A "list server" distributes a single email message to a group of subscribers. The list server has an email address much like an individual; however, messages sent to this address are, in effect, duplicated and resent to all individuals on the list server's mailing list. List servers are an effective means of conducting group discussions and are useful for making announcements. Most list servers have the capability of maintaining multiple mailing lists. In such cases, a separate address is assigned to each list.
Two mailing lists are presently being maintained by the Primitive Baptist Web Station for Primitive Baptists and friends. One list is dedicated to announcements only. The other list is for general discussion. Admission to these mailing lists is restricted. Those wishing to subscribe should first read the following statement regarding rules of courtesy. We ask that these rules be carefully considered because extreme or persistent violators of these rules may be removed from the mailing lists. Those in agreement with the rules should then follow the instructions presented in the last section of this page.
1) Please remember to post messages to the particular mailing list most suitably designed for the subject matter. Announcements should be sent to the pb-announce mailing list; other discussion should be sent to pb-general.
2) The pb-general mailing list is primarily intended for Bible discussion and fellowship between Primitive Baptists and friends. Persons holding views differing from those of the Old Line Primitive Baptists are welcome to the discussion. However, the moderators reserve the right to limit or terminate debate as they see fit. The same rule is true of discussions between Primitive Baptists on controversial issues.
3) Discussions of controversial matters should be confined to issues and should not mention persons, churches or events among Primitive Baptists.
4) Cross-posting to other mailing lists for the purpose of criticizing subscribers of pb-announce or pb-general is strongly prohibited. Disagreeing parties should directly address each other either on the mailing list or in personal mail.
5) New subscribers will be continuously added to the mailing lists; consequently, it is likely that certain questions will be repeatedly posted. Experienced users of the list server should not be annoyed by this, but should view it as yet another opportunity to help others understand the Word of God. Such questions may be answered with previously posted messages. Those choosing to respond with an answer previously posted by another subscriber should give proper credit to them as the author.
6) Primitive Baptist subscribers should be aware that persons of other religious affiliations will be admitted to the mailing lists. Many of these will have a sincere desire to better understand Primitive Baptist views. As a courtesy to these, we ask that discussion be conducted in a way that would be charitable and understandable to all. Those responding to scriptural questions, or to questions about Primitive Baptist faith and practice, should carefully prepare their answers to ensure accordance with scriptures and with standard Primitive Baptist interpretations thereof.
7) Please refrain from using the list server as a medium for sending email to a specific individual. Use private email for this purpose. Personal correspondence will not be of interest to other subscribers.
8) Please remember to properly specify the subject field of your message so that recipients can quickly determine if the message is of interest to them. Messages without subject fields may be rejected by the list server.
9) When quoting from a prior post, please quote only the relevant parts of that post. If making general comments about a post, include only the first few lines of it in your message so that readers can properly identify the post you are addressing. Also, the list server attaches a footer to every message. Always cut the footer from a quoted message to prevent footers from accumulating.
10) Please configure your email program to send only plain text messages. Formatted messages will result in duplicate copies being placed in the digests (explained below).
11) Remember that moderators have been appointed to each list. Please do not assume their role. Report complaints to the moderators and let them take the corrective action. Your opinions will be respectfully considered.
12) Experienced users of Internet will know that text-based communication can have either the best or worst results. It is potentially the best form of communication, because one can carefully prepare a message and can review it for charitableness and clarity before sending it. This generally cannot be done in oral communication. However, text-based communications can have the worst results if messages are not conscientiously prepared. This is because such communications cannot convey the voice inflections, facial expressions, and bodily gestures which complement oral communication. As a consequence, what was intended in jest, or as a small joke, can be taken as a criticism or insult. Much of the 'flaming' that takes place over Internet originates from such misunderstandings. We therefore caution the subscriber to be on guard against such miscommunications, both when preparing and reading messages. We also advise that the smileys, emoticons, and acronyms commonly used by experienced Internet participants may seem ridiculous to novices, but they are in fact quite useful toward clarifying your intentions.
