• E-mail Lists Policies

Campus E-mail Lists Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ Index

• How do I post a message to a list?
• How do I subscribe to a list?
• How do I unsubscribe from a list?
• What are the rules of e-mail list etiquette?
• E-mail List Definitions
• E-mail Lingo - Commonly Used Acronyms

How Do I Post a Message to a List?

Send an e-mail message to name-of-list@lists.webster.edu. For example, to post to the St. Louis Area Announcement list, send a message to stl-announcements@lists.webster.edu. Be sure to type a brief but descriptive subject heading for your message.

Note: Not all lists allow you post messages; some are used for announcements only.

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How Do I Subscribe to a List?

Send an e-mail message to sympa@lists.webster.edu. In the subject of the message, type:

subscribe name-of-list Firstname Lastname

Replace "name-of-list" with the name of the list to which you want to subscribe. For example, to subscribe to the "stl-discussion" list, you would type:

subscribe stl-discussion John Doe

Note: Some lists, such as stl-announcements, will not allow you to self-subscribe; you must be added by the list manager.

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How Do I Unsubscribe from a List?

Using the email address you want removed from a list, send an e-mail message to sympa@lists.webster.edu. In the subject of the message, type:

Replace "name-of-list" with the name of the list from which you want to unsubscribe. For example, to opt out of the "stl-discussion" list, you would type:

Note: Some lists, such as stl-announcements, will not allow you to unsubscribe; membership in this list is required.

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What are the rules of e-mail list etiquette?

Please Do:

• Review the E-mail List Policy.
• Be aware of the purpose of each list. Post only announcements to the campus announcements list. If you want to raise an issue for discussion or respond to an announcement, post your message to the discussion list.
• For the stl-announcements and stl-discussion lists, you may only post messages from your webster.edu e-mail account.

Please Don't:

• Post a message to a campus list (which is for the St. Louis area only) AND the webster-world list; people in the St. Louis area will receive two copies.
• Spam or use the list to promote or sell commercial services or products.
• Use all upper case letters when writing a message to the list. This is thought of as SHOUTING!
• Send meaningless messages, such as, "I agree!" with no content.
• Flame. This is an emotionally charged posting that is often directed at someone. Most lists do not tolerate flaming at all. If you have a conflict with an individual on the list, send them a private e-mail message instead of using the listserv to air the grievance publicly.
• Be critical of people's queries posted to the list. Many people are new to listserv messages and are just learning. Send someone a private message to make a gentle suggestion concerning their question, if you think it is warranted.

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E-mail List Definitions

• Attachment - A file or group of files attached to an e-mail message. These are not allowed on Webster lists.
• Flaming - Sending insulting, abrasive, or threatening remarks in an e-mail or listserv message.
• Moderated List - A mailing list or newsgroup wherein submissions may be edited before being posted to the group.
• Spamming - Sending unsolicited, commercial e-mail messages in bulk; also, purposely overloading someone's e-mail in-box with messages.
• Threads - A group of e-mail messages that are in response to an original message posted to the list.
• Emoticon - A text-based icon created from the keyboard to reflect emotion in an e-mail message. Some examples of emoticons are:
  
  :-) = Smiley
  ;-) = Winking smiley
  :-> = Devilish grin
  :-( = Frowning face
  8-) = User wears glasses
  (-: = Left-handed smiley
  :-{) = User has a mustache
  [:-) = User is wearing a Walkman
  %-) = User has been staring at the screen for too long

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E-mail Lingo - Commonly Used Acronyms

• AFAIK - "As Far As I Know"
• AKA - "Also Known As"
• ASAP - "As Soon As Possible"
• BTW - "By The Way"
• BRB - "Be Right Back"
• FAQ - "Frequently asked questions"
• FWIW - "For What It's Worth"
• FYI - "For Your Information"
• GD&R - "Grinning, Ducking and Running" (After snide remark)
• GG - "Good Game"
• HAND - "Have A Nice Day"
• HTH - "Hope This Help(s)"
• IDK - "I don't know"
• IIRC - "If I Recall Correctly"
• IMHO - "In My Humble Opinion"
• IMO - "In My Opinion"
• IYKWIM - "If You Know What I Mean"
• IYKWIMAITYD - "If You Know What I Mean And I Think You Do"
• JM2C - "Just My 2 Cents"
• LOL - "Laughing Out Loud"
• OTOH - On The Other Hand
• PMFJI - "Pardon Me For Jumping In" (another polite way to get into a running discussion)
• PS - "Post Script"
• TIA - "Thanks In Advance"
• TPTB - "The Powers That Be"
• TTFN - "Ta Ta For Now"
• TWIMC - "To Whom It May Concern"
• ROFL, ROTFL - "Rolling On (The) Floor Laughing"
• SOHF - "Sense Of Humor Failure"
• WRT - "With Respect To"
• WYSIWYG - "What You See Is What You Get"
• YMMV - "Your Mileage May Vary" (You may not have the same luck I did)
• YWIA - "You're welcome in advance"

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