When you are adding a file to Mailbase, you will be sent a template which you have to fill in carefully.

The Template

OWNER PASSWORD secret-password ADD FILE listname filename DESCRIPTION: Type description here TYPE: Give the type of file here AUTHOR: Give author's name here TEXT: Insert the text of the file here ENDTEXT:

Filename

• This is the name your file will be given when it is added to the Mailbase file archives.

• The complete name, including the extension, must be 20 characters or less.

• It is a good idea to use the following filename extensions when giving the filename

  file.txt	plain text file
  file.rtf	RTF (Rich Text Format) file
  file.ps	postScript file
  file.html	Webpage

• If the file is an introduction file, to be sent automatically to new members of the list, it MUST be called introduction And don't use a file extension.

Description

• This must be 300 characters or less.

• When people get a list of available files by email, they'll see the description.

Type

• This is a description of the type of file, so people know what to expect when they retrieve a file by email.
• You would normally type one of the following:
  • ascii text
  • postscript
  • RTF
  • HTML (web)

Author

• This must be 150 characters or less.

• It can be a name, an email address or both.

Text

• The text of your file should appear between the lines reading TEXT: and ENDTEXT

• Your email program should allow you to insert or read a file into the body of your message.

• Please do not send attached files - Mailbase does not yet have the facility to deal with these.

When finished

Send the completed template back to mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk

Example Template

OWNER PASSWORD secret-password ADD FILE newusers introduction DESCRIPTION: This is an introduction to my list TYPE: Text AUTHOR: Bronwen Reid, B.A.Reid@newcastle.ac.uk TEXT: Welcome to the list NEWUSERS This is a list for new Mailbase users. ENDTEXT:

Updating Files

When you're updating a file, you can omit parts of the template.

For example, if you are only updating the text of the file you can leave out the description, file type and author.

OWNER PASSWORD secret-password UPDATE FILE listname filename TEXT: The new text of the file goes in here ENDTEXT:

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