The MSBA listservs are the e-mail-based discussion groups that takes place
via e-mail using a Mailing List of subscribers. You can send one e-mail message
to a single e-mail address and have it delivered to every member of that listserve.
You don't need any new software – all messages are sent and received
using your existing e-mail software.
The MSBA currently has over 200 listservs. There are listservs for each MSBA
Section, Section Council and MSBA Committee. The MSBA also has listservs available
for Maryland Local &
Specialty Bar Associations. Each list works pretty much the same, with some
differences that are described below. (To see a list of available listservs
visit www.msba.org/?lists)
Listserve Types
Most everyone is probably familiar with the MSBA discussion listservs.
If you send a message to the listserve address, it is delivered to the other
list members, who can then respond. You have to be a member of the list in
order to send to the list.
The other type of list is the announcement listservs. These lists are for
announcing important events and delivering important information to listserve
members. We also use this type of list for sending the MSBA Bar Brief and MSBA
Events newsletters each month.
Joining a Listserve
It is easy to join a Section listserve. Most lists require that you be
a member of the Section before you are able to join a list. If you are a member
of a Section and wish to join a Section listserve, you can either visit www.msba.org/?lists or
visit the Section webpage and click on the "Join listserve" button.
If you are not yet a member of a Section and request to join both the Section
and Section listserve at the same time, your listserve account will be activated
as soon as your Section application has been processed by our membership department.
If you are a member of a Local or Specialty Bar Association you can contact
that particular association to be added to their listserve.
Listserve Settings
There are a number of different options for your listserve accounts. By
default, your account is set to receive messages as they are sent. If you prefer,
you can ask to receive only one message per day containing the listserve messages
for the previous day; this is the "Mime Digest". There is another digest mode
available, but it often will display the formatting codes, making messages
difficult to read. The Mime Digest mode should work for everyone, with the
possible exception of those members who get their mail from within programs
like Timematters.
There is also another option. The "no mail" option will keep your account
active on our system but not deliver any mail. This is also known as vacation
mode.
If you would like to change your settings please contact us by e-mail; the
address is listed below.
E-mail Address Changes
The easiest way of changing your e-mail address on the MSBA listservs is
to contact us. If you are a member of more than one listserve we can update
your e-mail address on all lists of which you are a member. Please include
your old e-mail address as well as the new address; it is the fastest
and easiest way of updating your account.
Sending Listserve Messages
Sending listserve messages is easy. Using your regular listserve software,
create a message and send it to the listserve address. If you are a member
of the MSBA Solo and Small Practice Section, for example, the listserve e-mail
address would be MSBASolo@lists.msba.org. [List names are not case-sensitive].
All MSBA listservs will have "@lists.msba.org" as the mail domain. We suggest
adding the listserve address to your e-mail address book to help avoid misspellings.
A list of MSBA listserves, including their e-mail addresses, can be found at www.msba.org/?lists.
Replying to Listserve Messages
There are two types of discussion listservs: "Reply to List" and "Reply
to Author". "Reply to List" is the easiest way to carry on a listserve discussion.
Sending a reply back to the list is as simple as clicking the "Reply To" button.
If you want to contact ONLY the original sender, you would have to create a
new message. This can also be a tad dangerous. Too often, after receiving an
e-mail message, we instinctively fire back a reply to the sender. Now what
you thought was a personal message has been sent to all other list mates. Because
of this, many listservs use the
"Reply to Author" method.
With a "Reply to Author"
list you click "Reply" to reply to the author and "Reply to All" to reply to
the list. The type of list will be mentioned in the welcome message you receive
when you join the list. The list type is also shown at the bottom of all "Reply
to List" listserve messages.
Attachments
To help protect listserve members from viruses, none of our large discussion
listservs will deliver any message with attachments. If you send a message
without an attachment but receive an "attachments detected" message, it may
be because you have a vCard or other signature file associated with your outgoing
messages. You can try resending your message in PlainText mode, or change your
signature file.
Listserve Rules
There are a number of rules for using the MSBA listservs, and you can read
them online. Most involve e-mail etiquette, but there are other items that
you should review (www.msba.org/sec_comm/listserves/rules.htm).
Unsubscribing
We hate to see you go, but if you do decide to leave, you can either contact
us to remove you from a list or follow the instructions located at the bottom
of each listserve message you receive. There may be unsubscribe links displayed
in the message that are a part of an e-mail reply – always use the link
at the very bottom of the message. If the link contains a "$" in the link it
was not displayed properly; please contact us to unsubscribe you from the list.
If you do need to have any changes made to your listserve accounts, you can
send them to webmaster@msba.org.
I hope this helps answer some of your listserve questions. And stay tuned – next
time, I will give you some tips to help control incoming listserve messages
and not have them take over your inbox.
