Privileged Owner Instructions to Create and Manage a Mailing List

NOTE: You must be a member of the Tier_2_privileged_owners list to have permission to create a list. Contact CSE if you think you should be given permission.

• IMPORTANT: Your Browser Configuration

• Create a New Mailing List

• Create or Add an Authorized Poster List

• Duplicating a List's Config for Another List

• Check List Data Sources

• Adding Subscribers to a List

• Subscribing a List's Subscribers to Another List ("List of Lists")

• Other Nonstandard Configurations

• Closing and Deleting a List

• Global Search/Change an Email Address

IMPORTANT: Your Browser Configuration

Create a New Mailing List:

1. Go to the list environment homepage and click the HBS Login button at the top right to log on.
2. In the middle of the page click Create list.
   If this link does not display, it means that you do not have the privileges required to create a list.
3. Give your list a name (only enter the name without the '@' and the domain name - example: languages_spanish and not languages_spanish@listsdev.hbs.edu).
   Use lowercase letters. Do not use any spaces (use underscore_ if necessary), accents or specials characters in list names - those characters will cause problems. Choose an explicit yet short name: think of the subscribers who will have to type this name every time they will send a message to the list! If the requested list is of a certain category with a standard format (for example: mbapartnersyyyy[x]) use that format. Consult with the list requestor if necessary.
4. Choose the appropriate list type template for the type of list format required:
   • Closed sub - closed post list setup - closed subscription and only subscribers may post. Also use this template for Closed plus Authorized posting.
   • Closed sub - authorized post list setup - closed subscription, subscribers CANNOT post, only authorized posters.
   • Closed sub - Open posting list setup - closed subscription, ANYONE who knows the list address may post.
   • Open sub - authorized post list setup - open subscription, only authorized posters.
   • Authorized post list setup - ONLY USE FOR CREATING AUTHORIZED POSTER FILES that will be used with a standard list. No one can post to it.
   • List of lists subs - authorized post list setup - ONLY USE FOR CREATING A LIST WHOSE SUBSCRIBERS ARE DEFINED IN ANOTHER LIST. Uses only Subscriber Data Source to define subscribers, only authorized posters.
5. Enter a subject for the list: a short description of the list's purpose (example: MBA YYYY Sec Z Partners). This subject will display as a header for all the list pages, and will also be visible on list index pages (list of lists, list of your subscriptions, etc.) and in the browser title bar.
6. Choose the audience "HBS Lists" in the 'Audience' drop-menu.

   You must make the selection in this field.

7. Enter a description for the list. This description will display on the list information page.

   Unless there is something special about this list that needs to be communicated, just enter the default phrase
   This list was created by HBS for the internal use of our customers. Please direct any questions to ithelp@hbs.edu
   If the list is an Authorized poster list add:
   Subscribers to this list are allowed to post to other lists in whose configuration this list is a Moderator data source.
   This is the Authorized poster list for [listname]
   If the list has an explicit expiration date add:
   expires 06/01/2028 using the correct date. Otherwise, use 01/01/2099

8. Click the 'Create new list' button. This immediately creates the list and lands you on the list’s Admin page, where you will perform the following administrative configuration tasks: IMPORTANT: Some sets of owners own multiple lists (e.g., the MBA Registrar's Office owns all MBA Section and class lists). Sets of owners like this are contained in a separate list ( e.g. mba_registrar_services_owners) so any owner change may be made once for all associated lists owned. If the new list is to be owned by an owner group, do NOT do steps 10 and 11 below. Instead add the appropriate _owners list as a Data Source:
   • Under "Basic Operations" in the "Edit List Config" dropdown choose Data sources setup
   • On the Data sources setup page, scroll down to the section Owners defined in an external data source (owner_include). "tier_2_privileged_owners" will already exist. Set the fields below those as:
     • "the data source (source)": select "local_list (local_list)".
     • "data source parameters (source_parameters)": enter the name of the owner file (example: mba_registrar_services_owners).
     • "profile (profile)": select "normal owners (normal)"
     • "reception mode (reception)": select "receive notification email (mail)".
     • "visibility (visibility)": select "listed on the list menu (noconceal)".
   • Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the button Apply modifications.
   • Do step 9 below, SKIP steps 10-11, continue with step 12.
9. Under the 'Users' pulldown, select 'Owners' - You will be adding any necessary normal list owners and changing YOUR owner configuration to not receive bounce messages.
10. In the “Add owners” section towards the page bottom, enter the email address of the requested list owner - do NOT check any of the boxes above the field. Then click the 'Apply modifications' button below it.
11. If the list requires additional owners (there should be at least two), repeat the above step for their addresses.

