http://www.uark.edu/basis/sag-l/faq.html
(Last updated 09 November 2018)
 | 1. What is SAG-L? |
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SAG-L is an open forum for the discussion of the products
and services of Software AG. Although primarily intended for topics
of a technical nature, topics regarding applications and application
programming are also encouraged. SAG-L is offered as a free service by the
University of Arkansas.
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| 2. How do I use SAG-L? |
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SAG-L is an electronic discussion forum. The only requirement for its use
is the ability to send and receive e-mail through the Internet.
Before using SAG-L, you should first subscribe to the forum
(see #3 below).
After receiving confirmation of your subscription, you can send a
message to all of the other people who have subscribed to SAG-L by
sending an e-mail message to SAG-L is also accessible through the web: http://listserv.uark.edu/archives/sag-l.htmlNote: SAG-L uses LISTSERV®, a product of L-Soft International. TOP
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| 3. How do I subscribe to SAG-L? |
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Send the following line via electronic mail to
listserv@listserv.uark.edu:
subscribe sag-l Firstname Lastname
You can also subscribe through the web by filling out the form at
http://listserv.uark.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=sag-l&A=1The list server will send you a subscription confirmation message, to which you must respond before your subscription is accepted. The instructions on how to respond are included in the message. TOP
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| 4. How do I unsubscribe? |
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Send the following line via electronic mail to
listserv@listserv.uark.edu:
unsubscribe sag-l
(Note: you must send this using the same e-mail address under which
you originally subscribed to SAG-L. If the address matches,
the subscription is deleted automatically. If the address does not
match, and you have no means of e-mailing from the original
address, please contact the list owner
for assistance, or send e-mail to sag-l-request@listserv.uark.edu.
You can also unsubscribe through the web by filling out the form at http://listserv.uark.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=sag-l&A=1 TOP
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| 5. What is the difference between sending mail to SAG-L vs. LISTSERV? |
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The SAG-L address (sag-l@listserv.uark.edu) is used to send messages to
SAG-L subscribers. When you send a message to the SAG-L address, it is
retransmitted by the list server to everyone who is currently subscribed
to SAG-L.
The LISTSERV address (listserv@listserv.uark.edu) is used to communicate
with the list server system. The text of messages to LISTSERV are
always commands for the list server, such as subscribe or
unsubscribe or set.
The Subject line of the message is ignored and can be blank.
The results of your commands are returned to you via e-mail.
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| 6. Why does LISTSERV reject my commands? |
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The LISTSERV software identifies you through your electronic
mail address. When you subscribe to a discussion list, it ties your
subscription to your e-mail address and will only permit you to make
changes to your subscription if requests to do so come from the same,
identical e-mail address.
If you change your e-mail address, LISTSERV won't honor commands affecting subscriptions under your old address that come from your new address. The typical LISTSERV response is "You are not subscribed to the [listname] list." This can be confusing if you are still receiving mail from the list because your mail system is forwarding mail from your old address to your new one. Note: E-mail address changes can sometimes be totally transparent to you. E-mail system administrators can play tricks with domain names and automatic mail forwarders on your end to hide the fact that your e-mail address has changed. While your system may think that jim@eagle.zoo.com is the same as jim@exchange.eagle.zoo.com, LISTSERV considers these to be two different people. The usual means for fixing this is to unsubscribe from SAG-L
and resubscribe using your new address. Since the unsubscribe
command is one of those that LISTSERV may reject unless you can
figure out how to send from your old address, you may need to
contact the list owner for assistance.
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| 7. How can I find out who is on SAG-L? |
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Access to the list of SAG-L subscribers is restricted to the list owner
only. This restriction was put in place to protect our
subscribers from those out on the Internet who retrieve these
lists to compile "white pages" or generate mass mailings for
marketing purposes, or for other purposes we shudder to think about.
