. . . (blues-l@brownvm.brown.edu) with a newsgroup mirror (bit.listserv.blues-l) devoted to the discussion of the blues in all its forms. Blues-L is located at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; it has been in operation there since April 14, 1993. Blues-L is not moderated, but it is managed by a group of volunteer subscribers, affectionately known as "list moms." The current number of subscribers is about 800.

ONLY SUBSCRIBERS TO BLUES-L ARE ABLE TO POST MESSAGES TO THE LIST, EITHER BY E-MAIL OR THROUGH THE NEWSGROUP. While anyone, including non-subscribers, can read the newsgroup, all messages from non-subscribers, whether posted to the newsgroup or sent by e-mail, will be automatically rejected by the listserv software. See below for subscription information.

Subscribers can either:

1. Receive e-mail messages from the list, either individually as they are sent (which can be about 100 messages a day) or as a daily digest, receiving all the messages sent the previous day as one large e-mail message (which can be about 200 K).

2. Read the newsgroup, setting subscription parameters to NOMAIL (see below), and thus not receiving e-mail from the list.

3. Send messages to the list either as e-mail (to blues-l@brownvm.brown.edu), or post messages to the newsgroup (bit.listserv.blues-l), just like other newsgroups.

Non-subscribers are able to:

read Blues-L via the newsgroup, but are not able to post messages. Fortunately, it is very easy, and completely free and painless, to subscribe to Blues-L.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ALL REQUESTS CONCERNING SUBSCRIPTIONS MUST BE ADDRESSED TO: LISTSERV@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU, not the actual list address.

To subscribe to Blues-L:

send an e-mail message to: listserv@brownvm.brown.edu

Leave the subject line blank (or put anything in the subject line if your software requires it).

In the body of the message, put the following message:

SUBSCRIBE BLUES-L your name

The listserv software will send you a message asking you to confirm your subscription. Reply to this message according to the instructions and you will be immediately subscribed to Blues-L and ready to tell the listserv software how you want to read and post to Blues-L.

You will also receive at this point important instructions about how to send other commands, including the command to UNsubscribe from Blues-L (see below). PLEASE keep these instructions in a safe place -- where you can find them easily when you need them.

1. If you want to receive individual messages through e-mail, you do not need to do anything. This is the default subscription option.

2. If you want to receive a daily e-mail digest of the previous day's messages to Blues-L, send a message to:

listserv@brownvm.brown.edu

with a message in the body as follows:

SET BLUES-L DIGEST

3. If you want to read the newsgroup instead of receiving and reading the list through e-mail, send a message to:

listserv@brownvm.brown.edu

with a message in the body as follows:

SET BLUES-L NOMAIL

To UNsubscribe from Blues-L:

send a message to:

listserv@brownvm.brown.edu

with a message in the body as follows:

SIGNOFF BLUES-L

For assistance with these procedures, or to reach a real, live "list mom" at any time, send a message to:

blues-l-request@brownvm.brown.edu

A real live person will be glad to help you with any problems you have....

....concerning Blues-L, of course.