Users of the mailing lists should be aware that such transmissions are subject to the same confidentiality vulnerabilities as ordinary email. An email message generally travels through several intermediaries before arriving at the final destination. At some of these points, there is the possibility that confidentiality could be violated.
Posting Messages
Post messages to all subscribers on a list by emailing a single message to the list distribution address. The distribution addresses for pb-announce and pb-general are:
pb-announce distribution address: pb-announce@ls.primitivebaptist.org
pb-general distribution address: pb-general@ls.primitivebaptist.org
Mail Reception Options
There are three ways to read the discussions from the mailing lists. The first is to have the individual messages mailed to the user's address. This is the option selected by most subscribers. The second option is to have all messages bundled into a daily "digest." The digest is mailed to the user's address once per day. The third option is to read the mail from a web-based archive. Under this option, no mail is sent to the user. The user may post messages under any of these options.
All new subscribers will be configured to receive individual messages. If they prefer to receive mail under one of the other two options, they should reconfigure their subscription. This may be done by sending email directives to the list server control address:
This address should be used for both pb-general and pb-announce. Send a message to the control address containing the desired directive in the body. The body should contain nothing but the directive. The message should have a blank subject field. Available directives for pb-general include:
set pb-general Digest
set pb-general MIME Digest
set pb-general Nomail
set pb-general Mail
query pb-general
Replace "pb-general" with "pb-announce" to apply the above directives to pb-announce. The "Digest" setting places the user in digest mode. If the "MIME Digest" directive is used, then digests will be sent in MIME format. The "Nomail" setting causes mail to be suspended; however, the user remains subscribed, and may continue to read mail on the web interface for the list server (see below). The "Mail" setting reverses "Nomail" by reactivating individual messages. The "query" option causes a message to be sent to the user reporting their current subscription status.
To illustrate the use of these directives, suppose the user is presently receiving mail from pb-announce but wishes to temporarily suspend it. Then they should send a message to:
The body of this message should be:
set pb-announce Nomail
The body of the message should contain nothing apart from this, and the subject field should be left blank. To resume mail at a later date, send "set pb-announce Mail" to the same address.
Observe that the list server control address is not the same as the distribution address. Nothing is accomplished by mailing directives to the distribution address. The message is simply sent to all members on the list. This is annoying to the members and embarrassing to the user.
The web interface for both lists is located at URL:
http://ls.primitivebaptist.org
This URL should be used by those wishing to read mail online. The interface may also be used to change subscription status, though the email directives described above are generally more useful. The user may establish a password for access to the interface. This is recommended, though it is not required.
Handling Unexpected Termination of Mail
Please be aware that email from the list server will be terminated or suspended to addresses that are persistently reported as invalid or problematic. These are very common problems. If a subscriber experiences unexpected termination of mail, they should assume that the list server has suspended their mail because of such problems. They should attempt to correct the problem themselves before contacting the list manager. Suspended mail can be reactivated by sending a blank message to:
unhold@ls.primitivebaptist.org
If this fails to reactivate mail, then the user should send the "Mail" directive described above to ensure that mail has not been suspended for other reasons. The "query" directive may also be used to determine the current status of the subscriber. If these options are to no avail, then the user should resubmit the application form below.
Canceling Subscription
To be permanently removed from a mailing list, simply send a blank email message to the relevant address below:
leave-pb-announce@ls.primitivebaptist.org
leave-pb-general@ls.primitivebaptist.org
Use of Email Filtering
Subscribers to the mailing lists will find it very useful to have an email program with "filtering" capability. The filter can be set to sort incoming mail into various folders. A typical configuration would have personal mail placed in one folder and mail from mailing lists placed in other folders. A good filter can sort mail by several criteria, including return address and subject field. Eudora Pro is a popular email program having such capabilities.
Questions and Comments
Questions and comments should be emailed to the list manager:
pb-announce manager
pb-general manager
pb-general is presently inactive. Submit this form only for pb-announce.
To subscribe to a mailing list, submit the application form below. Also, if you are not a Primitive Baptist, then please send a short email message to the list manager introducing yourself and explaining your interest in the mailing lists.