LangaList Help FileThis note covers the most common mailing list problems/operations. Please check it out and most likely you'll find EXACTLY what you need to accomplish your goal or resolve your problem. Thanks! WHAT PROBLEM ARE YOU HAVING? 1) Duplicate messages
once in a while 3) Don't know How to UNsubscribe 5) Don't know How to Subscribe 7) Need Change of Address 8) Want back issues/missed copies 9) Other trouble? Just click above or skim down to find the information you need in the numbered section that matches the above problem area. 1) DUPLICATE MESSAGES ONCE IN A WHILE From time to time, servers or routers hiccup due to a temporary problem or transient overload, and a tiny handful of subscribers get extra copies. There's no pattern to it, and no way to control it from my end because it's "out on the net" and not on the list server. Usually, the problem resolves itself and *does not repeat* for the same users. Please note that any duplicates from me are unintentional not directed at you personally in any way, and are not something I personally can control. The remedies are (1) either to simply hit the delete key to kill the extras, or, (2) if it really bothers you, simply unsubscribe. Unsubscribing can't stop any in-route messages from being delivered, but it will prevent sending any new messages. Click here for info on how to unsubscribe. 2) DUPLICATE MESSAGES EVERY ISSUE The most common cause of constant duplicates are: Aliases: Some email services (MSN, Netcom, Worldnet and others...) use "aliasing." They give you a FALSE but easy to remember email address. For example, an MSN member may think his email addresses is something like "USER@msn.com" but under the covers, the address *really* is "USER@classic.msn.com" or "USER@email.msn.com." Worldnet substitutes "USER@worldnet.att.com" as an alias for USER@postoffice.worldnet.att.com" and so on. Other IPSs that let you share accounts with other family members do something similar. You may think your email is "joe.blow@something.com", but your real address may be the general family mailbox at blow@something.com. The problem is that it's possible to be signed up twice for the newsletter---once at your real address and once at your alias. Because these are in fact two different addresses, the list server doesn't see any duplication. If you don't know you've been aliased, it will seem like you're getting duplicates, although you're actually getting two copies sent to two different addresses! TO SEE IF YOU'VE BEEN ALIASED: Look near the TOP of your last copy of the LangaList. You'll see a line that that starts "You are currently subscribed to the LangaList as YOURNAME." But instead of "YOURNAME," you'll see your exact, TRUE address--- your REAL email address, undisguised and unaltered in any way. If this address is not the address you think you have, or is not the address in your email "From" fields, you've been aliased by your ISP! (For more information on aliasing, see http://content.techweb.com/winmag/library/1998/0501/ana0008.htm .) To see how to stop duplicates caused by aliases, click here. Redirects: Other complicating factors that can confuse a list server are mailbox redirecting, auto-forwarding, or any similar techniques that might possibly mask or alter your email address or place multiple mailboxes contents into one master mailbox at your end. This is an *extremely* common problem now that many people have multiple mailboxes. You may be signed up via several different mailboxes; then, as each one of your mailboxes gets its one copy of the LangaList and forwards it to your master mailbox, it appears that you're getting duplicates even though you're actually getting one copy per subscription address. Look near the TOP of your last copy of the LangaList. You'll see a line that that starts "You are currently subscribed to the LangaList as YOURNAME." But instead of "YOURNAME," you'll see the address that copy was sent to. If it's not the address you're reading it at, then the copy must have been forwarded or redirected to you. The remedy is to log onto the mail accounts from which the redirects or forwards are coming, and send an unsubscribe email FROM THAT ACCOUNT to unsubscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net . The offending address will be deleted immediately. If that won't work for whatever reason, note that most email clients let you CHANGE YOUR "FROM" ADDRESS to be whatever you want. You can temporarily change your From address to the account you wish to unsubscribe from, unsubscribe, and then restore your From address to what it should be. Here's how. 3) HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Plus! Edition Subscribers: click here. Standard Edition subscribers Just send an email to unsubscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net from the SAME ADDRESS you used to sign up with. (Look near the TOP of your last copy of the LangaList. You'll see a line that that starts "You are currently subscribed to the LangaList as YOURNAME." But instead of "YOURNAME," you'll see the exact, true