New List Request Form Help

Section 1: List Owner Information

The Viterbi IT requests this information for identification purposes. No persons outside the Viterbi School are routinely provided this information, except for directory information, such as name and email address. Viterbi IT will not process the application if you fail to provide the required information.

Email Address

As the list owner, you must have access to electronic mail, as some administrative commands are sent through email. The email address must match the From: address supplied by your email system, usually username@usc.edu. If you need clarification, send yourself an email and check the From line before filling in this section.

Section 2: List Administrator(s) Information

Departmental Authorization

Faculty and staff must obtain departmental authorization (department chair or business manager). Recognized student organizations must obtain authorization from the Viterbi Admission & Student Affairs.

Documentation for the List Administrator

You will receive a message via email once the list has been created.

Visit the ListServ Documentation for information about being a list administrator.

Section 3: Essential List Information

List Name

The list name will become part of the email address for the list. It may contain letters (lowercase or uppercase), numbers, dashes, and underscore. We recommend using a short (up to 20 characters) but descriptive name since the name will be used by everyone who posts messages to and/or administers the list. Note that you cannot have a list called listname-request since this is a special convention for sending a message to the list owner.

We recommend that:

Official departmental lists starts with dept- These types of lists might include staff lists, graduate students lists, faculty lists, teach assistants lists, etc. Some examples of dept- prefixes include:

• AME - Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
• ASTE - Astronautical Engineering Department
• ISE - Epstein Department Industrial and Systems Engineering
• BME - Biomedical Engineering Department
• CEE - Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• CS - Computer Science Department
• EEP - Ming Hshieh Department of Electrical Engineering Electrophysics
• EES - Ming Hshieh Department of Electrical Engineering Systems
• EWP - Engineering Writing Program
• MFD - The Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

The listname:

• Should only use alphanumeric, hyphens (-), and underscore (_). Spaces are not allowed!
• Has a maximum length of 32 characters.
• Should be simple.
• Should be as short as possible without confusing.

The list administrator can change all of the below settings at a later time. Visit ListServ Documentation for more information about changing list settings.

Descriptive Title

A one-line description, maximum of 100 characters of the list will be assigned when the list is created. This description is automatically included in the email sent to new subscribers. This description also appears in the online web archives listing. Do not use any commas or "<" or ">" characters in your description.

Purpose of the List

Describe how the list will be used. Please be as specific as possible.

Who can subscribe to the list?

• Open = Anyone can subscribe to the list (no approval needed).
• Password = New members must supply a password to join.
• Private = Subscription requests must be approved by the list owner.
• Closed = Only list administrator may add new members (involuntary list)

Who can post messages to the list?

Viterbi Listserv offers a variety of settings for list postings including public discussion lists, private discussion lists, moderated discussion lists, and announcement only lists.

• Anyone = Members and non-members can post to the list. Select this setting for a public discussion list where anyone can post to the list. While public discussion lists can be supported by the Viterbi Listserv server, they should be used sparingly and monitored closely to guard against any misuse. This option is typically used for public discussion lists.
• List members only = Only members of the list can post to the list. Select this setting for a private discussion list where only list members can post to the list. This option is typically used for private discussion lists.
• All messages must be pre-approved = All postings will be sent to the list administrator for approval. This option is typically used for moderated discussion lists.
• Administrator only = Only the list administrator can post to the list. This option is typically used for announcement-only lists.

Would you like the list name published in the Online List Archives web page? (Default setting is No).</strong >

• No = No, the list should not be published.
• Yes = Yes, the list should be published. NOTE: Doing this may increase the amount of spam you receive to your list.
• Hidden = The list is hidden from the list directory but accessible if the list name is known. The hidden list archives can be accessed directly via URL, e.g., http://listserv.viterbi.usc.edu/read/?forum=listname</strong >.

Who can view the online archives? [List Members Only]

• Anyone = Members and non-members can view the list archives. Select this setting for a public discussion list where anyone can view the list.
• List members only = Only members of the list can view the archives. Select this setting for a private discussion list where only list members can view the list archives.

Who can view the list of subscribers? [List Owner Only]

• Anyone = Members and non-members can view the list of subscribers. We recommend that you do not select this setting because of privacy issues including spamming.
• List members only = Only list members can view the list of subscribers. We recommend that you select this setting only for private discussion lists.
• List administrator only = Only list administrator can view the list of subscribers. This is the recommended setting.

To whom should replies go?

When subscribers respond to a posted message, should that response go back to the list or just to the author? The person responding to the message can override this. Sending responses back to the list can provide an atmosphere of a discussion group.

• The Sender = Replies go to the sender.
• The Entire List = Replies go to the entire list. This setting is appropriate only for discussion lists.