    IMPORTANT: A list owner must be an individual’s address at HBS in order to log into Sympa to manage the list. For example: jdoe@hbs.edu can log in, but mbait_listowner@hbs.edu cannot log in, only receive bounce messages. Similarly, external users cannot be list owners.

    If you are creating a List of Lists (see below) do NOT add any normal owners - instead click on the privileged owner sympaprivilegedowner@hbs.edu and change their reception mode to "receive notification email" then click the Apply modifications button.

    When adding additional owners do NOT check off the "Privileged owner" box. The owner(s) should also own any related "_auth" list (see below) if they are to manage authorized posters.

12. At the bottom of this page click Synchronize owners with data sources
13. Still on the same page, at the top in the "Owners" list you will now see all of the current Tier 2 Privileged Owners, plus any other owners you added. Click on your OWN address to pop up a detail box. Make these changes in the box:
    • i. In reception mode change “receive notification email” to “no notifications”.
    • ii. In Visibility change “listed on the list menu” to “Concealed from list menu”.
    • iii. Click the Apply modifications button.
14. Verify that all Privileged Owners (starred addresses) are set to “no notification” (unless this is a List of Lists, when sympaprivilegedowner@hbs.edu should get notification) and “concealed from menu” – if not, perform i-iii in the prior step to make them so.
15. Subscribe the owners of the new list to the list all_listowners
    • If the owners are one of the existing _owners lists, skip this step as all _owners lists are data sources for all_listowners.
    • If you created a NEW _owners list, add that as a Subscriber Data Source in all_listowners.
    • If the new list owners are individual email addresses, subscribe them to all_listowners. You will get a "failed" message if the address is already subscribed via another list or _owners list.

IF THE LIST REQUIRES AUTHORIZED POSTERS continue as follows:

1. If a new authorized poster file specifically for the new list (or new group of lists, or for an existing list that's already Closed posting) is required, return to your Home page (click Home at top of bar) and create a new list with the name [newlist]_auth using the Authorized post list setup template. This list should be owned by the same owners as the list for which it is a Moderator data source (Example: the list trees_auth should have the same owners as list trees)
   For example, if the list trees@listsdev.hbs.edu needs an authorized poster list, create a list named trees_auth. If the list is to use an existing authorized poster list (like mba_auth) you can skip step #1 and use that existing list's name in the steps following.
2. At the top of the page select "Search for Lists" and find the list that will use the _auth file (Example: find "trees@lists.hbs.edu" because you need to add "trees_auth" to its Data Sources configuration).
   • Click on the list name to go to its home page.
   • Click Admin in the box on the left.
   • Under "Basic Operations" in the "Edit List Config" dropdown choose Data sources setup
3. On the Data sources setup page, scroll down to the section Moderators defined in an external data source (editor_include). Set the fields below as:
   • "the data source (source)": select "local_list (local_list)".
   • "data source parameters (source_parameters)": enter the name of the authorized poster file (example: trees_auth).
   • "reception mode (reception)": select "no notifications (nomail)".
   • "visibility (visibility)": select "concealed form list menu (conceal)".
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the button Apply modifications.
5. Under "Basic Operations" in the "Users" dropdown choose Moderators
6. Click the button Synchronize moderators with data sources If the _auth list is new so you have not yet subscribed the authorized addresses the Synchronize command will not add any moderators - run the command again after adding _auth subscribers.

Duplicating a List's Config for Another List

1. Create the first list, e.g., mba2025a, following the above steps.
2. Return to the "Create a list" page and click Copy an existing list
3. On the resulting page use the pull-down menu to choose the list you wish to copy, e.g., mba2025a.
4. Type the name of the new list you want to create, e.g., mba2025b, in the box and click copy list configuration
5. Click "confirm" to finish the list creation
6. You are now on the Admin page of the new list. If you look at its Data Sources page you will see it has the same owners and moderators as the first list.

