University Computer Help Desk

Before You Begin

When an email is posted to a listserv, the message is delivered to all listserv members. As the listserv owner, you can change how your listserv will handle replies to those messages by logging in to the Listserv Management website at http://listserv.ilstu.edu/. These instructions explain how to configure a Reply-To address on emails posted to your listserv.

• 1740: Logging in to Listserv Management

Listserv Reply-To Settings

You have several options for how email replies should be handled:

• List - Replies are sent back to the listerv address (which means the response will be delivered to all listserv members). This option is good for discussion listservs where you want to allow all listserv members to participate in the conversation.
• Sender - Replies are sent back to the sender instead of the listserv. This option is good for announcement listservs where you want to personally receive feedback about information you've posted to the listserv, but where you don't want responses to be sent back to all listserv subscribers.
• Specify - Replies are sent to an email address you specify for your listserv. This option is good for cases where you want to allow the recipient to reply, but you don't want the response going back to either the listserv or the sender. For example, you could specify an organizational email address as the Reply-To address.
• Both / None - The Listserv Management website also allows you to choose Both or None as your Reply-To setting. Unless you have a reason to choose one of these options, we recommend you use List, Sender, or Specify instead.

The option you choose should be based on how you intend the listserv to be used.

Change Reply-To Settings for Your Listserv

To configure your listserv's Reply-To settings, do the following:

1. Log in to Listserv Management at http://listserv.ilstu.edu/.
2. Click List Management > List Dashboard.
3. Click [Configure] beneath the listserv you want to manage.
4. Click the Distribution tab.
5. Locate the Reply-To= option.
6. Click the drop-down menu and choose the desired reply-to option for your listserv. These options are described in more detail above.
   • Note that you should leave the Specify address: field empty unless you choose Specify as your Reply-To setting.
   • For the Existing Reply-To: option, choose Ignore if you want your listserv's Reply-To option to always take effect. For example, if you always want replies to go back to the listserv, you should choose List as your Reply-To: option and Ignore as your Existing Reply-To: option.
7. Click Save.