LIS 605 Assignment:
Subscribing to the AUTOCAT Listserv

AUTOCAT is a listserv devoted to issues related to cataloging and classification. It provides a good instruction to current trends and problems related to this area of librarianship. This is a high-volume list. If you find your mailbox overwhelmed you can either unsubscribe or temporarily set your option to NOMAIL until you have more time.

All commands must be addressed to listserv@listserv.syr.edu
Case is immaterial for the address and the commands.


To subscribe to autocat:

SUB AUTOCAT Firstname Lastname


To unsubscribe from autocat:

UNSUB AUTOCAT


To temporarily halt AUTOCAT delivery:

SET AUTOCAT NOMAIL

To set autocat back to mail:

SET AUTOCAT MAIL

These commands temporarily halt delivery, then turn it on again, regardless of the delivery option you have selected (MAIL, DIGEST or INDEX)


To change from mail (the default option) to another delivery option:

To set autocat to digest:

SET AUTOCAT DIGEST

To set autocat to index:

SET AUTOCAT INDEX

To change from digest or index back to mail:

SET AUTOCAT MAIL

(N.B. If you are set NOMAIL that last command will simply turn delivery on again. If you want to change from DIGEST or INDEX to MAIL you will have to send the command twice, first to turn on delivery, then to change the manner of delivery.)


To find out how your autocat subscription options are currently set:

QUERY AUTOCAT


To have the tag [ACAT] appear at the beginning of the subject line of each piece of autocat mail that you receive (does not apply to Digest or Index distributions):

SET AUTOCAT SUBJ

This is a HEADER option, of which there are seven. Normally one does not need to change from the default unless one wants the tag, but for some systems a change may improve header display.


To search the archives send a message in the form:

SEARCH topics IN AUTOCAT FROM YY/MM/DD TO YY/MM/DD

to the LISTSERV address. Replace 'topics' by the terms you wish to use. Terms are automatically right-truncated. Boolean logic may be used. The implied term is "near", which is relational, not logical. If you want to use a logical "and" you must state it. That is for searching via email.


If you receive a message that your subscription has been changed to DIGEST, without your having requested such a change, that means that your subscription has experienced delivery problems and one of the listowners set your subscription to DIGEST to reduce the number of error messages generated. Please reset your subscription to your desired delivery option. See above for instructions on how to do so.

If you receive a message that your subscription has been deleted that means that your subscription experienced numerous delivery problems over a period of some days. Please resubscribe. See above for instructions on how to do so.


You can get a synopsis of all commands by sending to the LISTSERV address given above or below:

INFO REFCARD


For subscription option commands to work they must be sent from the address under which you are subscribed, and must be sent to:

listserv@listserv.syr.edu


If your address has changed (if you are getting AUTOCAT mail but are told you aren't subscribed when you send a command your address has probably changed) or you have other problems, please write directly to the listowners: autocat-request@listserv.syr.edu.


To post a message to the list, send your message to:

autocat@listserv.syr.edu


Return to main LIS 605 page.