University Computer Help Desk

Before You Begin

A moderated listserv requires email messages sent to the listserv to be approved by a moderator before they are delivered to listserv members.

As a listserv owner, you can configure your listserv for moderation by logging in to the Listserv Management website at http://listserv.ilstu.edu/.

• 1740: Logging in to Listserv Management

When one of your subscribers sends an email to your listserv, he or she will get an email back that says, "Message forwarded to moderator."

To configure your listserv for moderation, you must designate at least one moderator. The moderator(s) of your listserv will be responsible for approving or rejecting postings made by subscribers.

You may also want to designate one or more editors. Editors are allowed to bypass moderation and can post directly to your listserv. To avoid needing to have your own emails approved by a moderator, you should make yourself an editor.

Configure Listserv for Moderation

To configure your listserv to be moderated, 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 List Maintenance tab.
5. Locate the Editor= field.
   • Enter the email address of the person you want to make an editor of your listserv. (This is optional.) You can specify more than one editor, but if you do, make sure you only have one email address per line.
   • Editors are allowed to post to your listserv without needing approval from a moderator. You should consider making yourself an editor so messages you send do not need to be approved by a moderator.
   • Only the first editor will receive emails sent to the listserv, by default. Additional editors can be made moderators or subscribers (in addition to their editor status) if you want them to receive messages posted to your listserv.
6. Locate the Moderator= field.
   • Click the drop-down menu, and select either All or Round-robin. Selecting All will cause all emails posted to your listserv to be sent to all moderators, whereas selecting Round-robin will cause emails posted to your listserv to be sent to each moderator in turn.
   • Enter the email address of the person you want to make a moderator of your listserv. You can specify more than one moderator, but if you do, make sure you only have one email address per line.
7. Click Save.
8. Click the Access Control tab.
9. Locate the Send= field.
10. Click the drop-down menu and select Editor.
    • This means that only listserv editors can post directly to the list. All other subscribers must have their posts approved by a moderator before they will be delivered.
11. Click Save.

How Listserv Moderation Works

When subscribers send email to your listserv, their messages must be approved by a moderator before they will be delivered.

Subscribers

When one of your subscribers sends an email to your moderated listserv, he or she will get an email back that says, "Message forwarded to moderator." This email informs the subscriber that his or her email has been sent to the listserv, but has not yet been delivered. Once the moderator approves the message, it will be posted to the listserv and all subscribers will receive it.

Moderators

Moderators must approve messages posted by your subscribers. If you are a moderator, you will periodically receive messages with subject lines like "LISTSERVNAME-L: approval required (6B2F338)." These emails contain the subscriber's original post, which you should review before deciding to approve or reject the message.

To approve the message, click the APPROVE link in the email you received. The link will look like this:

• To APPROVE the message:
  http://listserv.ilstu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?OK=6B2F3338&L=LISTERVNAME-L

To reject a message awaiting moderation, do nothing. The approval email will expire on its own.