obtain the Listserv Refcard document. You can do this by sending a
message to: [email protected] with the message:
info ref
...and it will be sent automatically to you. Do it now, please.
OPERA-L was created in the Spring of 1990 by Demi Getschko in Sao Paulo,
Brazil and originally ran on a bitnet Mailserver. Shortly thereafter the
node upgraded to the internet node merak.fapesp.br, and the list was
maintained manually for 4 1/2 years with valiant effort by Alberto Courrege
Gomide. The pioneering efforts of these two people enabled OPERA-L to
survive and become a community of enthusiastic and often passionate
correspondents. We will always be grateful to them.
For most people, the only correct address for sending postings to OPERA-L is:
[email protected] (It is not necessary for it to be in all uppercase letters.) Some people
at educational institutions might still have BITNET (a predecessor of the
Internet); those who do can also post using the BITNET address which is
indicated on the accompanying welcome document.
If you are a new subscriber, it may be wise to read OPERA-L for several days
before posting until you discover its character. This should make it easier
for you to address subscribers when you are ready to post for the first
time. Subscribers include professionals and amateurs with extraordinary
expertise. We are all opera lovers, and some of us include musicologists,
singers, stage designers, composers, librarians, critics, and fans. Giving
yourself several days to read through posts without responding (what is known
as "lurking"), you and other new subscribers can calibrate expertise and
avoid embarassment.
As when dealing with a new group of colleagues or potential friends, it
is optionally suggested that you introduce yourself to subscribers.
not display correctly.
Please do not use any foreign characters or diacritical marks, as many
people's e-mail readers will not interpret them correctly.
If you are uploading a posting creating off-line in a word processor or
other text editor, please make sure your document is saved as "text only"
without any kind of formatting.
Each posting to OPERA-L should end with the author's full name and e-mail
address. Most people also find a geographic location helpful, and many
people like to include an academic or occupational affiliation.
signature. Many e-mail software readers offer a simple way of creating
and appending a signature file to your messages, and it is worthwhile to
inquire of your e-mail administrator or internet provider about how to
accomplish this.
yourself. Software for reading e-mail can sometimes suppress the initial
material prior to the start of postings, preventing identification of the
sender. In addition, if your posting lasts longer than one screen, people
reading your message may forget or have neglected to see who you were
before starting to read.
please sign each of your postings.
80th message is posted, all subsequent messages are held in a queue until
12:45 AM New York Time when they are released. Generally these 'extra'
messages are counted as part of the previous day's number.
several things you want to ask, say or reply to, it is often advisable to
combine several subjects into one message. In this way, you will lower the
chance of hitting the 80th message, forcing other subscribers' messages to
OPERA-L is set so that the sender of the message is listed in the return
address. It is a natural desire to want to respond to a posting. But
before you start to write your message please take a moment to think about
where your comments are best directed. It is a very good policy to resist
an immediate response, but wait at least several *hours* before responding
so that you not get caught up with an instantaneous and perhaps not well
formulated or researched response. Consider these choices:
agreement or disagreement from which only the original poster and
perhaps a few others will benefit? In that case you should NOT post to the
list, but instead send your message to the person who wrote the original
posting.
disagree with a posting AND you think that many of the other list members
will want to see what you have to say? Then you should consider posting
your response to the list.
subscribers or just to the original poster.
for being based at CUNY - the City University of New York - I have to
continuously purge the OPERA-L archive of unnecessary messages or those
of merely a cordial nature. I have to do this *manually*; it is a very,
very time-consuming job to re-read messages and delete those that
don't offer much information. In no way do I want to stifle
subscribers' creativity or responses. But I do want for everyone to
consider whether your one- or two-line quip or witicism is really
absolutely necessary. (At least provide a paragraph of background or
context.)
message is necessary for all 1,500+ subscribers to read. There is
nothing to stop you from sending your message to the person who will most
benefit from your posting - the original writer of the message to which
you are responding.
When responding to a previous posting some people like to include a
portion of it in their posting. In most cases this is NOT necessary as
the subject header makes clear what is the topic under discussion.
you MUST quote a previous posting, you are asked to *judiciously* edit the
original posting to the minimum amount of lines that you think are relevant.
Sometimes it may be easier to simply paraphrase the original poster's intent
or question in one or two sentences. Do not forget to include the original
poster's name(s) and e-mail address(es). Most quotations or summaries can
be made in about 4-5 lines; please do NOT exceed this length.
the thread of thought from one poster to another. (This is especially true
for those who did not read the posting to which you are responding).
