An unsubscription FAQ / Rand / informational post
Given the most recent unsubscribe problems (and I'd recommend tolerance
from both those unsubscribing and those replying to them on or off
list), I've written the following FAQ and added it to my rant-o-matic.
This is a tool I use to post frequently iterated posts on frequently
iterated topics / questions / problems. It's trivial to read these
inline to the body of my response posts.
Online at: http://kmself.home.netcom.com/Download/ ...to be updated
shortly.
Please review the FAQ and let me know if there are any errors,
additions, or corrections.
One item -- there's supposed to be a 'From bounce-debian...' header
attached to list posts which I'm not seeing. This header indicates the
address which is subscribed to the list, and can be very helpful in
tracking down forwards or relay recipients (in the latter case there's
no way to be unsubscribed from the list, though it may be possible to
unsubscribe a relay which is spamming downstreams with list posts). I'm
using fetchmail => procmail => mutt (maildir format) and am wondering if
anything I'm doing might be stripping this header from my mail.
As for HellSurfer, I've forwarded the issue to debian-leader, and it
appears there are *no* subscribers from his email domain, which may
indicate the source of the problem.
Peace.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you're having problems unsubsribing from a debian mailing list.
First step: keep a record of what you've attempted and what is or is
not working.
Note that I'm just another list member, not an official member of
Debian.org. This message does not reflect any official viewpoint or
policy of Debian or Software in the Public Interest.
- *READ THE FOOTER* There are simple unsubscription instructions on
every mail that gets sent to the list. Follow these directions.
Note that if your email address or delivery has changed, this may
not work. Most lists have a similar informational message.
- *IF THIS DOESN'T WORK*: Go to the online list unsubscription page
at http://www.debian.org/MailingLists/unsubscribe Check off the
lists you want to unsubscribe from, AND supply your email address.
You will be sent a confirmation email (this protects you from being
unsubscribed, against your will, by a third party).
- If you are still receiving list mail, send a message to
listmaster@debian.org. Note that Debian is a volunteer
organization, and it can take a while for your mail to be responded
to. Allow a day or two. There have been historic issues with
people not getting appropriate response in a short period, please
bear with us.
- If you're still receiving list mail, escalate with a mail to
leader@debian.org. This will reach the current Debian Leader.
If *** ALL *** of these attempts are unsuccessful, send a post to
the mailing list with the following information. This may not get
you unsubscribed (assume the listmaster is not subscribed to the
list in question), but it may give other people information which can
be helpful in identifying your problem:
- Steps you've taken to unsubscribe. There are far too many
unsubscribe posts sent to list by those who simply fail to read
instructions. These tend to be poorly received by regulars (if not
simply automatically deleted).
- Responses, messages, error output, or anything else you've
received in response to your attempts to unsubscribe.
- Email headers from your list mail. There's a chance you're
getting mail forwarded from an old address, that your mail is
being rewritten by your ISP's or company's email system, or that
you're being sent mail by way of a relay operated by a third
party.
IN THIS LAST CASE, THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE AT DEBIAN.ORG
CAN DO TO HELP YOU. You will have to take up the issue with the
third-party relay, or block mail from this source to your address.
A sample of email headers are included at the end of this message.
Some additional considerations as you try to get unsubscribed:
- As stated, Debian's a volunteer organization. It tends to work
well, though some things are occasionally slow. List
unsubscriptions have been a noted issue over the years. This mail
is one attempt to clarify the issue.
- Try to get yourself unsubscribed following directions *first*.
There's little anyone on list can do other than give advice, and
most of that advice is in this email.
- Provide relevant information if you're posting to list.
- Behave professionally. The importance of this cannot be overstated.
At the very least, expect to find yourself permanently banned from
the list you're abusive to, if not others. Past episodes of abusive
or outrageous behavior have resulted in censure by ISP, loss of ISP
accounts, loss of jobs, academic discipline (in the case of
university accounts), etc. One notorious example includes a
Psychology PhD. formerly engaged in research at Princeton
University. His outburst resulted in email notifications to the
Princeton's IT staff, his boss, the University President, and former
colleagues.
