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Introduction to Allstat
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Allstat is a UK-based worldwide e-mail broadcast system for the statistical
community. This list is operated by the LTSN Maths, Statistics & OR Network,
and maintained currently by Ewan Crawford in Glasgow. It is now housed at
the CCLRC's (Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils)
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot, Oxfordshire and is funded by the
Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding
Councils for England, Scotland and Wales. Previously, it was housed in
Newcastle University's Mailbase system.
Allstat is intended to provide a fast and simple way of sending information
to a wide body of statisticians. The list was originally set up by David
Kerridge in 1988, it was then taken on by Stuart Young in 1991, then Matt
Whiley in March 1998, John D McClure in December 1999, and most recently by
Ewan Crawford (in November 2000). Allstat currently has over 2600 list
members.
While, broadly speaking, any messages relevant to statistics are welcome,
you are asked to observe the list guidelines outlined in this Introduction.
Very briefly, the key points to remember are:
- be sure Allstat is an appropriate forum for your message (there are
many statistics lists in existence, covering various areas)
- use meaningful subject lines, with keywords (e.g. CONFERENCE, JOB)
- send plain text only (no PostScript, Word or encoded files)
- send text in the body of your message; no attachments
- no commercial advertising (however job notices, conference
announcements, etc are permitted)
- if seeking a reply, include your address in the body of your message
(or in a signature file)
- if replying, reply to the sender and not to the list
All of these points are explained fully later, and you should read this
Introduction thoroughly. Also available is a list of frequently-asked
questions (FAQ) about list administration, which you may find useful if
you have a technical query about how the list operates. Please make use
of the Introduction and the FAQ list to help reduce the list owner's
administrative work. Your assistance in this is appreciated.
An on-line version of this Introduction file can be accessed through
Allstat's Web site, at
http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/allstat/
If you view this version, you will find links to many of the items
mentioned in the text, as many resources are directly available on-line.
List Addresses
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There are four e-mail addresses to note:
(i) [log in to unmask]
This address automatically broadcasts to the entire list. Only
members of the list are permitted to use this address.
(ii) [log in to unmask]
This should be used when sending commands, e.g. leave, join (see later)
(iii) [log in to unmask]
Messages sent here will go to the list owner. Any administrative
questions about Allstat should be sent here, although please note
that, as well as the Allstat FAQ list, extensive JISCmail
documentation is available to explain the facilities offered to
users.
(iv) [log in to unmask]
This address is that of the JISCmail team. Send any comments or
queries about JISCmail here.
Please note the differences between these addresses, particularly (i) and
(ii). Commands should NOT be sent to [log in to unmask] as this
address is ONLY for broadcasts.
Some useful commands
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Note: If your mailer automatically appends a signature file to any messages
you send out, you may find that the JISCmail software will attempt to
interpret your signature as a command. To avoid this, insert two hyphens
--
on a line by itself, after any other commands you type. All commands
should be put in the main body of your message, and not in the subject
field.
Remember that all commands should be addressed to [log in to unmask]
To join Allstat, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
containing the single line
join allstat your name
e.g. join allstat Ewan W. Crawford
If you have already joined the list, and think your name may have been
incorrectly registered, simply resend the 'join' command with the corrected
form of your name. To check your registration, see the 'review' command
below.
Note that you must supply at least two words as a name, so for example
E.W.Crawford would be rejected (because there are no spaces and it is
interpreted as a single word), but E.W. Crawford or E. W. Crawford are fine.
You may wish to receive Allstat in digest form. This allows you to receive
messages from the list as a single large message. This digest will be sent
every night, or when more than 20 messages have been sent to Allstat.
To receive Allstat messages as a digest, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
containing the single line
set allstat digest
To change back to receiving messages normally send a message to the same
address containing the single line
set allstat nodigest
To leave Allstat, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
containing the single line
leave allstat
To obtain by e-mail an alphabetical listing of all those on Allstat,
together with their e-mail addresses, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
review allstat
It is a good idea to suspend your mail if you are going to be away for a
period of time, as this can prevent your mailbox filling up while you are
absent. To do this, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
set allstat nomail
To reverse this on your return, the command is 'set allstat mail'.
You can use the archives to catch up on any messages you missed.
Allstat also acts as an e-mail directory of statisticians. If you wish to
appear in this directory for contact purposes, but do not wish to receive
list mail directly, join the list in the usual way and then suspend your
mail by following the instructions above. Note that you can still read
the archived broadcasts, if you wish.