address you've subscribed to the LangaList with.) If the name/address that appears there does not match your current address, here's what to do. If you have trouble unsubscribing, click here. 4) IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE UNSUBSCRIBING from the Standard Edition: Look near the TOP of your last copy of the LangaList. You'll see a line that starts "You are currently subscribed to the LangaList as YOURNAME." But instead of "YOURNAME," you'll see the exact address the list software has you subscribed under. Because this is how you're signed up, this is also the exact address you need to use to unsubscribe. It's possible that the name/address that appears there will not match your current address due to any one of the following ISP or email problems. Please read down to understand what's going on, or just skip ahead to how to fix it. ISP or Domain Changes: Sometimes, an ISP will change its name or domain, making the email you send out now have a slightly different address from what you used to sign up. Or, perhaps you changed ISPs and now are sending your mail from a completely different address from before. Here's what to do. Aliases: Some email services (MSN, Netcom, Worldnet and others...) use "aliasing." They give you a *FALSE* but easy to remember email address. For example, an MSN member may think his email addresses is something like "USER@msn.com" but under the covers, the address *really* is "USER@classic.msn.com" or "USER@email.msn.com." Worldnet substitutes "USER@worldnet.att.com" as an alias for USER@postoffice.worldnet.att.com" and so on. Other servers that let you share accounts with other family members do something similar. You may think your email is "joe.blow@something.com", but your real address may be the general family mailbox at blow@something.com. As long as you use mail only within the aliasing system it works fine. The system translates your FALSE alias to your real address and vice versa. But to an external list server, "USER@msn.com" and "USER@email.msn.com" are completely different addresses. If you are on the list as USER@email.msn.com but try to unsubscribe as USER@msn.com, it won't work---the addresses are not the same. Here's what to do. Redirects: Other complicating factors that can confuse a list server are mailbox redirecting, auto-forwarding, or any similar techniques that might possibly mask or alter your email address or place multiple mailboxes contents into one master mailbox at your end. This is an *extremely* common problem now that many people have multiple mailboxes. You may be signed up via several different mailboxes; unsubscribing from one mail account will not unsubscribe copies that are being sent to another account. Here's what to do. The "From:" address you use to send an unsubscribe message must match the address the list server has on file for you. When the addresses match, unsubscribing happens instantly. With no match, the server will send an error message. If your current "From:" address does not match the address the list server has on file, you can force them to match: Most email clients let you CHANGE YOUR "FROM:" ADDRESS to be whatever you want. (Outlook Express, for example, lets you change the From address via Tools/Account/Properties menu. Eudora uses Tools/Options/Sending Mail; and so on. Check your email client's Options, Tools, or Help menus.) Simply change your "from" address to the address from which you wish to unsubscribe, send an email to unsubscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net, then change your From address back to what it should be. This way, the list server will "see" your email as coming from the address you wish to unsubscribe, and will correctly unsubscribe you. NAME ON FILE; NAME(s) TO
USE TO UNSUBSCRIBE: 5) HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Just send an email to: The email can be empty, if you wish. 6) IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE SUBSCRIBING Just send any email to: This is an alternate sign-up method that will work if the primary method fails. 7) CHANGE OF ADDRESS Plus! Edition Subscribers:
click. Then, log onto your NEW account, and send a message to subscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net Note: If you've changed ISP or can't get to your old account, click here. 8) BACK ISSUES/MISSED COPIES All back issues for the standard edition are available at http://www.langa.com/archives.htm All back issues, extra content and downloadable files for the Plus! edition are available at http://www.langalist.com/plus/default.asp 9) OTHER PROBLEMS I regret that I can't help Standard Edition (free) subscribers with one-on-one troubleshooting for their email problems; there just isn't time. If email delivery of the newsletter isn't working for you, I suggest you unsubscribe via the instructions above and read the list each week on http://www.langa.com. While that may not be as convenient as having it delivered in your mailbox, it works every time. Best Regards, Fred Langa
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