The TidBITS LISTSERV has been running for about a year now, and as a result, those of you who have been on the list for a year will receive renewal notices from it in the next few weeks. This automatic LISTSERV procedure asks subscribers to confirm that they are still at that address and still wish to receive TidBITS. By asking people to renew, we avoid wasting network bandwidth by distributing TidBITS to unused accounts. If you don't renew within seven days, the LISTSERV will automatically delete your address and you'll have to subscribe again by sending it a "SUBSCRIBE TIDBITS your full name" command. Think of it as spring cleaning.
When you receive notification from the LISTSERV, send email back to the LISTSERV (NOT to me or to the address from which you receive the TidBITS issues). If you don't receive a notice from the LISTSERV (most local redistribution lists won't), don't worry.
To renew your subscription to our mailing list when you receive the notice, send email to:
LISTSERV@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU
with this line in the body of the mailfile:
CONFIRM TIDBITS
To make it easier for you, the message the LISTSERV sends is specially formatted. In most cases, you can FORWARD that message back to LISTSERV@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU (or on BITNET, LISTSERV@RICEVM1.BITNET) to renew. Replying to the message will not automatically work (because of quoting the old message), but if you do reply, type the CONFIRM TIDBITS command at the beginning of the first line.