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| 8. How do I temporarily turn SAG-L mail off while I'm on vacation? |
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Send the following line via electronic mail to listserv@listserv.uark.edu:
set sag-l nomail
When you return, send this command to turn mail back on:
set sag-l mail
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| 9. How can I receive a single daily posting of all SAG-L messages? |
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Rather than receiving a separate electronic mail file for each
posting to SAG-L, the list server can optionally collect
multiple postings and send them in a batch or digest. To turn
digests on, send the following line via electronic mail to listserv@listserv.uark.edu:
set sag-l digests
To return to the non-digested format, send this command:
set sag-l nodigests
(Please note that on some busy days you may receive multiple digests.
SAG-L limits digests to approximately 1000 lines in length and may,
therefore, send
multiple digests if a single day's message traffic exceeds this number.)
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| 10. How can I tell if my posting to SAG-L really got distributed? |
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To receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your posting, send
the following line via electronic mail to listserv@listserv.uark.edu:
set sag-l ack
To turn acknowledgements off, send:
set sag-l noack
(The ack option is the default setting for SAG-L.)
To receive a copy of your postings when they are distributed to the rest of the list, send the following line to the list server:
set sag-l repro
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| 11. How come my postings sometimes do not get distributed? |
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SAG-L is not moderated, so the list server will send any
message it receives posted to the SAG-L address, with one exception.
The list server is very sensitive to situations where it as an
automated mail handler and a remote automated mail system start a
mail loop, bouncing the same message back and forth endlessly. To
avoid these situations, the list server examines each message it
receives and sends any that could potentially cause a mail loop to
the list owner for manual processing.
The *VAST* majority of legitimate messages that fail the looping mail check contain mail headers with the SAG-L address embedded in the body of the message. Any To: or From: or Sender: header containing sag-l@listserv.uark.edu is automatically rejected and sent to the list owner. These messages get mixed in with the large number of mailing errors that list server routinely sends to the SAG-L owner, so they often go unprocessed and eventually get trashed.
Recommendation: Do not embed mail headers in the body of messages
you send to SAG-L, or at least disguise them so that the
list server won't recognize them as such. If your mail system
automatically includes these headers when replying to a SAG-L
message, delete the embedded headers before sending the reply.
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| 12. How can I determine who posted a message from SAG-L? |
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SAG-L postings always contain the mail address of the original sender
in their mail headers. However, many mail systems will rewrite mail
headers in such a manner as to hide or confuse you on who sent the
message. SAG-L's mail headers contain the following information:
From: Always shows the original sender To: Always shows SAG-L@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU Sender: Always shows SAG-L@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU Reply-To: Always shows SAG-L@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU If you receive mail from SAG-L that does not show these headers, then your mail system is at fault and not SAG-L. If this is the way your mail system works, you can set the dualhdr option for your SAG-L subscription, which causes the list server to embed header information in the body of the message of each posting. Most mail systems do not change contents of a message, so the extra header information usually passes on to you untouched. To set the dualhdr option, send the following command to listserv@listserv.uark.edu:
set sag-l dualhdr
To turn this option off, send the fullhdr option:
set sag-l fullhdr
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| 13. What is a Listserv password, and how can I set it? |
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You have the ability to set a Listserv password that opens the
door for doing many of the subscription functions described
above completely through the web. Subscribers by default are
not given a password and are required to transact all business
with the list server through e-mail. However, once you set a
Listserv password, you can change subscription options directly
using a web browser, and in fact you can also post to a list
without needing an e-mail client.
The list server maintains only one password for any given subscriber. Even if you have subscriptions to a hundred different lists on our list server, you still have only one password. Your e-mail address is essentially your Listserv userid, and it has a single Listserv password. To set your Listserv password, begin by pointing your web browser to https://listserv.uark.edu/cgi-bin/wa?GETPW1=&X=&Y= Then fill in your e-mail address and desired Listserv password in the blanks provided. When you click the Register password button, the list server will send a confirmation message to your e-mail account. You must read and respond to the e-mail according to the directions contained within in before your password is set. Here are some of the functions that you can do once you have set your Listserv password:
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| 14. How do I search the archives? |
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All postings to SAG-L are archived on the list server.
You can retrieve any message from the archive through the use
of a web browser. The list server provides a powerful search
facility to ease your search for messages containing one or
more keywords or phrases.
