Information about the 4D Tech Mailing List <4D_Tech@lists.4D.com>,
4D Biz Mailing List <4D_Biz@lists.4D.com>, and
4D Pub Mailing List <4D_Pub@lists.4D.com>
===========================================================================
4D Mailing List FAQ
TABLE OF CONTENTS
* What is the 4D iNUG and the 4D Mailing List?
* 4D Mailing List FAQ Distribution
* 4D iNUG Volunteers and Benefactors
* Normal (Individual Messages) vs Digest
* Overview of Important Email Addresses
* Subscribing
* Unsubscribing
* Using a Local Redistribution List
* Changing Your Subscribed Email Address
* Posting Messages
* *** 4D Mailing List Rules -- REQUIRED READING!!! ***
* Reasons for Bounced Email
* Reasons to be Automatically Unsubscribed
* Why am I getting duplicate email?
* Why am I NOT getting any email?
* 4D iNUG Web Server
* Third Party 4D iNUG Message Archives and Utilities
* Copyright Policies
* Feedback
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What is the 4D iNUG and the 4D Mailing List?
The 4th Dimension Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) provides an Internet
forum for users and developers of the 4th Dimension RAD / RDBMS
(relational and Web database environment for Macintosh and Windows) to
exchange ideas and techniques, discuss problems and solutions, swap code
fragments, announce 4D jobs and products, and basically help each other
out.
The 4D iNUG sponsors three mailing lists. The first two lists are also
referred to collectively as the 4D Mailing List.
* The 4D Tech Mailing List is the primary vehicle for communication
and support among 4D netizens worldwide. This list is specifically
for technical discussions about the 4D environment, as well as
announcements for 4D-related jobs, products, services, and events.
* The 4D Biz Mailing List covers mostly non-technical discussions of
interest to the 4D developer community such as licensing issues,
running a business, the bidding process, documentation, and
copyrights. Technical discussions that are off-topic or have become
off-topic on the 4D Tech Mailing List can also be further discussed
on this list.
* The 4D Pub Mailing List is an informal forum for 4D netizens to
hang out with each other, chit chat, plan / announce IRL (in real
life) get-togethers with fellow 4D netizens, and just have fun!
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4D Mailing List FAQ Distribution
The latest version of the 4D Mailing List FAQ which applies to all
4D iNUG-sponsored mailing lists is available:
* Via the web at http://www.4D.com/support/faqnug.html
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Normal (Individual Messages) vs Digest
4D iNUG maintains four "subscriber" versions for each of its mailing
lists:
1. "Normal" version -- subscribers receive the individual messages as
they are posted.
2. "Digest" version -- subscribers receive the individual messages
periodically each day in batches for the 4D Tech Mailing List / 4D
Biz Mailing List / 4D Pub Mailing List respectively, and when the
digest grows to at least 30K in size). Subscribers to the Digest
version are able to choose to receive the messages as either
plain text or MIME messages.
Note: The 4D Tech Mailing List is generally heavy in volume at times
(approximately 60+ messages/day), so I would recommend at least
subscribing to the 4D Tech Digest version at first.
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Overview of Important Email Addresses
The following addresses are used to manage and operate these lists:
1. 4D_Tech@lists.4D.com,
4D_Biz@lists.4D.com and
4D_Pub@lists.4D.com -- for posting to the lists
2. 4D_Tech-Join@lists.4D.com,
4D_Biz-Join@lists.4D.com and
4D_Pub-Join@lists.4D.com -- for subscribing to the lists.
3. 4D_Tech-Leave@lists.4D.com,
4D_Biz-Leave@lists.4D.com and
4D_Pub-Leave@lists.4D.com -- for unsubscribing from the lists
4. 4D_Tech-Owner@lists.4D.com,
4D_Biz-Owner@lists.4D.com and
4D_Pub-Owner@lists.4D.com -- for contacting the List Moderators.
5. 4D_Tech-Requests@lists.4D.com,
4D_Biz-Requests@lists.4D.com and
4D_Pub-Requests@lists.4D.com -- for sending special commands
such as help.
6. listadmin@4d.com -- for contacting the list admin with your
comments, questions, and problems regarding the mailing lists.