To find out all the JISCmail lists your e-mail address is registered on,
send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
query *
To obtain by e-mail a list of available documentation about JISCmail, send a
message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
info
When you have found the document you require, use the 'get
FILENAME.FILETYPE'
command to have it posted to you. For example, to receive the Common User
Commands reference card by e-mail, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
get JISCUSER.REFCARD
List Archives
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Messages to Allstat are archived. Each month's messages are grouped
together, and retained for a year. To get a list by e-mail of all the
files available (archived messages and other files), send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
index allstat
When you have found the month's archive you require, use the 'get
allstat.LOGYYMM' command to have it posted to you. For example, to receive
the October 2000 archive by e-mail, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
get allstat.LOG0010
To retrieve a file use the 'get allstat\FILENAME.FILETYPE' command. For
example, to request the Allstat FAQ by e-mail, the command is
get allstat\faq.txt
Note that as an alternative to e-mail, all the documents mentioned so far,
including the Allstat message archive, can be accessed from the Allstat
Web site. The hypermail Web archive allows viewing of individual messages,
and you can sort by date, subject, author and thread. You can also search
the archives on the Web.
The e-mail archives are updated every time a message is sent out to the
list, and the Web archive is updated every day.
Finding the correct forum - other statistics lists
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If you have a message you wish to send, and you are not sure if Allstat is
appropriate, you are advised to examine the various outlets available to
you. There are mailing lists covering many different areas of statistics,
and there are obvious benefits to yourself, and to the recipients of your
message, if you ensure it is posted to the correct forum. This is
particularly important if your message is of a consultancy nature, or is
likely to provoke discussion, and might therefore be more suited to a list
other than Allstat. Also, if you have a query about a particular piece of
software, you will find that most of the major packages have their own
dedicated lists, which you should use.
There is a document which details many of the statistics-related lists
worldwide, including instructions on how to join them. This "list of lists"
file is maintained by the owner of the Minitab list on JISCmail, Mike Fuller
([log in to unmask]). This file is available on the web at
http://www.ukc.ac.uk/php/mff/netres/statlist.html
The Allstat website also includes a number of links to other statistical
mailing lists.
Format for messages
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Please send messages in plain text format only. If documents are available
in other formats (e.g. Word, PostScript, etc) then by all means indicate
this in your message and give instructions on how to obtain such files (e.g.
on request by personal e-mail, or from a Web or ftp site). Since not all
users are able to handle these alternative formats, please limit your
Allstat broadcasts to plain text, and ensure that the text is carried in
the main body of your message; do not send attachments to the list.
Some mailers have the facility to send encoded messages, which are
unreadable until decoded. Please take care that you do not unwittingly
select this option.
If you are looking for replies to a message you are sending, you should
ensure that your own e-mail address is listed somewhere in the body of the
text. Some mailers can have difficulties in handling the automatic header.
When sending seminar notices to the list, it would be most effective to do
this once at the beginning of term. It is generally not very helpful to
send last-minute reminders about seminars to a list which is as
geographically spread as Allstat.
Subject lines
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Members are asked to use meaningful subject lines when sending out
broadcasts. The benefits are obvious, particularly when browsing through
the archives for a specific message. In particular, posters are requested
to use clear keywords in subject lines, to give an indication of content.
The following convention has been adopted:
JOB - jobs or studentships
SEMINAR - seminar announcements
CONFERENCE - conference announcements
COURSE - taught course announcements
WORKSHOP - workshop announcements
ANNOUNCE - other announcements
QUERY - for queries
S/W ADVERT - for a software advert *
BOOK ADVERT - for a book advert *
ADMIN - administration messages (from the list owner)
A sample subject line may read
JOB: temporary lectureship at Glasgow University, UK
Where appropriate, a geographical location should be included in the subject
line.
* The ADVERT categories are only to be used by the list owner, in forwarding
messages from advertisers. See below for the guidelines on advertising on
the list.
Virus alerts
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Occasionally, rogue virus alerts crop up, warning of a virus which is
spread simply by reading an e-mail. These are hoaxes, as you cannot catch
a computer virus from a plain text e-mail message: another good reason for
restricting broadcasts to this format. If you are worried about a virus
alert, either consult a Virus Information Web site (e.g.
http://www.ncsa.com/services/consortia/anti-virus/alerthoax.html), or
contact the list owner, rather than alarming the list, perhaps
unnecessarily.
