to members of the list, so explore your
mailer software and select Plain Text before sending messages to the MLFHS
list.
23. DO I NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT VIRUSES ARRIVING IN EMAIL ?
No, Viruses
are contained in attachments to messages and all attachments are removed by the
list server software. Even so, you may contract a virus from other sources and
so should follow some simple rules. If you are running a MAC or running the
UNIX operating system then you are running a system that is less susceptible to
these problems. The majority of you will be running a version of Windows and as
such should always be running up to date anti-virus software. There is no
problem at all in reading plain text emails but just be careful with programs
or attachments. You are only susceptible if you run a program or open an email
attachment without first checking it with a virus checker. You should follow
this rule even if the email appears to be from somebody you know, as
either they may have been inadvertently infected or the virus may have
"spoofed" the sender address.
24. WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN THE MAIL LIST AND THE MEMBERSHIP
DATABASE ?
None at all!
The society records members` email addresses in the membership database
but you must change your address on the list and your address on the membership
database separately. If you are a new email user then please inform office@mlfhs.org.uk so that your email
address can be added to the membership database. Please also tell him when your
email address changes.
25.WHAT SHOULD I INCLUDE IN MY SIGNATURE FILE ?
Always `sign` your messages with your
name, brief address and your MLFHS membership number. Answers to your
genealogical questions will vary considerably in Salford, San Fransisco or
Samalaeulu.
Always `sign` your messages with your
name and your preferred email address. This is especially important because
some email and newsreader software do not always convey the originator`s full
email address. While you may certainly include your regular mail address in
your postings, you may wish to give this out only in personal replies, when
necessary.
Please DO NOT include a list of the
surnames you are researching in your signature file. If the messages are archived
(and most newsgroups are archived) and somebody is searching for your surname,
they need to find it only once, hopefully it will have your address with it as
well. If they are searching and get too many hits, then they may not request
all the messages and therefore may miss seeing your message.
26. BEHAVIOUR ?
This is something which should not
need to be mentioned, but I expect you all to behave in a polite and courteous
manner when emailing other society members. There are a large number of list
members, all with different views on what should appear on the list and how
they should interact with other members.
If you are unfortunate enough to have
problems with another list member then do please discuss them with Phil
Stringer, P.Stringer@mcc.ac.uk who will help to
resolve it. I do reserve the right to remove anybody from the list who does not
behave in an appropriate manner!
27. I HAVE CHANGED MY ISP - HOW DO I REDIRECT MY MAIL
?
Submit an application to join as described
in 12 above. Then log into the system using your old address and Unsubscribe to
remove this from the list.
28. I USE TWO ADDRESSES - CAN I SEND TO THE LIST FROM
BOTH ?
Yes. You can subscribe to the list
from two (or more) addresses as described in 12 above. Messages to the list
will be accepted from either address. If you only want to receive mail
to one of the addresses, set the mail delivery option for the other
address to Disabled as described in 18 above.
29. WILL I GET SPAM FROM THE LIST ?
No. The old MajorDomo list manager
was unable to prevent this. The new Mailman software will only allow mail onto
the list which originates from the address of a registered member.
30. WHY DO WE RECEIVE MESSAGES FROM
mlfhs-bounces@genuki.org.uk?
The
"bounces" reference is part of the arrangement to stop mail
perpetually
circulating from dead addresses. Consider this:
You mail the list and it sends to a copy at a dud address so the mail system
returns it to the sender (list). The list sends it to all the members
including the dud address which bounces it back to the list which sends.....
...ad infinitum.
You send mail to "mlfhs" but the system uses the
"mlfhs-bounces" address as
sender. Mail to a dud address returns to "mlfhs-bounces" and goes no
further.
[Last updated – August 26th.2008.
Colin Wood]