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Subscribing
To subscribe, either send an email to one of the following:
4D_Tech-Join@lists.4D.com
4D_Biz-Join@lists.4d.com
4D_Pub-Join@lists.4D.com
Or navigate to https://lists.4D.com/mailman/listinfo page
and follow the instructions on the page.
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Unsubscribing
Email your unsubscribe request to one of the following unsubscribe
accounts for automated processing by the Mailman list server. Leave
the body of the message blank.
* To unsubscribe from EITHER the 4D Tech Mailing List OR the 4D Tech
Digest, send email:
To: 4D_Tech-Leave@lists.4D.com
* To unsubscribe from EITHER the 4D Biz Mailing List OR the 4D Biz
Digest, send email:
To: 4D_Biz-Leave@lists.4D.com
* To unsubscribe from EITHER the 4D Pub Mailing List OR the 4D Pub
Digest, send email:
To: 4D_Pub-Leave@lists.4D.com
The list server is very particular about the address in your FROM mail
header (or the REPLY-TO) matching the address you originally subscribed
under EXACTLY in order to process your unsubscribe request
automatically. For example, kalena@kalena.com and karen_sabog@kalena.com
which both point to the same account are considered two different
addresses by the list server.
If you are having difficulty in unsubscribing or no longer have access
to unsubscribe from your old or defunct email account, you need to email
listadmin@4d.com with all the possible variations of your email
address to look for so that it can be manually removed.
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Using a Local Redistribution List
If you are interested in using a local redistribution list (aka mail
exploder) such as 4d-gurus@your_company.com, then have the list owner
submit a subscribe request from the redistribution list account. If you
need assistance in subscribing or unsubscribing a local redistribution
list, then email listadmin@4d.com along with the name of the list
owner to manually process your request.
If you are RECEIVING messages via a local redistribution list AND you
wish to POST a message, you have the following options:
* Subscribe your individual email address instead.
* Use the Reply-To mail header with the address of your local
redistribution list so that your post will be accepted.
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Changing Your Subscribed Email Address
To switch email addresses, please log into your options page by
navigating to
https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/LISTNAME/your_email_address
and enter the new address into the "New address" and "Again to confirm"
fields then click the "Change My Address and Name" button.
NOTE that a confirmation email will be sent to the new email address,
and the change must be confirmed before it is processed.
DO NOT ask me to modify your email address manually. It is to your
benefit to go through the Options page so that you are aware of the
process for modifying your subscription options.
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Posting Messages
Once you have received confirmation of your subscription, send email as
follows to ONLY ONE of the appropriate lists. DO NOT CROSSPOST YOUR
MESSAGES!!!
* To: 4D Tech Mailing List <4D_Tech@lists.4D.com>
Subject: Insert_Brief_Meaningful_Subject_Here
* To: 4D Biz Mailing List <4D_Biz@lists.4D.com>
Subject: Insert_Brief_Meaningful_Subject_Here
* To: 4D Pub Mailing List <4D_Pub@lists.4D.com>
Subject: Insert_Brief_Meaningful_Subject_Here
Your email address MUST MATCH a subscriber on either the list or digest
version EXACTLY in order to successfully POST a message. For example,
kalena@kalena.com and karen_sabog@kalena.com which both point to the
same account are considered two different addresses by the list server.
If you are receiving messages via a mail exploder such as
4d-gurus@your_company.com, see the section "Using a Local Redistribution
List" for posting options.
NOTE: Particularly for digest subscribers, please remember to edit the
SUBJECT line for your replies with the pertinent subject thread so that
replies are NOT, e.g., "Re: 4D Tech Digest"; otherwise, your message
will not be processed.
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*** 4D Mailing List Rules -- REQUIRED READING!!! ***
* Under no circumstance should you ever asperse the character of
another member of this list. This applies toward other
developers, employees of ACI or any of it's customers that may
participate in these forums. Injurious direct or indirect
attacks between list participants will not be tolerated.
* This is *NOT* an anonymous list. Your REAL FULL NAME should be
displayed along with your email address in the FROM mail header of
your posts (preferably) or at least signed in the body of the
message. If you are using proprietary software (e.g., AOL) which
does not have this feature or have a mail admin who is unable to
configure your mail server (e.g., Lotus Notes) with your name
attached to your email address, then sign your real name in the
body of the message.