Commercial Advertising
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Commercial advertising is against the JANET Acceptable Use Policy. However,
publicising items of potential interest to list members, such as training
courses, software etc, can be to the benefit of the list. If the
"publicity" comes from the person likely to make money out of it, then that
falls into a grey area. If you have a message which you feel may come under
this category, then you are advised to first send the message to the list
owner ([log in to unmask]). If the message is suitable, the
list owner will forward it to the list on your behalf. In general,
"routine" advertising will not be approved; new releases or limited special
offers are more likely to be accepted, and shorter messages are recommended
(with pointers to sites for further information, if available).
Job adverts and conference notices are perfectly acceptable, and can be
posted directly to the list.
Replying to Allstat broadcasts
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The list is set so that replies to messages are directed to the sender, and
not to the list. This is deliberate. Generally, if responding to a
message, it is best to reply by personal e-mail, and not to the list. If
appropriate, a summary of responses can be sent to the list by the original
poster in due course. Allstat is intended to be an information provider,
rather than a discussion list.
If your mailer does not allow you to see the address of the original poster,
and they have not provided a reply address in the body of the message (e.g.
in a signature file), then please note that the archives will contain the
address, and you can obtain it there, if you wish to respond. Please do
not be tempted to simply reply to the list.
Some mailers can be set so that responses, as well as going to the sender,
are also copied to the list. If your mailer is one of these, please ensure
that this option is not enabled, and that your response goes only to the
sender.
Forwarding messages
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Broadly speaking, it is a breach of copyright to forward list messages
without the author's permission. Often however, you may be sending an
announcement to the list (e.g. conference publicity) which you would be
happy for list members to forward to other interested parties. If this is
the case, then it is recommended that you include a short sentence to this
effect, either in the body of your message, or in your signature.
Problematic Addresses
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With a list the size of Allstat, it is inevitable that some e-mail addresses
on the list will become unreachable, for whatever reason (see the note below
on Changing your address). Incidentally, all error messages come to the
list owner, and are invisible to the list. When repeated error messages come
in regarding an account, action has to be taken to remove that account from
the list, otherwise the list owner's mailbox would quickly overflow. In
such circumstances, it is not always possible to get in touch with the
person concerned, to point out what has happened.
If you should find yourself in the position of suddenly being removed from
the list without warning, then it would be for the reason outlined above.
If the problem is temporary, you are welcome to rejoin the list when the
problem is resolved: it is recommended that you first discuss it with
your system manager or service provider. Remember that the archives are
readily accessible, for retrieving any messages you may have missed while
unsubscribed.
Also note that too many error messages are received for it to be practical
for the list owner to retain them, so please do not ask for copies.
Changing your address
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If your e-mail address should change, please ensure your Allstat entry is
kept up-to-date. You can do this yourself, by leaving Allstat under your
old address, and re-joining under the new one. The procedure for doing this
is given earlier in this document. Note that this applies to any change,
even something as apparently minor as a shortening of 'glasgow' to 'gla',
for example.
When you send commands, such as 'leave' or 'suspend mail', to JISCmail, it
uses your e-mail address to recognise you. If your address (in the 'From'
field of your message) does not match up with your list registration on
JISCmail, then the software will not recognise you, and will inform you that
you are not registered on the list, and so you will be unable to unsubscribe
yourself or suspend your mail. This is why it is important to keep your
registration up-to-date. If you should find yourself in this situation, you
can contact the list owner ([log in to unmask]) to correct
matters for you.
If you are incorrectly registered, and you attempt to send a message to the
list, then you will be prevented from doing so, as only recognised members
are permitted to send Allstat broadcasts. This is another reason to make
sure your registration is kept up-to-date. The command 'listme' is a useful
way to check your registration. Please see the FAQ (Frequently-Asked
Questions) List for more detailed information about this.
Keeping the list up-to-date helps with its smooth running, enables the
JISCmail program to recognise you should you interact with it, and helps
others who may wish to contact you.
1996 UK Directory of Academic Statisticians
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The Allstat archives also contain the 1996 version of the UK Directory
of Academic Statisticians, which gives names and contact details, listed
alphabetically by institution.
For information on how to retrieve this e-mail archive of the 1996
Directory, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
containing the command
get allstat\directory_readme.txt
Note that some entries in this older version may now be out of date
(please do not contact me regarding updates). The 1999 version of the
Directory is available on the Web at
http://www.swan.ac.uk/statistics/das/
Users with Web access are encouraged to use this version - the e-mail
archive is intended mainly for those without Web access, or with a
slow connection.
Author : Dr Stuart G. Young
Updated : 14th November 2000 by John D. McClure
Any comments/queries to : [log in to unmask]
Allstat Web site : http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/allstat/
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