Editing out unnecessary lines from the original posting makes it faster and
easier to read through your response. In addition, there are quite a few
subscribers who pay for internet access based on the length of message. So
by judiciously editing postings you will be helping others to use their on-
line time more efficiently.
If you go away or are unable to keep up with OPERA-L for a few days you need
not unsubscribe, but you SHOULD set your option to NOMAIL. In this way you
will turn off the flow of mail (or digests or indexes) for the duration of
your stay away. When you return it is a simple matter to turn on the flow
of mail (or digests or indexes).
amount of messages they can receive. When this limit is reached, postings
are usually rejected and sent back to their point of distribution, and the
potential for trouble arises. Listserv software (the software which enables
OPERA-L to be distributed) has mechanisms for dealing with this, and if
messages from a recipient are consistently rejected that person will be
automatically removed from the list, and will be informed with an
automatically-generated acknowledgment. It is a simple matter to
resubscribe.
DELETE your mail EVERY DAY so that your mailbox does not fill up. (This
is a particular difficulty of America OnLine users, who are not given a
lot of space to store messages.)
archive. For more information on this please see the initial welcome
message under the paragraph that deals with the index command.
leaving the subject header blank, and on the first line of the message write
the following:
the following:
character after the dash is the letter L, NOT the number 1.)
commands are sent to [email protected] and not OPERA-L itself.
No commands should ever be sent to OPERA-L.
When sitting alone facing the computer screen, it is very easy to get lost
in the virtual world of the Internet. Sometimes one can get quite
emotionally charged from holding discussions with other correspondents, or
simply just speaking one's mind.
necessarily make appropiate postings for a list of over 1,500 subscribers.
One should WAIT several hours before posting a response. This will give
you time to refine your ideas; the distance in time will also help you to
judge whether your posting really contributes to the discussion.
One should carefully word a posting and take care to proof-read what has
been written.
(e.g. a birth date, a record number, the cast of a performance, etc.).
Please do NOT bother to respond to such questions unless you are prepared
to answer the specifics of the question. Mere guesses are not very
helpful and unnecesarily spend the resources of CUNYVM (the machine that
runs OPERA-L and serves as a major internet gateway). There are many
people who have easy access to numerous important reference sources.
Perhaps because I am a librarian, I recommend you leave such questions to
be answered by people with such expertise.
Please refrain from posting one- or two-line messages. Such one-liners
unnecessarily tax the resources of CUNYVM, the machine that runs
OPERA-L. If you are asking a question, try to amplify it with
examples,or suggest possible responses, or explain the background and
reasons why you ask the question. If you are responding to a question
with a one-line answer, try instead to provide some context for your
answer, making it the product of responsible rather than hasty thought.
Let's face it: Opera is a subject that affects many people on a deep
and personal level. On occasions it may happen that a person will
unthinkingly send a message that borders on a personal attack, causing a
group of people to become embroiled in a continuing argument.
(This is known as a flame.)
people making personal attacks, I will change their subscription status so
that all their messages will be sent to me first for approval or
disapproval. There will be NO warning.
status where ALL messages sent to the list must be approved by me.
This is wrong. There are many other
electronic mailing lists created to discuss almost any topic that it is
possible to conceive. At times it may seem of utmost importance to the
subscriber to post to the list news of assassinations, catastrophes,
computer viruses [many of which are bogus], or other earth-shaking
events. But this should be resisted. One should not burden OPERA-L
subscribers with non-operatic-related postings, even if they seem of major
importance. If you have any doubt, ask me first.
5. How many people are subscribed to OPERA-L
To find how many people are subscribed to OPERA-L, you send a modification
of the review command to the Listserv address:
rev opera-l sh noh
That is: REView OPERA-L SHort NOHeader.
You will get a short message indicating:
1) the number of concealed users, 2) the number of unconcealed users, and
3) the number of CUNYVM users. If you add these three figures you
will have the accurate number of subscribers to OPERA-L.
Other modifications to the review command (e.g. by country) are given on
the Listserv Refcard (see section 1 above).
A) Digests
Instead of receiving each posting separately, subscribers can receive
OPERA-L in digest form. A digest contains all the messages with their
subject lines posted at the beginning of the message. As of this
writing, digests are sent out when the threshold of 500 lines has been
reached. For those who pay for their internet connection based on length
of messages, digest format represents a slightly cheaper use of e-mail,
since there is only one header per mailing (as opposed to a header
included for each posting). For those billed by the message,
concatenation of several postings into one digest can be a significant
saving.
