VBTrain/FlashTrain List

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Tips for Beginners

How Does it Work?

You send messages (typically questions or responses to others’ questions) to the list address (vbtrain@listserv.plattecanyon.com), and those messages are broadcast to all "members" of the list. The list is unmoderated, meaning your posts are automatically forwarded to the 2000 members without being seen or edited. You are responsible for socially appropriate behavior on the list.

How Do I Become a "Member" (i.e., subscribe to the list)?

Nothing to it. The easiest is to use the web interface to change your settings. When you use the web interface, an email will be generated and sent to you so you can reply.Your changes will not take effect until you reply to the email message. This is a way to make sure someone else can't change your settings. Optionally, you can set up a listserv username password. Once this is set up, you will be able to make all your changes on line without needing to reply to any confirmation emails.

You could also subscribe via email. To do this, send a message to:
listserv@listserv.plattecanyon.com
The subject line for the mail message should be left blank. The body of the message should say: subscribe vbtrain Your Name

Thus, for Joe Cool, the command would be:

subscribe vbtrain Joe Cool

After some amount of time, depending upon network load, you should receive an automatically generated message confirming your subscription to the list. The LISTSERV^® software extracts your mail address from your message and includes you on the list. Then, you’re a member! 

How Much Mail Does This Generate in my Mailbox?

This list generally has between 20 and 60 posts per day. If you’re already inundated with e-mail and would like to avoid that many messages, you have several options.

• You can set up a "rule" in your mail program to move all listserv messages to a mail folder for your viewing later. For information on how to do this, please consult the documentaion of your mail software.
  
• You can receive the postings as a single, summary message of the day’s postings. The easiest is to use the web interface to change your settings this to digest.
  
• You can interact with vbtrain via a newsgroup mirror of the list’s postings. Use your newsreader to view

news:bit.listserv.vbtrain

If you decide to use a news reader to interact with the list, consider joining the list, then setting your options to "nomail." The list owners need to approve any posting that comes to the list via an unidentified poster through the newsgroup mirror. We instituted this policy to cut down on obnoxious spams and off-topic postings. If you are a list member (even though you do not receive the mail directly), the listserv software recognizes you, allowing your posts to go through immediately.

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