Mailing List and Archives Information

Mailing Lists FAQ

What is the purpose of the mailing lists?

The announce lists are low-traffic and receive-only, used by ActiveState to provide product or technology-specific information, such as announcing new releases and development initiatives.

All other lists are unmoderated discussion mailing lists hosted by ActiveState. While ActiveState does monitor the lists, they are under no obligation to provide support or answer queries. All support is peer-to-peer. The language for all the lists is English.

It is suggested that all Perl for Win32 users subscribe to Perl-Win32-Users and Perl-Win32-Announce. Additional groups should be subscribed to as desired.

How do I change my subscription options?

You can access your subscription options at: http://listserv.activestate.com/mailman/mysubs

To subscribe or unsubscribe, simply select or deselect the appropriate checkboxes, and press "Submit changes".

Where should I post my message?

To send a message to a list, send an email message to (List Name)@listserv.ActiveState.com. You cannot post to a list unless you are subscribed.

Cross-posting (posting to more than one list) should not be necessary. Many people subscribe to more than one list, and cross-posting will multiply messages for such users (which will *decrease* your chances of getting an answer).

How do I reply to a message?

In general, reply only to the group OR only to the poster, not to both. Otherwise the poster will receive the same message twice. If you would like to receive a personal reply, say so in your post, ideally at the end (signature files are a good way).

Please check *whom* you are replying to! Make sure the list itself is not specified twice, and determine if users should be cc'd, when they'll see your reply via the list anyway.

Add your reply text below the relevant portions of the original text. Don't quote things like signature files, and don't quote the entire message if you are replying to a small section only.

Can I send an attachment to the list?

Please do not send attachments to the list. Send a URL instead, including the protocol prefix (e.g., http://) so email clients highlight it as clickable. As a courtesy, please offer to email the attachment privately to those who do not have Web/FTP access. If you don't have Web/FTP access, and the poster has not made the offer, ask the list in general.

What are the general usage guidelines?

Above all, read the FAQs, manuals and any books you have, and *always* check the list archives, prior to posting. Do include the build number of the tool you use, operating system version, the exact error messages if applicable and a small sample of code, or the whole program if under about 40 lines. While code is essential, large amounts *decrease* your chances of assistance. Don't apologize for being a newbie, not knowing English well, or asking an _easy_ question. Do choose a meaningful subject line and remember (or keep handy) the list of standard prefixes. "Newbie needs help" is not as good as "INSTALL: problems with Win98". The subject line *must* describe the content!

What shouldn't I post to a mailing list?

The following topics are considered inappropriate for all lists: