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Course lists are e-mail lists comprised of the currently enrolled members of the course that semester, the instructor or instructors involved, and sometimes teaching and/or student assistants.
For information concerning other types of e-mail lists, for ex. forsale and other majordomo lists, please consult the following web page.
1) How do I send a message to the course list?2) Who may send a message to a course list?
3) How do I know the list name?
4) Can I send a message from an account other than my Bates account?
5) How can I distribute attachments or share files with the class?
6) Who will receive my message when I reply to a message?
7) How do I get a list of the individuals on a specific list?
8) How do I save messages I want to keep?
9) How do I get on or off a course list?
10) How do I get more help on using e-mail?
11) What are the Department/Program Abbreviations?
12) What error messages are commonly received with course list mailings?
13) When do course lists become available for a particular semester/term?
14) What is the life cycle of a course list?
1) How do I send a message to the course list?
Address the message to the listname (i.e. wmath105a@lists.bates.edu). The message will be sent to the faculty member(s) teaching the course and all the students registered for the course.
Note: course list messages sent to @abacus.bates.edu will no longer be received.
2) Who may send a message to a course list?
The instructors, all students registered for the course, and any individuals who have been added to the list by request of the instructor (i.e. lab assistants).
3) How do I know the list name?
List names are created by concatenating a semester designator (F for fall, W for winter and S for short term), the Bates department abbreviation, the course designation, and the section followed by @lists.bates.edu. Case does not matter.
Examples: wmath395AA@lists.bates.edu or FNRSC200D1@lists.bates.edu
NOTE: If there is only one section of a course, the list name will end with "a". If a course has a linked lecture and lab or discussion section, you may either send a message to the entire lecture section or to a specific lab or discussion section. (Note: This is a good way to inform your class of extra 8:00 classes, classroom changes, cancellations, etc.).
Note: when entering a list name for a cross-listed course do not include the "/" between the two two-character department codes. i.e. wbige110a@bates.edu is the list name for BIGE 110 section A.
4) Can I send a message from an account other than my Bates account?
No. Only class members may post to the list. You must send to these lists from your Bates email account so you are recognized as a member of the course. If you try to send mail from a Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL account, for example, the system will not accept it.
5) How can I distribute attachments or share files with the class?
There is a limit on file size for course lists to prevent clogging of the system. If you are interested in sharing files with the class, please use Lyceum.
NOTE: If a message is sent to the list from a non-Bates email or the attached file exceeds 10MB, the message will bounce. The sender will receive an email telling them the message has bounced and why.
6) Who will receive my message when I reply to a message?
If a message was sent from a list and you use the reply option, your reply will go to everyone on the list. If you wish to reply only to the person who initiated the message, direct your message to that individual's e-mail address.
7) How do I get a list of the individuals on a specific list?
Send a mail message to classdomo@lists.bates.edu. In the body of the message (not in the subject line) type in the following:
who listname
where listname is the name of the course list (e.g. who fanth105a).
8) How do I save messages I want to keep?
Each member of the list is responsible for saving any message they wish to keep. There is a finite amount of space in the incoming mailbox directory, so messages should not be kept in your incoming mailbox but saved in a folder as you would other e-mail messages.
9) How do I get on or off a course list?
These lists are generated nightly from course registration information in the Registrar's database. If you are not on the list of a course you are attending, you are not properly registered for that course. If you are on a list of a course you are not attending, you have not properly dropped that course from your schedule. Add/drop forms are available at the Registrar and Academic Systems office in Libbey Forum. Once the registration adjustment has been processed, your name will be added to or deleted from the list by the next day.
10) How do I get more help on using course lists?
For more information on adding or deleting users to course lists, questions concerning attachments, in using your E-mail system, or other technical questions regarding the lists or WebCT, contact the Help Desk Services, x8222.
For more information on E-mail "netiquette":
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/
11) What are the Department/Program Abbreviations?
A complete description of department/program abbreviations is available on the following page in the Bates College Catalog
12) What error messages are commonly received with course list mailings?
Messages may be returned to the sender or "bounced back" if:
- Non-member submission
Your messages to has not been delivered to the list for the following reason:
Non-member submission from (see #2 above) - Excessive File Size
552 5.2.3 Message size exceeds fixed maximum message size (15000000)
Attachments are larger than 10mb (WebCT recommended for file sharing, see #5 above) - Listname is not constructed properly (see #1 above)
13) When do course lists become available for a particular semester/term?
Course Lists are created as the random registration and add/drop progresses at the beginning of each new semester. As individuals register for a course, the lists continue to be updated automatically on a nightly basis.
The creation is during random registration and add/drop. Lists continue to be updated as individuals register for a particular course. After the semester is over it is no longer possible to e-mail to that group using the course list collective name.