Check List Data Sources

1. Hover over "Edit list config" in the red row under "Basic Operations" and select Data sources setup from the dropdown choices.
2. Inspect the information listed:
   • "Subscribers defined in an external data source" will say "default" if none. Will show the name of another list(s) if used, for example "mba2024a".
   • "Owners defined in an external data source" will always contain "tier_2_privileged_owners". If your list is one of several with the same set of owners that owner list will also be listed, for example "mba_reg_owners".
   • "Moderators defined in an external data source" will say "default" if there are no authorized posters. Will show the name of an _auth list if there are moderators, for example "mba_auth".

• If you want to make a change, for instance to remove an authorized poster from all section lists, and in the mba2024a list the moderators are from a data source, for example mba_auth, then do NOT delete the auth poster's address from the currently viewed list mba2024a.
• Instead go to the list that is named as the data source and change its subscribers. In this example go to list mba_auth and silently unsubscribe the poster's address. This deletion will sync with all lists using that _auth list within an hour. The same is true when removing an owner who is part of a _owners list.

Adding Subscribers To a List

1. From the list's Home page (click on the list name when found under "Search for List(s)") under "View or Manage Subscribers" click -> Add/delete subscribers
2. On the "Manage list members" page you can add either individual subscriber addresses or bulk load a list of addresses:
   • To add one subscriber enter their email address in the field, then click the Add button.
   • To add multiple subscribers click the Multiple add, and on the following page paste the list of full subscriber addresses, one per line, formatted as "user@hbs.edu". Then click the Add subscribers button.
   NOTE: you do NOT need to worry about adding duplicate subscribers when adding more single or multiple addresses to an existing list. Sympa will not subscribe an address already subscribed.
3. If the list subscribers you are updating are for an Authorized poster list (like trees_auth) it can take 30 minutes for the authorization change to synchronize unless you perform a manual sync:
   • Go to the Home page of THE LIST(S) USING THE AUTH FILE (like trees@lists.hbs.edu).
   • Click Admin in the box on the left.
   • Under "Basic Operations" in the "Users" dropdown choose Moderators
   • Click the button Synchronize moderators with data sources
   Any non-privileged list owner may do subscribe or unsubscribe tasks themselves on lists they own. They CANNOT do Synchronize moderators with data sources, so may contact you to do so if they need an Authorized Poster change to take immediate effect.

Subscribing a List's Subscribers to Another List ("List of Lists")

Similarly to how an Authorized Poster list's subscribers are added to the Moderators Data Sources of a list (see above), the subscriber files of other lists may be added to the Subscribers Data Sources of the list of lists. Example: each of a class' section lists - mba2023a through mba2023k - are added individually as subscriber external data sources to the list mba2023 to create a full-class list.

1. Create the list following the Create a New Mailing List instructions and using the template List of lists subs - authorized post list setup.
2. Create an _auth list if necessary. Add the new or existing _auth list to the List of List's Moderator Data Source (see above).
3. Also on the Data Sources Setup page. go to Subscribers defined in an external data source and add the names of the lists providing subscribers to this List of Lists:
   • Set "the data source (source)": select "local_list (local_list)".
   • In "data source parameters" enter the name of the list whose subscribers should be included. (For example, if the subscribers come from a section list enter 'mba2023a')
   • Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the button Apply modifications.
   • Repeat these three steps for all of the lists whose subscribers should be included (For example, all of a class' section lists).
4. Under Basic Operations go to Users -> Subscribers. Click the button Synchronize members with data sources.
5. This loads all of the individual addresses from the source lists into the subscriber file of the list of lists, so when you look at the list of list's subscribers you see individual addresses pulled in from the data sources, not the addresses of the source lists themselves. NEVER subscribe a list name (like 'mba2023a@lists.hbs.edu') to another list! If you find a listowner has done so, unsubscribe it and ask a Listmaster if it is appropriate to add as a Data Source (we usually do not want to mix subscribers via Data Source with individual subscribers in a list whose non-IT owner has individual subscriber delete permission (see the next step for why).
6. Managing the individual subscribers to a List of Lists is restricted to Listmasters because unsubscribing individual addresses from the List of List's subscribers will cause problems:
   • To remove a subscriber from a List of Lists (like mba2023) you must unsubscribe the address from the data source list (like mba2023b). On synchronization this will remove the address from the List of Lists.
   • Deleting a subscriber directly from the List of Lists will NOT delete them from the source list - instead it will "exclude" them from the List of List's posts, but they will continue to be subscribed to the source list. Thus in our example deleting "jdoe@mba2023.hbs.edu" from mba2023 means they will stop receiving posts to MBA2023, but will continue to receive posts to their section list. This should never be the case - if the subscribers to a List of Lists need to differ from the contents of their data source lists, then a List of Lists is not the correct type of list to use.
   You MAY delete an entire Subscriber Data Source - on the Data Sources setup page you see a "delete" checkbox next to each data source. Check that, hit Apply modifications, then go to Subscribers Synchronize members with data sources to update the list.

