LISTSERV / Temporarily disable email delivery from a list

Objective

• To provide instruction on temporarily stopping email from your LISTSERV list when:
  • You plan to be away and don't want to receive email from a list
  • You want to avoid sending an automatic out-of-office reply to a list from your email account

Environment

• 10283: LISTSERV

Resolution 

1. Open your email application and create a new plain-text email message with no signature
2. In the From: field, enter the email address you specified as a subscriber to the list
3. In the TO field, enter LISTSERV@listserv.MiamiOH.edu
4. In the main message body, enter set listname nomail
   • listname is the 32-character-or-less name of the list
   • No additional information is needed in this command, LISTSERV determines your name and email address from your message
5. Press Enter a couple of times to add several blank lines after the subscribe line
   • This ensures that any additional information your email app may add to your message does not get confused with the LISTSERV command 
6. Send the message
7. LISTSERV will respond with a message confirming your request or notifying you if there was a processing problem
8. To re-enable mail delivery from the list, repeat the process above by substituting set listname mail in the message body in step 3