Hi,
Lately there have been quite a lot of 'unsubscribe' messages sent
to the list.
Commands should not be sent to the list, but should be sent to
Mailbase.
To leave Allstat, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
containing the single line
leave allstat
I've taken this opportunity to send a copy of the Allstat FAQ to
the list, its attached below.
Cheers,
Matt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt Whiley
Dept. of Statistics
University of Glasgow
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Allstat Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ) List
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This document attempts to address most of the questions that arise
regarding the administration of the list, and how it operates.
The Allstat Introduction (see (13) below) contains additional
information, including guidelines on what to post and what format to
follow.
The FAQ List will be posted to Allstat fairly regularly, and is
archived at Mailbase.
An HTML version of this file can be accessed through Allstat's
Web site, at the URL
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. The Allstat Introduction, and many other
resources, are also available through the Web site.
Members of the list are strongly advised to retain up-to-date copies
of these files (or at least to note the Allstat URL), as they contain a
lot of information on how the list operates. If you have a query
about Allstat, you will often find the solution in these files, and this
can help to reduce the list owner's administrative work. Your
assistance in this is appreciated.
The questions answered here are as follows:
1. What are the different addresses, and what do they mean?
2. How do I get a list of everyone on Allstat?
3. I am going away for a period of time. What should I do?
4. I have received a message saying I have been removed from
the list. Why is this?
Or: I seem to have been removed from the list. Why?
5. How do I (re)join the list?
6. Is my name correctly registered?
7. Is my address correctly registered?
8. I got a message saying I am not registered on Allstat - help!
9. How do I leave the list?
10. My e-mail address is about to change. What should I do?
11. I tried to send a message to the list, but was unable to. Why
is this?
12. What Allstat files are archived?
13. How do I retrieve one of these files?
14. Can I receive Allstat broadcasts in digest form?
(1) What are the different addresses, and what do they mean?
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. If your address is incorrectly registered (see (7)
below), then you will not be able to post to the list.
(ii) [log in to unmask]
This accesses the Mailbase program and is the one to use
when sending commands, e.g. leave, index, send
(iii) [log in to unmask]
Messages sent here will come to the list owner. Any
administrative questions about Allstat should be sent here,
although please note that, as well as this FAQ list, extensive
Mailbase documentation is available to explain the facilities
offered to users. See the Introduction file (item (13) below),
for more information on Mailbase documentation.
(iv) [log in to unmask]
This address is that of the Mailbase team. Send any
comments or queries about Mailbase here.
(2) How do I get a list of everyone on Allstat?
Send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
review allstat
(3) I am going away for a period of time. What should I do?
To avoid your mailbox filling up while you are away, you should
temporarily suspend your Allstat mail. Do this by sending a
message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
suspend mail allstat
On your return, you can resume mail by sending the command
resume mail allstat
to the same address.
Remember that you can use the archives to catch up on any
messages you may have missed.
(4) I have received a message saying I have been removed from the
list. Why is this?
Or: I seem to have been removed from the list. Why?
Whenever there is a problem in delivering an Allstat broadcast to an
address, the list owner receives an error message. If a series of
error messages about a single address are received over a period of
time, action has to be taken to remove that address from the list.
If this is not done, the list owner's mailbase would quickly
overflow. In such circumstances, it is not always possible to get
in touch with the person concerned, to point out what is happening.
People are not always aware that there are problems in getting
e-mail through to them, and, so, occasionally, think that they have
been removed from the list for no reason. Should you find yourself
removed from the list, not at your own request, then it will be
because of error messages arising from your e-mail account.
If your e-mail problems are only temporary (contact your system
manager or service provider to find out about this), please feel free
to rejoin the list once the problems are resolved. Please do not
contact the list owner asking for copies of the error messages, as
too many of them are received for it to be practical to retain them.
(5) How do I (re)join the list?
Send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
join allstat your name
e.g. join allstat Stuart G. Young
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
(6) below.
Note that you must supply at least two words as a name, so for example
S.G.Young would be rejected (because there are no spaces and it is
interpreted as a single word), but S.G. Young or S. G. Young are fine.
(6) Is my name correctly registered?
If you obtain a review of Allstat (see (2)) and find your name is
incorrectly registered, simply re-send the 'join' command in (5)
with the correct form of your name.
(7) Is my address correctly registered?
Although you may be a member of the list, and appear in a review of
Allstat (see (2)), it is possible that your address is not absolutely
correctly registered. To check your registration, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
listme
This will return a list of all the Mailbase lists that your e-mail
address is registered on.
(8) I got a message saying I am not registered on Allstat - help!
Mailbase uses the 'From' field of your address to identify you. If
this does not match exactly with your registration on Allstat, the
software will not recognize you as a member of the list. So,
although you may be on the list, receive broadcasts normally, and
appear in a review of Allstat, if your address doesn't match exactly
with the registered one, the Mailbase software will not recognize
you. Consequently, you will be unable to post to the list, suspend
mail, unsubscribe, etc.
This situation can arise when your address alters slightly, for
example changing from 'glasgow' to 'gla'. Often, both forms of
address will work properly, and you will not be concerned with the
change. However, the Mailbase software will notice the difference,
and so it is important that you keep your registration up-to-date.
If you find yourself in this position, then please send a note of
your old address to the list owner, at
[log in to unmask]
so that it can be removed from the list. You should then
resubscribe yourself to the list under your new address (see (5)
above).
(9) How do I leave the list?
Send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
leave allstat
Should you find you are unable to unsubscribe yourself from the
list, see (8) above.
(10) My e-mail address is about to change. What should I do?
Before your address changes, you should leave Allstat under your
old address, by following the procedure in (9) above.
Then rejoin the list under your new address, by following the
procedure in (5).
Please follow these instructions if at all possible. Otherwise the
list owner has to make the change for you, and that involves more
administrative work. If you can make the change yourself, it is
much appreciated.
(11) I tried to send a message to the list, but was unable to.
Why is this?
First of all, only members of the list are allowed to send broadcasts.
If you are on the list, but your address is incorrectly registered, you
will not be recognized as a list member, and so will be prevented
from posting to the list. See (7) above for more information.
If you are not a member of the list, then you will have to join before
sending your message (see (5) above).
(12) What Allstat files are archived?
All messages to Allstat are archived, and are available for retrieval.
Each month's messages are grouped together in a file, and messages
up to a year old are retained by Mailbase. In addition, there are some
other files available. To get a list of all the archived files, send a
message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
index allstat
See also (13) below, for details of the on-line archives.
(13) How do I retrieve one of these files?
Use the 'send' command: for example, to retrieve the Introduction
file for Allstat, send a message to
[log in to unmask]
with the command
send allstat introduction
Alternatively, you can point your Web browser at the URL
http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/allstat/
Accessing the archives is simpler through the daily-updated Web site,
as individual messages can be selected, and you can sort by date,
subject, author and thread. If you retrieve the messages by e-mail,
you have to request the file containing all the messages for that
month. On the Web, it is also possible to search the archives.
(14) Can I receive Allstat broadcasts in digest form?
Mailbase does not yet offer the option of automatically receiving
broadcasts bundled together in a digest form. However, if you did
not wish to receive messages individually, you could suspend your
Allstat mail (see (3) above), and manually retrieve the archive file
at the end of each month (or browse the Web archives at your leisure).
For more information on how to retrieve files, see (12) and (13)
above.
If you have a question which is not covered in this FAQ, you may
find it is dealt with in the Introduction file.
Author : Dr Stuart G. Young
Updated : 13/3/98
Any comments/queries to : [log in to unmask]
Allstat Web site : http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/allstat/
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