Other Nonstandard Configurations

Allow Subscribers to UNsubscribe Themselves From a Closed Subscription List

Occasionally list owners may want to offer subscribers the option to unsubscribe themselves (for example, the MBA Partners get subscribed to see the MBA Event Calendar daily post, but are not obligated to receive it). The default for most list creation templates is to only allow owners to subscribe and unsubscribe addresses. To allow subscriber self-unsubscription you must change the list's privileges:
• After list creation, or for an existing list, go to the Home page of the list.
• Click Admin in the box on the left.
• Under "Basic Operations" in the "Edit List Config" dropdown menu choose "Privileges".
• In the "Who can unsubscribe" section change the selection from "impossible" to "owners & subscribers only".
• At the page bottom click "Apply modifications".

Prevent Subscribers From Seeing They Are Subscribed to a List

Some lists are populated with subscribers before those people should know they are assigned to that list- for example, MBA section lists before Section Reveal or FIELD destinations before reveal. To prevent a list's subscribers from viewing their membership you must change the list's subscriber visibility:
• After list creation, or for an existing list, go to the Home page of the list.
• Click Admin in the box on the left.
• Under "Basic Operations" in the "Edit List Config" dropdown menu choose "List definition".
• In the "Visibility of the list" section change the selection from "conceal except for subscribers (conceal)" to "conceal even for subscribers (secret)"
• At the page bottom click "Apply modifications".

Allow a non-privileged list owner to own a List of Lists

In certain circumstances an owner of Subscriber Data Source lists may request permission to see the subscribers of the List of Lists using those Data Source lists for example one of the MBA Student Activities owners also owns the Lists of Lists that use the MBA Partners section lists as data sources because they want to count the total number of each class' partners plus use the subscriber Sources column to discover in which section a partner is subscribed.

Note that nonprivileged owners of a List of Lists are not granted permission to edit the subscribers there - they still must add/remove subscribers from the appropriate Data Source list.

Closing and Deleting a List

Privileged Owners may close a list, but only a Listmaster may delete it. Things to keep in mind:
1. Check if the list is using another list as a Data Source.
   • Remove references to all Subscriber, regular Owner and Moderator Data Sources before deleting the list.
   • DO NOT REMOVE tier_2_privileged_owners! That will remove YOU as an owner and you can't do the next steps!
2. Check if the list is used as a Data Source by other lists.
   • You can see this on the to-be-deleted list's Admin page: under Drastic Operations it will say Closing or renaming this list is impossible, because it is included by other mailing list(s). Below this click the button "View lists including [listname]".
   • Visit each mentioned list and remove the Data Source entry for the to-be-deleted list from its Data Source page.
   • Once it has been removed from all lists referencing it the warning message should disappear.
3. Now on the list's Admin page you will see a button "Remove List". Clicking and then verifying the command will close the list and all its components.
4. Assign a task from the ServiceNow Incident requesting list closing to CSE with the Short Description "For a Sympa Listmaster - purge list "

Global Search/Change an Email Address

While all list owners may search their lists for a specific subscriber, only Listmasters may do a global search to see ALL the lists for which an address has specific roles (subscriber/owner/moderator), and only Listmasters may globally change or delete the address. Please open a ServiceNow request to CSE for these needs.