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The following instructions can be found on this page:

 


The mailing list service of the University

Mailing list (list) is a set of e-mail addresses of people with similar interests and these can be used to communicate with each other.

A list of e-mail addresses with people who are interested in discussing a certain topic is set up on a computer and this list is given a collective e-mail address.

If a member of the list sends an e-mail to this list address, it will be automatically redirected to all the e-mail addresses on the list, otherwise known as the subscribers of the list.

If a member of the list would like to comment on the e-mail, that person will have to send the response to the list address and that response will be forwarded to all the subscribers of the list. As a result an electronic conference is set up.

The University of Tartu has used free software for mailing lists, e.g. listproc, majordomo and SYMPA. Currently SYMPA software is being used, because unlike other similar software it allows administrating the list through web, meaning that the ordinary user can read the archives of the list by using a browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.).


How to subscribe to a mailing list?

In order to interact with the mailing list service, go to SYMPA start-up page.

There is a possibility to browse through the set of existing public mailing lists, search for a specific list and fill out applications for joining a list.

Dependant on the settings of the list you will be automatically added to the list of subscribers or an e-mail will be sent to the owner of the list and if accepted you will be added to the list of subscribers personally.


What should be taken into consideration when writing to lists?

General rules of politeness and netiquette apply when writing to the lists. Furthermore, the owner of the list might have established additional rules to follow, which will be sent to the e-mail automatically immediately after being added to the list of subscribers.

The maximum size limit of an e-mail is set by the list owner (default is 5MB).

When sending files by e-mail, one should follow an unwritten agreement about big files not to be attached to the text but to be uploaded to a specific address and link of that address should be sent instead.

Same e-mail can be sent to 3 different lists simultaneously. Cross-posting restriction is necessary because many users might be subscribers to many lists and this information would reach them many times through different lists resulting in unnecessary thrashing of the mailbox.


How to use other possibilities of the mailing list service?

In order to use the other possibilities of the mailing list (reading the archives of a subscribed list, creating and administrating a list, ending a subscription to a list), you will need to identify yourself. To do that, enter your e-mail address and password at the SYMPA start-up page.

SYMPA password is not the same that is given when applying to become a user of the University’s computer network. In order to get the SYMPA password a „Send me the password” button in the lower part of the SYMPA page needs to be clicked and the system will send you a password to the e-mail address that was previously entered.

After identification some new buttons will appear in the upper corner of the SYMPA homepage for browsing the archives of subscribed lists, filling out an application to create a new list, administrating it and ending the list subscription. Additional information and SYMPA help will also be available.


What should be taken into consideration when filling out an application for creating a new list?

The most important thing is to think out the name of the list by following the recommended rules for choosing a name for the list. Letters with diacritic, capital letters and spaces cannot be used.

In the list name field of the application form the name of the list should be entered without the ending @lists.ut.ee

In the comment field of the list describe as shortly and specifically as possible to whom and why this list is might be of use.

In the acronym field insert the acronym that is added to the Subject line of the e-mails that are sent to the list. It will be used to differentiate the message in the subscriber’s mailbox.

Public list archives are available to everyone, even to those users who are not subscribers of the list. Private archives can only be accessed by members of the list.

Joining list without restrictions means that the application request will be filled in automatically and the list owner will be notified about it by e-mail. The other possibility is the automatic forwarding of the application form to the owner of the list, who will then review it and either accept or decline it.

If you choose the option in which only the members can write to the list, then those who are not members can not send e-mails to the list. This option is good for keeping junk mail off the list. On the other hand, it does not provide the possibility to write to the list without joining it.

The settings of the list can be changed later when the list has already been created if it turns out that everything is not as wanted.

It is not required to use the web interface of SYMPA to fill out an application. It can be done on this webpage or by sending an e-mail to: listmaster [ät] lists [dot] ut [dot] ee.


Administrating a mailing list

In order to administrate your lists, you always have to identify yourself in the SYMPA environment by using an e-mail address and the password that was sent to you by SYMPA.

The button „My lists” gives you access to the subscribed and owned lists.

By clicking on the name of the list a menu will open where you can choose „List management”, allowing you to change the settings of the list.

Mailing list already has default settings when created, meaning that additional configurations are not necessarily required. The most important settings, needed to be reviewed are:

Who can join the list
It is generally preferred that everybody can join the list after asking for a permission from the list owner.

Owner
The list owner can add another owner with equal privileges. New owner can remove the old owner. This procedure can be used to change the ownership of the list.

Who can send e-mails?
The “List members only” is generally preferred.

If it is necessary that everybody must have the possibility to send e-mails then the option „Reviewed, allowed to list members only” would be more suitable. This means that all e-mails of the subscribers will go to the list immediately. The e-mails of non-subscribers have to be reviewed and are then forwarded to the list or deleted. In order to do that, the e-mail address and name of the moderator have to be inserted below. Reviewing can be done by pressing the „Reviewing” button.

Marking the subject line
It is a word or an acronym that is added to the Subject field of the messages sent to the list.

After the changes have been completed in the settings of the list, the „Renew” button situated on the lower part of the page should be clicked as only then the changes will be saved.


Most frequent problems when using the mailing list service

SYMPA notifies: your letter was not sent to the address you provided. Therefore I am returning your e-mail.
Most likely the address that you used for sending the e-mail is not included in the subscribers list.

This can happen when you have multiple e-mail addresses, but only one of them is in the subscribers list and the e-mail is accidentally sent from a another address.

Sometimes the e-mail address is altered or changed for some reason, e.g. user [ät] ut [dot] ee has become givenname [dot] surname [ät] ut [dot] ee. In this case the e-mails still circulate, but the list service clearly distinguishes the exact e-mail address and does not allow changing it.

In this case the subscription from the old address should be cancelled and re-subscription should be made from the new address.

When filling out a form for creating a new list the ending lists.ut.ee is inserted and an error message is received.
The name of the list is the text before the @ sign.

You cannot see your subscriptions in the „My lists” set of lists.
Most probably you have configured your settings incorrectly. Contact the list master.


List server can be contacted directly by e-mail.

A chosen list can also be subscribed to by sending an e-mail to: sympa [ät] lists [dot] ut [dot] ee. The Subject line of the e-mail should be left blank and the first line of the e-mail should include the following:

subscribe name of the list and then the e-mail should be sent.

Unsubscribing can be done the same way by using the command: unsubscribe list name

Additional information about questions regarding mailing list services is available on the mailing list services page.

In case of problems with mailing list services, we suggest contacting the list server administrator by sending an e-mail to listmaster [ät] lists [dot] ut [dot] ee.