To receive OPERA-L in digest form, send the following message to
[email protected] leaving the subject header blank and writing this
on the first line:
set opera-l digest
To remove the digest format, send the following command
set opera-l nodig
B) Index
When the index option has been set you receive a list of postings stating
only their subject lines and authors. The texts of the postings are not
included, but each is assigned a special number. Indexes, like digests,
can be generated up to about 4 or 5 times a day. Though each index
posting comes with instructions, even I admit that they can be
confusing. If you have problems, write to me directly (see the address
below) and I'll try to be of help.
For those who pay for their internet connection based on
length of messages, this is the potentially the most economical way of
keeping abreast of what is being discussed in OPERA-L.
To receive OPERA-L in index form, send the following message to
[email protected] leaving the subject header blank and writing this
on the first line of the message:
set opera-l index
To return to receiving regular mail, send the following message to
set opera-l noind
The complete set of options for modifying and customizing the way you
receive OPERA-L is given in the document Listserv Refcard (mentioned
above). Please remember that all commands are NEVER sent to OPERA-L
but to [email protected] (or any Listserv address).
7. Response time of the list and delays
The Internet is neither a stable nor a consistent medium. In moving from
its sender to its recipient, a message often has to traverse a number of
routes, nodes, and gateways, anywhere from as little as two or three to
possibly over twenty or thirty. If any one of these gateways are
temporarily down, the message will be delayed. Though e-mail often
takes minutes to arrive at its destination, there is no guarantee of
the amount of time that a message will take to reach its destination.
Often the Internet experiences congestion or difficulties which result in
a temporary delay in delivery. Delays happen often enough that they
should be regarded as TYPICAL for the Internet. Delays may often be
prolonged on weekends when, understandably, the many people who insure
that the Internet runs smoothly take their days off from work.
In many cases, delays are out of the control of either CUNY or your
Internet service provider. Most Internet providers allow for a queue of
messages, and it is likely that mail intended for you will be held for a
few days. Some providers will hold messages waiting for you for as long
as two weeks. As the saying goes "Patience is a virtue."
Sometimes subscribers experience periods where they do not receive any
messages from OPERA-L -- from anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
Here are some typical problems and suggestions for resolving them:
Problem: You are not receiving any messages at all, from OPERA-L or
virtually any other list.
Answer: You probably have a local problem with your Internet Service
Provider. Please contact them for further information.
Problem: You are receiving messages from all correspondents
*except* from OPERA-L.
Answer: This could be one of three things:
1) There is a particular problem with your subscription or
Internet Service Provider; or
2) Mail from the list is delayed due to congestion; or
3) You could have been unsubscribed from OPERA-L.
Do NOT post to the list about it!!! Instead follow these guidelines:
Step #1: First test to see if Listserv is running. To the Listserv
address, [email protected] send the following message:
thank
This test is designed so that you should receive a message back in a short
time.
Step #2: Next, check to see if you are still subscribed to OPERA-L.
First try the quick method, the scan command. Use a fragment of your
address. For example, my address is: [email protected]. I can
use any fragment of that in the scan command. To the Listserv address,
[email protected], I could send the following:
scan opera-l kosov
This will find any subscribers' names that match the fragment "kosov."
(This is also a fast and efficient way of locating other subscribers'
addresses.)
Step #3: If you receive a suitable response from Listserv, you may want
to try a longer verification of your subscription known as the "query"
command. To the Listserv address, [email protected], send the
following:
query opera-l
This will return information about your subscription.
If you receive successful responses to the three steps above, then there
is probably nothing wrong with your subscription, and you just have to
wait patiently for the Internet congestion to clear.
Remember: do NOT post to the list about your lack of mail.
If you do not receive successful responses (and you should wait a good
number of hours in order to receive them), you can then contact me.
8. Files
In addition to keeping the log files (virtually all the messages posted to
the list as of March 1995), the OPERA-L fileserver keeps several files of
general interest to its subscribers. To see a list of these files and
the log files, send this message to [email protected]
ind opera-l
Brief instructions for obtaining files using the "get" command will be
found on the Listserv Refcard (see above).
9. Resources
You may want to check out websites maintained by subscribers that
give information about OPERA-L as well as opera/vocal sites in general:
Opera-L Pictures, Biographies, & More (maintained by Gene Lavergne):
http://www.atreus.com/operal.html
OperaStuff (maintained by Keith Moulton):
http://www.columbia.edu/~km34/sing.html
The two sites above contain links to an enormous amount of helpful and
useful websites.
