Users Frequently Asked Questions
You cannot subscribe to a list
Possible reason:
- Subscription to the list is restricted to a certain category of people - for example, only members of a certain seminar. To know more, contact list owners.
You cannot log on to the mailing list web interface
Possible reasons:
- You have no HBS CAS/Duo login privileges. Only users with HBS.EDU addresses that include full O365 accounts may log in to the Sympa web interface.
- You are not using the correct HBS password or do not have Duo authentication set up. Please test this by attempting to log on to my.hbs.edu - if that also fails please contact TSS for assistance.
If you are subscribed to certain HBS lists using a non-HBS.EDU address (@harvard.edu, @gmail.com, etc.) You can find out the names of the lists to which you are subscribed by sending an email to Sympa@lists.hbs.edu with the single word WHICH in the subject line.
Once you know the list name, you may contact the list owners to request assistance (unsubscription, other list questions).
You do not receive / stop receiving ALL messages sent to a list
This problem can have multiple reasons:
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You have never been subscribed to the list:
- Your address was not entered correctly when it was subscribed.
- You are subscribed with an email address other than the one you are checking.
- You are not allowed to be subscribed to this list. For example, Contractors are not subscribed to the HBS-Staff list.
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You are not subscribed to the list anymore.
You can find out the names of the lists to which you are subscribed by sending an email to Sympa@lists.hbs.edu with the single word WHICH in the subject line. If the response does not include the list you are wondering about, you are no longer subscribed.
Possible reasons for unsubscription:
If you know the list name, you may contact the list owners to request assistance, or email TSS.- Your HBS address changed (due to name change of some sort), forwarding is not enabled from the old address and the subscription was not updated.
- If your address bounces the list owners will be notified and will unsubscribe that address. Even if there was a name change and forwarding was enabled from the old address sometimes the timing of the change occurs when a post was made before forwarding was set up. Ask the list owners to resubscribe you with the correct address.
- If your MBA class or Executive Education program has graduated/completed, your section or participant list has been decommissioned. Please contact HBS External Relations to learn more about communication options available for alumni/ae.
- List messages are being routed to your Spam/Junk/Deleted folder. Please check these folders for posts from the list before saying you are not receiving them. If list posts are being treated as spam, please consult with your mail application's Help documentation and/or service desk to help you whitelist or remove from your personal blacklist.
- Your inbox is/was full. If your Inbox is full, or was full when the list post arrived, the list post will bounce and you might be unsubscribed by the list owners.
- Your inbox is subject to some restrictions: it does not allow you to receive messages with attachments, bans some types of attachments or limits the maximum size of incoming messages. Check with your mail service about possible limitations.
You cannot send messages to a list
This problem can have multiple reasons:
- You have never been subscribed to the list:
- You are not subscribed to the list anymore:
- You are using another address than the one with which you are subscribed to the list.
- The list is for announcements from certain authorized addresses only - no one else, subscribed or not, may post. If you think you should be authorized to post, send the details (list name, why you should be allowed to post) to the list owners. If you don't receive a reply, open a ticket with ithelp@hbs.edu.
- The message you are trying to send does not fulfill the conditions to be distributed on the list: it may be too large or contain a forbidden type of attachment.
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The problem may also come from your email account:
- The mail server is temporarily unavailable.
- Your inbox is full and it prevents you from sending new messages.
- Your inbox is subject to some restrictions: it does not allow you to send messages with attachments, bans some types of attachments or limits the maximum size of outgoing messages.
- You might have made a mistake in the list address when sending your message! Note: list posting addresses are of the form "listname@lists.hbs.edu" - the address that appears in a post's FROM line as "listname-request@lists.hbs.edu" is an alias that goes to the list OWNERS not to the list.
You cannot unsubscribe from a list
This problem can have multiple reasons:
- The list does not allow subscribers to unsubscribe themselves. Most HBS lists require list owner action to unsubscribe anyone. Contact the list owners to ask about this - in many cases it is a requirement for you to be subscribed to some lists (like your MBA section list).
- You are using another address than the one with which you are subscribed to the list.
- You are subscribed through a dynamic data source (examples: all subscribers of MBA section lists are data sources for subscribers to the full MBA class list) which does not allow you to unsubscribe. Contact the list owners to know more about this.