Begin by pointing your web browser to http://listserv.uark.edu/archives/sag-l.html Click on the Search the archives menu item at the top of the page. If you wish to view messages grouped by the sender or the subject, click on one of the weekly archives links at the lower portion of the page. The search screen is pretty intuitive. However, if you need help, click on the "Help!" link at the left of the page.
Please note that the old-style search facility that used pseudo
JCL statements is no longer supported by our list server. The
web-based search facility is much superior and easier to use than
the old facility.
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| 15. How can I learn more about LISTSERV commands? |
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Send the following command to listserv@listserv.uark.edu:
help
The LISTSERV online
manuals
found at
L-Soft International's web site
are also a good source of information.
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| 16. What is the policy on posting announcements? |
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SAG-L is not to be used for mass broadcast of mostly
unwanted meeting and call for paper type announcements, especially
those unrelated to Software AG products and services. On occasion,
we permit SAG-L to be used for short announcements about
Software AG user group meetings and conferences. If there is a
question regarding the appropriate use of SAG-L for an
announcement you wish to post, please ask the list owner beforehand.
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| 17. What is the policy on posting advertisements? |
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SAG-L strictly prohibits use of the list for advertising purposes.
Vendors should seek other means of advertising their products or
services. If there is a question regarding the appropriate use of SAG-L
for a message that might be considered advertising, please ask the list
owner before posting it.
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| 18. What is the policy on posting job information or requests? |
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SAG-L strictly prohibits the distribution of information
regarding employment. This includes all forms of announcements
about job openings or employment opportunities and announcements
and/or resumes from job seekers. Please use other established
means for the exchange of this type of information.
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| 19. What is the policy regarding copyrighted material? |
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Copyright is a serious matter. Be careful and pay attention when
posting material that was created elsewhere. Unless you know that
the originator has granted you permission to copy, you should
assume that you don't have permission. However, it is certainly
fair use to draw people's attention to an issue and point to the
original article if it is available online. Many publications
permit the posting of small excerpts of their articles if you
include a reference to the publication and that it is copyrighted
information. In all cases, the person posting copyrighted
material assumes the full responsibility for obtaining proper
permissions before posting.
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| 20. What is the policy regarding offensive language? |
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SAG-L is a professional service that the University of Arkansas
provides at no cost to its subscribers. Discussion on the list should
remain professional. Use of personal attacks (a.k.a. "flames") or obscene
or offensive language are not permitted. All messages currently
circulated by SAG-L are unmoderated and unedited, so it is likely that
messages that violate this standard will occasionally slip through.
Repeat offenders will be warned, and then deleted from the list and served
off from the list server if the offenses continue.
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| 21. What is spam, and how can I prevent it? |
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SAG-L's list server
has built-in anti-spam code that it uses to communicate with other
list servers around the world to detect and prevent spams. Other
mechanisms are employed by the list server's host to detect and
prevent spam from reach subscribers. But spams
will occasionally get through to SAG-L, though.
The SAG-L list has been set up to require a person to subscribe to the list before it will accept a posting from the person. Most spammers do not go to the trouble to do this, so unless they happen to spoof the e-mail address of one of our subscribers, their messages do not get distributed. What should you do when you receive a spam through SAG-L? First, although it is tempting to send a message of disgust or outrage to SAG-L, we ask that you resist the urge. Most people really do not want to see the spam in the first place, but even fewer want to see the "*$!+% stop spamming me" messages that often follow them. Please DO NOT send
messages to SAG-L about the spam.
If you so desire, please feel free to contact the originator of the spam,
or contact the systems administrator at his/her site. Or do nothing but
grit your teeth and just delete the message.
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| 22. Are there any related web sites? |
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SAG-L is fully accessible via a web browser. You can
search the archives, manage your subscription, and even post to the
list via your favorite browser.
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| 23. If I have questions about SAG-L, to whom should they go? |
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SAG-L is hosted by the University of Arkansas. If
you have questions regarding SAG-L, please mail to
the list owner:
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![[Mail]](mailbox.gif)
Paul Bixby (pbixby@uark.edu)
© Copyright 2004
David L. Merrifield
All Rights Reserved