A. LISTSERV is the registered trademark of the commercial mailing list used by the Association. It is spelled in the upper case. It is licensed solely to L-Soft International, Inc. as the name of its mailing list processing product. Therefore the term should not be used generically.

However, it has come into general acceptance. A listserv is a mailing list which is a list of people's names and addresses that is used to send certain messages or announcements to many people at once. Those on the mailing list usually are expected to share a common interest in the contents of the message. You can join and leave the list as you see fit.

A. You should send an e-mail to your LISTSERV's List Owner using the procedures listed below. The List Owner is the NCBA staff member responsible for supporting your LISTSERV, which includes answering the questions from LISTSERV subscribers. They receive all LISTSERV questions and will forward them to other support personal if they are unable to resolve your problem, which can take 1-2 business days. The List Owner also enforces the general rules that the NCBA prescribed for its mailing lists.

To send an e-mail to the List Owner:

1. Address your e-mail to Listservname-request@lists.ncbar.org (e.g., Family-request@lists.ncbar.org).
2. In the subject line briefly identify the problem you are experiencing.
3. In the body of the e-mail provide:
   1. A more detailed description of the problem.
   2. A copy of any error message(s), as appropriate.
   3. Recommended change(s), as appropriate.

A. Each LISTSERV is managed separately by L-Soft, the NCBA's LISTSERV provider, therefore you must subscribe and unsubscribe to each LISTSERV separately. The process for subscribing and unsubscribing to and from NCBA section and division LISTSERV's has been automated. You can access the new "Subscription Manager" tool by clicking here.

NOTE: LISTSERV participation is restricted to NCBA members only and you will be prompted to log in if you have not already done so. Section and division LISTSERV usage is further restricted to section and division members only. Please contact the NCBA Sections department at sections@ncbar.org or (919)677-0651 if any of your section or division memberships are not correct . You can also join a section or division by clicking here.

A. If you want to reply to everyone on the list, the easiest thing to do is click on the reply button. This method has the added feature of keeping the subject or topic and replies together forming a thread. Your message is connected to all other replies for a specific original message.

On most e-mail clients there is an option to include the sender's message along with your e-mail. Please make certain you do NOT include the sender's message. When subscribers include the sender's message, it is repeated over and over again in everyone's e-mail.

If you want to reply only to the sender, send a separate, private e-mail.

Always think before sending any message. Ask yourself a few simple questions.

Who is getting the message. Do you want it to go to the entire group? Should I just send a private e-mail to one or two people? Is there anything that will embarrass me or others contained in my message? If you were in a meeting, would you look around to see if someone could overhear what you were going to say?

Take those same precautions before sending any e-mail, not only when responding to a mailing list.

A. In the TO box of your e-mail, type in the <listname>@lists.ncbar.org. Again using the fictional list COURT, the entry would be court@lists.ncbar.org. Type in a subject line describing the content of your message just as you would in any other e-mail. Type your message in the body and send it. It will be delivered in a matter of minutes to all people subscribed to the list.

There are two options available for changing your email address for the NCBA LISTSERVs that you participate on.

Option 1: The process has been automated and you can access the "Change Email Address" tool 24 hours a day by clicking here.

Option 2: You can contact NCBA Staff personnel Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5 PM by sending an email to listservhelp@ncbar.org with the following information:

1. Old email address
   
2. New email address
   
3. Name(s) of the LISTSERV(s) that you belong to where your email address needs to be changed
   
4. AND, if your email address needs to be changed in the NCBA membership data records, too, which is important since they are two (2) separate systems.
   

NOTE:

1. You must repeat this process for all of the LISTSERVs that you participate on, since each LISTSERV is managed separately.
   
2. You must be an NCBA member and member of the associated section. division, or committee to be able to participate on their LISTSERV.
   
   

A.

1. Go to http:/lists.ncbar.org/SCRIPTS/WA-NCBAR.EXE?REPORT&z=3
2. You will be instructed to log in or create a password using your current e-mail address.
3. Select the "get a new LISTSERV password" link in the first paragraph.
4. The "Registering your LISTSERV password" page is displayed. ENTER the following information:
   1. Your Current e-mail address
   2. New password in the "Password" box and "Password (again)" box.
5. Select "Register Password"
6. You will receive an e-mail at your e-mail address requesting confirmation of your password change with a link to select.
7. Select the link in the e-mail and the "Password Saved" page is displayed.
   1. Your new password is now saved on your machine.
8. Select "Lists.ncbar.org" at the bottom left-hand part of the page and "Welcome to LISTSERV” screen is displayed.
9. Select "Subscribers Corner"
10. Select the LISTSERV you wish to view from the "List Names" column.

A. LISTSERV will only accept messages from the e-mail address with which you registered. You have to remember to change your e-mail address with the list to which you are subscribed. You change your e-mail address by sending the CHANGE command to LISTSERV@lists.ncbar.org.