* Newly subscribed members may NOT participate or start topics
which may be controversial. The degree to which each member may
contribute to a controversial topic is relative to their historic
standing within the community and iNUG forums. Only members who have
established themselves as part of this technical community through
their past questions or answers will have earned a greater degree
of free expression.
* Please reserve the use of the REPLY-TO mail header ONLY if your
address is DIFFERENT from that displayed in the FROM mail header.
Also, the REPLY-TO mail header is generated AS IS (in some email
clients), so you will need to manually enter BOTH your real name
and address when configuring this field in your email preferences,
e.g.,
REPLY-TO: Karen Sabog
* Please make sure that your email date and time are GLOBALLY-CORRECT
so that your messages will display, sort, and thread in
chronological order no matter what time zone your fellow
subscribers retrieve mail in. SEND YOURSELF A TEST MESSAGE and
check if the DATE mail header in your messages is appending the
appropriate GMT or UTC offset, e.g., "-0700" or "PDT" for Pacific
Daylight Savings Time. Remember to FIRST set the time zone and
daylight savings settings, THEN set/recheck the date and time
(ESPECIALLY if you have just changed either the time zone and/or
daylight savings settings). Mac users can adjust this via the Date
& Time and/or Map control panels; Windows users can edit the
Date/Time control panel, TZ environment variable, or time zone
setting in some email packages. Please verify your date/time
settings periodically especially when daylight savings goes in and
out of effect, when you install system software, or if you zap your
Mac's PRAM. Search the Web for client software that can synchronize
to an NTP (network time protocol) server such as time.nist.gov.
Related time zone links include:
http://www.time.gov
http://www.worldtimezone.com
http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/tzones.html
http://www.bsdi.com/date
* Please make the SUBJECT line of your email concise and descriptive,
e.g., "4D WhizBang Product 4.0 Shipping" rather than just stating
"New Product" or something emotional like "I'm going nuts!"
* When posting a reply to a message, only include the RELEVANT TEXT
needed for your answer to make sense. Do not forward the entire
original message. Remove any extraneous mail headers (e.g.,
X-Sender, Received, Mime-Version, Content-Type, Precedence), the
original author's signature, and the 4D iNUG footer which is
automatically appended to every message.
* Digest subscribers should reply to individual messages in the
digest as separate posts rather than a batch of replies in one
post.
* If replying to an individual message in the digest version, please
edit the SUBJECT line of your email to reflect the message you are
actually replying to (preceded by "Re: ") so that the thread can be
followed.
* When composing email (this includes your mail headers and
signatures), please make sure that you are using only the 7-bit
US-ASCII character set. The US-ASCII character set means just
character codes 0-127 (decimal), i.e., no characters like bullets,
curly quotes, em and en dashes, non-breaking spaces, and characters
with diacritical marks. This will ensure that all recipients on
this international mailing list will see your message as intended
rather than having some of the mailers spewing out strange
character sequences. Eudora users can do this by disabling
quoted-printable encoding. Also, mail systems not capable of
receiving 8-bit characters will cause messages to bounce back to
the list admin.
* Keep each line of your message to about 70 characters per line (use
a monospace font with hard returns) to avoid splitting into two
lines on some mailers and also to avoid splitting if used in a
reply. This is especially a good idea if creating any tables so
that the columns line up.
* Please keep your signature short -- the end portion of your email
where you might contribute your name, phone number, address, ASCII
art, favorite quote, philosophy, etc. Short here means 5 to 6 lines
max including white space! Indicate your Web site if you have one
for more information. Anyone with a long signature risks being
automatically unsubscribed. This is a mailing list; not your
personal vehicle for self-promotion.
* DO NOT send auto-reply messages like those used when you are away
on vacation or out of the office. I suggest that you temporarily
disable mail delivery from the list, then re-enable it upon your return.
This can be accomplished by setting the "Mail Delivery" option to
"Disabled" in you user options page.
* DO NOT send HTML-formatted messages or styled (aka enriched) text
messages. Make sure to send your messages in PLAIN TEXT. If the
Mailman mail server is unable to obtain plain-text copy from
your message, it will not be posted to the list.
* This is an International English-speaking mailing list. Please post
your messages in ENGLISH or provide an ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
* DO NOT crosspost your messages to more than one 4D iNUG mailing
list.