Similarly, threatening lawsuits, DMCA takedown requests, and other
legal maneuvers are likely to result in your email address being
added to ban lists on other email lists.
An additional note on DMCA takedowns: you can add the
"X-No-Archive: Yes" header to your email to prevent it from being
included in (many) Net archives. Of course, those who feel that
participation in a mailing list inherently dictates that the
participation be public can add a filter rule to delete posts with
such headers from their mailboxes. This is a quid pro quo exchange,
and insisting on privacy in an inherently public exchange is a
violation of norms to some. The header is also no protection
against your post, email address, etc., from being quoted in
responses.
Most Internet groups are small, essentially volunteer organizations,
with few resources against a fight. It's far easier to avoid the
issue by barring participation from those who demonstrate they
cannot participate reasonably.
Note that the Internet has a memory that's both wide and deep. In
its own way, it's a very karmic place.
Email headers will look something like the following.
Refer to your email software documentation for how you can display and
save headers. The sample below shows that my system
(ganymede.tranquility.lan) received mail from localhost, via
netcom.com's POP server, from debian.org, originally from cwctv.net.
Given that this is how I'd expect my mail to receive, it matches
expectations. Note also that the headers include several "List-*:"
lines with information on the list and unsubscribing.
Received: from mail by ganymede.tranquillity.lan with spam-scanned
(Exim 3.36 #1 (Debian)) id 19JddZ-0005ms-00
for <karsten@localhost>; Sat, 24 May 2003 19:21:00 +0100
Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1])
by ganymede.tranquillity.lan with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1 (Debian))
id 19JddV-0005mc-01
for <karsten@localhost>; Sat, 24 May 2003 19:20:54 +0100
Status: U
Received: from popd.ix.netcom.com [207.217.120.161]
by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.9.11)
for karsten@localhost (single-drop); Sat, 24 May 2003 19:20:53 +0100
(BST)
Received: from murphy.debian.org ([146.82.138.6])
by killdeer (EarthLink SMTP Server) with ESMTP id 19jDzmwC3NZFlr0
for <kmself@ix.netcom.com>; Sat, 24 May 2003 11:16:36 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1])
by murphy.debian.org (Postfix) with QMQP
id 94FDD1F68E; Sat, 24 May 2003 13:15:27 -0500 (CDT)
Old-Return-Path: <Hell.Surfers@cwctv.net>
Received: from smtp.cwctv.net (smtp-outbound.cwctv.net [213.104.18.10])
by murphy.debian.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 218F01F4B8
for <debian-user@lists.debian.org>; Sat, 24 May 2003 12:56:48 -0500
(CDT)
Received: from cwctv.net ([172.16.33.42]) by smtp.cwctv.net with Microsoft
SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.447.44);
Sat, 24 May 2003 18:57:19 +0100
From: Hell.Surfers@cwctv.net
To: debian-user@lists.debian.org
Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 18:56:47 +0100
Subject: Resistance Is Futile.
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: Liberate TVMail 2.6
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Message-ID: <[🔎] 01d391957171853DTVMAIL6@smtp.cwctv.net>
Resent-Message-ID: <HxdJIC.A.LAE.-a7z-@murphy>
Resent-From: debian-user@lists.debian.org
X-Mailing-List: <debian-user@lists.debian.org> archive/latest/281359
X-Loop: debian-user@lists.debian.org
List-Post: <mailto:debian-user@lists.debian.org>
List-Help: <mailto:debian-user-request@lists.debian.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <mailto:debian-user-request@lists.debian.org?subject=subscribe>
List-Unsubscribe:
<mailto:debian-user-request@lists.debian.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Precedence: list
Resent-Sender: debian-user-request@lists.debian.org
Resent-Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 13:15:27 -0500 (CDT)
Resent-Bcc:
Thank you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?
SCO is the thief who puts a gun to his own head and says give me
your money or I'll shoot.
-- Bruce Perens http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=56225&&cid=5456337
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