Part 9: Discussion list settings

Discussion lists are two-way conversations among list members.

If you requested a discussion list, your list will already have the basic settings appropriate for that kind of list. Test your list, and see if these default settings are right for you. If there's something not quite right, you can use this section to help fine-tune your settings. Not all settings are covered here — just the ones that you'll find most useful.

If you have questions about any of the settings, click on the icon in the corner of every list setting page.

How to adjust settings

Click on the Utilities tab, then List Settings. You now have access to the numerous list settings that may be modified:



See below for a description of the basic features and how you can adjust them.

"Hello" and "Confirm" Documents

"Hello" and "Confirm" documents may be selected in Utilities: List Settings: Basic Information: Documents. For more information about these documents and how they work, see subscription welcome & confirmation messages.

Security: who can join the list?

You can change the Security status of a mailing list at any time by going to Utilities: List Settings: New Subscriber Policy: Security:



By default, your list is Open, meaning anyone can join. Generally, list owners want their lists to be open so that they can get as many members as possible. If you'd like to limit who can join your list, you have a number of other options:

A Private mailing list prevents anyone from finding the mailing list from joining immediately. When they attempt to join, (either by email or using the web interface) a List Administrator will have to approve their request to join before the person becomes a member.

A Password protected mailing list allows anyone who finds this mailing list can join (either by email or using the ListManager web interface) and will be automatically approved only if they know the password.

A Closed mailing list is one in which non-members are not able to apply for membership. If a request for membership arrives by email, it will be automatically denied.

For instance, you can start out as an Open mailing list (so that anyone can join) and then become a Private mailing list (so that new members must be approved by a List Administrator).

Security: who can post to the list?

By default, a discussion list is set so that any list member can post to the list. Furthermore, an administrator must approve all mailings sent to the list before being sent. We STRONGLY recommend that you do not change this setting! By approving all messages, you can make sure members stay on-topic and don't "flame" (insult) other members. You can also stop people from joining your list just to spam it. However, if you would like to change this setting, go to Utilities: List Settings: Email Submitted Content: Approval:



If you don't want to approve all messages sent to your list, you might consider using Number Moderation to approve the first few messages sent to your list from new members. You can also set the Release Days to have the list automatically approve messages after a certain length of time, in case you are not always available to moderate messages.

What's next?

• Continue learning about Discussion lists (part 2 of 3)
• Skip to Part 10: Adding your members
• Return to the Getting Started main page