The Metropolitan Opera:
http://www.metopera.org
In addition to OPERA-L there are other e-mail lists dealing with vocal
music:
VOCALIST: http://lists.oulu.fi/lists/vocalist/
LIEDER-L: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/lieder-l.html
You might also be interested in the newgroup rec.music.opera
10. Retrieving old messages.
Virtually all the significant messages posted to OPERA-L are retained in
the list's archive. Messages are kept in log files on a weekly basis
(known as notebooks). The full list of available notebooks are available
with the index opera-l command (mentioned above).
Listserv also offers powerful database searching, so that OPERA-L can be
searched in simple and complex ways. One subscriber, Jared Weinberger, has
set up a homepage for illustrating how to search and I strongly recommend
reading it:
http://www.mindspring.com/~jaredmarkw/search.htm
Listserv also comes with its own manual for searching. To retrieve that
document you should send the following message to [email protected]
info database
I welcome questions that you have about database searching.
11. Disseminating OPERA-L
Under copyright law, every message posted to OPERA-L is copyrighted by
the author(s), and is intended only for subscribers of OPERA-L.
No message is to be reposted, printed out and distributed, or
otherwise disseminated in any manner FOR ANY REASON without the consent
of the author(s) of the message.
12. Unsubscribing
To unsubscribe from OPERA-L, send a message to the Listserv address with
the words:
signoff opera-l
13. Change of your address
Subscribers' email addresses can change, either due to a switch of
Internet Service Providers, or through upgrading of a provider's system.
You can not "change" the address of your subscription to OPERA-L. You
must unsubscribe from the list while still using one address, and then
resubscribe from the new address.
14. Trading Recordings or Videotapes
Many people may not realize that casual trading and copying of most
recordings is illegal activity. While I don't see much to worry about if
you want to post about your house sale, I do see major problems with
solicitations and requests for tape copies of copyrighted material.
Whatever the status of copyright law where you live, where OPERA-L is
based -- in New York City -- such illegal activities would fall under
three different jurisdictions: federal, state and city.
*** In no way can OPERA-L be a vehicle for the illegal trade or exchange
of copyrighted material. ***
Here are some examples of posting which should *NOT* appear on OPERA-L:
"I missed the telecast/broadcast yesterday; can anyone send me a copy?"
"I used to have this LP years ago and it's out of print and not on CD;
can anyone make a copy?"
The above are INAPPROPRIATE postings to OPERA-L, since they solicit
illegal activity.
I suggest you use only PRIVATE MAIL for contacting with parties with whom
you think you may have an interest.
15. Problems
There may be times when difficulties arise as a result of your subscription.
Do NOT seek assistance by posting to OPERA-L. Rather, contact me,
the listowner, whose address appear at the end of this document, or
your local e-mail administrators.
Listserv will automatically unsubscribe an address that generates
numerous error messages. An error message results when mail is unable to
reach you. This can occur because of incorrectly configured mail-reading
software. It often occurs because of problems with your local Internet
Service Provider.
Error messages may also occur if your mailbox has been filled to capacity.
All the messages that can't reach you are returned to Listserv as error
messages. When this happens for a few hours, I set the offending
addresses's subscription to the digest option. If I see that the mailbox
has not been cleared out in a day or two, I remove that person's
subscription.
In the jargon of electronic mail this identifying information is known as a
The reason for appending a signature to your message is to identify
Taking authorial responsibility for your post is a basic courtesy, so
Currently OPERA-L is set to a daily threshold of 80 messages. After the
In addition, each subscriber is limited to two posts per day. If you have
--- Do you want to add a word or two of acknowledgment,
--- Do you want to amplify, correct, or vociferously (but kindly)
Always think about whether your response is best directed to all
I ask this of subscribers for a selfish reason. As part of the agreement
You can be doing me a very big favor by *carefully* considering if your
I try to discourage people from quoting text from a previous posting. If
This makes it easier for others to understand what you are saying and follow
This is because most recipients of e-mail have a limit to the
PLEASE! Make sure that you forestall an unpleasant situation: READ and
You will be able to read the messages you missed by retrieving them from the
To turn off the flow of mail, send a message to [email protected]
set opera-l nomail
To restart your mail send a message to the location listed above and write
set opera-l mail
(Remember that the name of the list is opera-l [i.e. OPERA-L]. The
For digest or index options see section 3 below. Please remember that these
This is most appreciated in private correspondence, but does not
Sometimes people ask questions seeking specific factual information
I have little tolerance for personal attacks or flame. If I find
I also reserve the right to put the list on moderation, a temporary