Last Updated: 25 November 2003
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NHCOLL-L is an electronic forum for those with an interest in the
care, management, computerization, conservation and use of natural
history collections. NHCOLL-L is co-sponsored by the Natural Science
Collections Alliance (NSC) and the Society for the Preservation of
Natural History Collections (SPNHC). Both NSC and SPNHC are dedicated
to the preservation and care of natural history collections. Membership
in NHCOLL-L is open to anyone with e-mail service.
NHCOLL-L is an unmoderated list, therefore we are dependent on the list
members to provide only those postings that are appropriate to the
subject matter, which includes topics such as collections
administration, collections care, computerization, conservation, and
management. Both policy and practical discussions are appropriate.
While the list is sponsored by ASC and SPNHC, all individuals
interested in the care of natural history collections are invited to
participate. Information of all kinds is welcome, however, advertising
is inappropriate. The volume of messages on NHCOLL-L varies, but
generally runs between 15-30 per month.
In addition, because some subscribers to NHCOLL-L pay network access
fees based upon the amount of material they receive, NHCOLL-L
subscribers should always write succinctly and generally refrain from
sending attachments (e.g., images) to the list along with messages.
Private email arrangements should be made "off list" for such purposes.
Greg Watkins-Colwell is the present “owner” (manager) of the
NHCOLL-L discussion list. Please direct any questions you have about
NHCOLL-L to him at: gregory.watkins-colwell@yale.edu.
NHCOLL-L is an electronic discussion list based on a Unix computer computer running Listproc. Warning:
There are several different discussion list software programs being
used on the Internet. The specific commands and functions can vary with
each of these different software programs. This can be very confusing to people. Some of the most frequently used Listproc software commands are presented in this document.
If you are unacquainted with the Listproc commands and software, you
can request additional information by sending an e-mail message to:
listproc@lists.yale.edu
and in the body of an e-mail message enter:
help
There are several methods of joining or subscribing to NHCOLL-L, depending on which computer systems or network you are using.
There is no cost for subscribing to the NHCOLL-L discussion list. However, there may be local service provider charges or connection charges
for the electronic mail messages that you will receive. Check with your
service provider or local computer support person, if this is an issue.
To subscribe to NHCOLL-L send the following in the body of an e-mail message addressed to listproc@lists.yale.edu
SUBSCRIBE NHCOLL-L your name
If you don’t want to remain subscribed to the NHCOLL-L list, send the following in the body of an e-mail message addressed to listproc@lists.yale.edu
UNSUBSCRIBE NHCOLL-L
There are two addresses used in relation to the NHCOLL-L discussion
list. Both are located on the host (lists.yale.edu). Administrative
messages are sent to Listproc. Postings to the discussion list, which
are then broadcast to the full membership, are sent to NHCOLL-L. Please
do not send administrative messages to the NHCOLL-L address. Specific address formatting varies slightly from different networks.
After you receive a subscription confirmation, send your postings to the list using this address: NHCOLL-L@lists.yale.edu
If you’re interested in temporarily holding your NHCOLL-L messages
(for example, you’re on vacation and unable to read your e-mail), send
the following in the body of an e-mail message addressed to
listproc@lists.yale.edu
SET NHCOLL-L MAIL POSTPONE
When you want to resume mail delivery, send the following in the body
of an e-mail message addressed to listproc@lists.yale.edu
SET NHCOLL-L MAIL
Note that mail is held for you for the duration of the time you have
set your options to MAIL POSTPONE. This differs from the behavior of
the NOMAIL option of the former Listserv software, where you would
temporarily not get postings and they weren’t being held.
With the DIGEST option ON the Listproc software will send one large
message per day from the NHCOLL-L discussion list. This single message
contains a table of contents and the full text of all the day’s
messages. The DIGEST is distributed shortly after midnight local time.
If you would like to switch to the DIGEST option, send the following in
the body of an e-mail message addressed to listproc@lists.yale.edu
SET NHCOLL-L MAIL DIGEST
To see the list of subscribers (including yourself, to see what
Listproc currently believes your email address is), send the following
in the body of an e-mail message addressed to listproc@lists.yale.edu
REVIEW NHCOLL-L
If you want to find out your current NHCOLL-L subscription settings,
send the following in the body of an e-mail message addressed to
listproc@lists.yale.edu
SET NHCOLL-L
The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University stores the
NHCOLL-L e-mail archives as .zip files, one file for each calendar
year’s worth of e-mail:
1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004
2005
Monthly log files are also available directly from Listproc. Because of
disk space quotas on the Unix computer at Yale that holds these monthly
NHCOLL-L files, the Listproc logs are typically retained only for the 3 most current months.
To get a listing of currently available Listproc log files, send the
following one line e-mail message to listproc@lists.yale.edu
INDEX NHCOLL-L
and, for example, to retrieve a particular Listproc log file, send the
following in the body of an e-mail message addressed to
listproc@lists.yale.edu
GET NHCOLL-L logyymm
where yy is the last two digits of the year, and mm is the month.
These Listproc raw log files are large (sometimes more than a megabyte
apiece). Some e-mail systems cannot handle very large files, and you
may not want such a large file in your mailbox. The Listproc User’s
Manual describes a rich array of other available database functions
that allow you to query the NHCOLL-L Listproc log files for specific
items. The source for the Listproc User’s Manual can be found at http://www.cren.net.
This document is a clone of the FAQ for the Museum Discussion List (MUSEUM-L), with amendments to reflect NHCOLL-L and S.B.E.L. usage. The original MUSEUM-L document was written by John Chadwick and David Bridge. Tim White and Larry Gall made the amendments herein. Please send any corrections or suggestions for future additions or improvements to the NHCOLL-L FAQ to the listowner (see above).