In the body of the e-mail enter CHANGE <listname> * <new address>. This asterisk will tell the server to change your address on all lists to which you are subscribed. Using the list court as an example, you would send the command CHANGE court * jdoe@isp.com. If you only want to change the list court, omit the asterisk.

The default subscription or delivery option for the NCBA's LISTSERVs is a "Regular" subscription where emails are sent as soon as they are processed by L-Soft, the NCBA's LISTSERV provider. You can change your subscription to a "Digest" type, which allows you to receive one message a day that lists all of the days messages and is usually transmitted at night.

The process for changing your subscription options for the NCBA section and division LISTSERVs has been automated. You can access the new "Subscription Options" tool by clicking here.

NOTE: You must be an NCBA member and member of the associated section, division, or committee to be able to participate on their LISTSERV.

A. Yes. Usually this is done when you go on vacation or on an extended business trip. However, you can take this option if you want to be a member of the mailing list but receive no mail. You still would have access to the archives and would have to periodically check them to determine which messages you wanted to review.

The command is SET <listname> NOMail. Make certain you send the command to LISTSERV@lists.ncbar.org. When you return from your absence, you can send the message SET <listname> Mail and you will begin receiving mail again according to your subscription options. You can review the archived messages to see what you missed. See the next question on how to access the archives.

A. Messages sent to subscribers are saved in files for future reference called archives, which are also known as list notebooks or list logs. The archives are organized in log files, which is a disk file containing everything posted on the list during a given month. You can access the LISTSERV archives through the Internet by using your web browser as follows:

1. Go to NCBA web page: www.ncbar.org
2. Select "LISTSERV" in menu bar on left-hand side of page.
3. Select "Sections/Divisions Member LISTSERV Login" on right-hand side of page
4. Enter your NCBA Member # and Password, and select Log In
5. Select "Real Property LISTSERV"
6. Select Month, which you want to view
7. Select "Sort By:" choices at top of page:
   a. "Author", "Date", or "Topic" (default)
   b. "Chronologically" (default) or "Most recent first"
   
8. Select “Options:” choices at top of page:
   a. “Show table of contents” or “Hide table of contents” (default)
   NOTE: Only one choice can be selected at a time from either list.
9. The LISTSERV archive order is changed whenever you select another option.

A. This happens when an e-mail is written in "plain text" or "rich text" format and a signature or confidentiality statement in "HTML" format is added by your e-mail server prior to sending the e-mail. The two competing formats result in a truncated e-mail, usually deleting the body of the message and leaving just the signature or confidentiality statement.

If you send an e-mail to the LISTSERV which does not contain the entire message, try resending it in "HTML" format, so the body and the added signature or confidentiality statement use the same format. You can change your e-mail text format for all messages by changing the settings. To do this in Outlook you select: "Tools" --> "Options" --> "Mail Format" and "HTML" in the "Send in this message format" box.

A. SPAM is an Internet term meaning unsolicited e-mail or USENET postings that are usually bulk mailings or commercial advertising. Proselytizing,, racist tracts and shady pyramid schemes also qualify. The more traditional junk e-mail also is SPAM.

The best method of responding to SPAM is to ignore it by deleting it. You may send a Remove command to the spammer, but experts warn that you probably will receive more spam since by replying you have confirmed that your e-mail address is active. If you decide to send a Remove command, copy the spammer's e-mail address and send the Remove to it using a separate, private e-mail. Do not reply to the mailing list. Again, experts recommend you not reply.

Replying to a SPAM message using the reply button only exacerbates the problem for the mailing list. What you are doing is re-sending the SPAM message to everyone again. In reality, you are helping the spammer by spreading the message and aggravating your fellow subscribers.

YES, the NCBA’s LISTSERV has built in virus protection that prevents viruses from being transmitted among participating members. L-Soft, the company that hosts the NCBA’s 80+ LISTSERV’s, automatically updates its virus protection library frequently to make sure that our LISTSERV participants are protected.

The reason that you might receive virus alerts from e-mails that appear to be coming from the NCBA’s LISTSERV is because the actual originator of the e-mail is being “Spoofed” to look like it’s coming from someone else. The “spoofed” e-mail appears like an e-mail from an e-mail address that you are familiar with (e.g., LISTSERV), which is collected from the e-mail address list of a computer infected by the virus (i.e., not protected). The “worm” portion of the virus then resends the e-mail with the virus to you with the LISTSERV or another familiar e-mail address in the “To” field.

The best defense against this and other types of viruses is to install virus protection software on your computer and network server(s). It is also very important that you make sure that the virus protection software is enabled/on AND that your virus libraries / definitions are updated at least weekly.

Some recommended virus protection programs that the NCBA uses or is familiar with are:
-  Symantec Antivirus
-  Trend Micro Antivirus
-  McAfee VirusScan