BIGLIST Internet Mailing List Services: Set-Up Help

Setting Up Your BIGLIST

This document will help take you through the first steps in getting familiar with and configuring your new list. In this document, yourlistname is the name of your list, and thedomainname.com is the domain name for your list. If you're a virtual list customer, the domain name is probably lists.yourdomain.com, and if you're a standard list customer, the domain is lists.biglist.com. These can be found at the administrative page for your list.

You already should have received the URL (Universal Resource Locator, the web address) of the administrative page for your list, which is password-protected. If you have not, or have forgotten your password, e-mail BIGLIST Help. Remember, do not give out the password to anyone; it is only for the list-owner.

The URL for your list subscribers is
http://www.biglist.com/lists/yourlistname/

This is the "homepage" for your list on our server. From there, subscribers can (un)subscribe, search the archives, and get information.

Step One: Subscribe yourself to the list.

First, you'll want to subscribe yourself to the list. You can do this one of two ways, via the Web or via email.

To subscribe via the Web, go to the homepage for your list subscribers
http://www.biglist.com/lists/yourlistname/,
enter your e-mail address, and click on the "subscribe" button.
To subscribe via e-mail, send an email message to
yourlistname-request@lists.yourdomain.com with
SUBSCRIBE
in the body of the message (the subject line doesn't matter).

You'll get two messages back. One tells you that you succeeded, and the other gives you introductory information about the list.

TIP: You can turn off the sending of introductory information by setting the configuration variable welcome to "no".
TIP: You can add your own introductory information to the list by using the info and intro files, described next.

Step Two: Configure the Info and Intro files.

The Info and Intro files are used to give people additional information about your list. Neither file is required. If the Intro file exists, it will be sent in the welcome e-mail message to new subscribers. If the Intro file doesn't exist, the Info file will be sent in its place. If you, the list-owner, wish to differentiate between a potential subscriber and a person who has just subscribed, you can use both of these files.

Creating the Info and Intro files is good practice for using the Web configuration software called MajorCool. Follow these steps to create an Info file.

Go to the administrative page for your list.
Enter the username/password for web access.
Enter yourlistname and the password for your list. Click the "list info file" button. Click "GO".
Enter the text, then click "APPLY".
TIP: Use the <RETURN> key about halfway through the text area for each line. This makes the formatting better for the email messages. You might want to verify what it looks like by subscribing another address or by unsubscribing then re-subscribing yourself.

Step Three: Tweaking the List Configuration.

Warning! Be sure to read carefully the information in the configuration file and consult the help file before making any changes. If you have any questions, please email BIGLIST Help for more information.