* DO NOT send test messages to the list. You should contact
listadmin@4d.com for assistance or send a message to the List
Moderators (see above section titled: Important Email Addresses)
* Any off-topic posts should be prefaced with "[OFF]" or "[OFF
TOPIC]" in the SUBJECT line. These posts should be kept to a
minimum.
* All messages, especially those with differing views and opinions,
should be written in a constructive manner that is conducive for
discussion. NO FLAMES!!!
* Practice NETIQUETTE...mentioned again to reinforce this important
point.
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Reasons for Bounced Email
Receiving bounced email messages is inevitable on the Internet and can
happen for some of the following reasons: system or network down, name
server timeout, mailbox full (some users DO have mail and/or disk
quotas), mail loops, user unknown, host unknown, server configuration
problems, too many hops, ISP running anti-spam software, etc. Sometimes
the error messages may not adequately explain the problem, be diagnosed
incorrectly, or even be obscure. The majority of these problems are
temporary and in most cases you will probably just want to go ahead and
delete these messages (at your discretion, of course!).
As the admin for this high-traffic mailing list, I usually get hundreds
of bounced messages almost every day since there is always some sort of
burp occurring on the Internet or a server is down, even if only
temporarily. I usually try to wait a few days to monitor if the problem
resolves itself but may unsubscribe the offending email address sooner.
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Reasons to be Automatically Unsubscribed
I will automatically unsubscribe users for the following reasons (not an
exhaustive list):
* Generating numerous bounced email
* Including the full digest version in replies
* Using auto-reply messages such as on vacation or out of the office
* Not complying with the list rules and/or the list administrator's
request(s)
* Posting too many off-topic messages
* Offensive and/or inappropriate language
* Lengthy signature
* Posting test messages to the list. You should contact
listadmin@4d.com for assistance or send a message to the List
Moderators.
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Why am I getting duplicate email?
If you are subscribed to the list and your email address is also listed
as a recipient in the TO, CC, or BCC fields for a particular message,
then you may receive duplicate messages. There is an option in the
User Options page that tells the server to prevent duplicates.
You may also receive bounced email messages that appear to be duplicates
as a result of posting a message to the list. Look at the mail headers
first before becoming alarmed about getting any duplicates. In some
instances, some of you were subscribed under more than one address.
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Why am I NOT getting any email?
Here are the most common reasons:
* Your email is bouncing; however, your address is still subscribed
to the list. You can always try resubscribing to test if your are
still subscribed to the list. The list server will not subscribe
your address again if it is already in the subscriber database.
* Your subscription has been disabled due to bounced messages.
If this is the case, the Mailman server should have [tried to] email
you with
* Your email address has been removed by the list admin.
* The list server is down or unreachable. You can ping or perform a
traceroute to lists.4D.com to see if it is alive and/or send an
email command such as "help" to 4d_tech-requests@lists.4D.com to test if
the list server is processing messages. DO NOT SEND TEST MESSAGES
TO THE LIST!!!
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Third Party 4D iNUG Message Archives and Utilities
Netizens in the 4D and Internet communities have graciously archived the
individual messages generated from the 4D Mailing List and created the
following resources with features such as keyword searching and
threading:
* http://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.lang.inug-4d.tech -- 4D programmers
technical user group -- maintained by Gmane.
* http://www.nabble.com/4D-f15643.html -- 4D Tech, 4D Biz, 4D Pub, 4D
Basics, and 4D Plugins -- maintained by Nabble.
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Copyright Policies
All content generated by the 4D Tech Mailing List, 4D Biz Mailing List,
and 4D Pub Mailing List (normal and digest versions) are subject to the
following copyright policies:
1. The original author retains copyright.
2. Permission to redistribute must be granted. All approved resources
are listed in the "Third Party 4D Message Archives" section of the
4D Mailing List FAQ.
3. Commercial redistribution "for profit" is prohibited.
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Feedback
Please feel free to send me your feedback and suggestions regarding
4D-related Internet resources available to the 4D community.
4D iNUG Admin
listadmin@4d.com
4th Dimension Internet Users Group (4D iNUG)
[---------------------------------------------------]
[ Based on the 4D Mailing List FAQ by Karen R Sabog ]
Updated 16 July 2007 by listadmin@4d.com.