What is a moderated list?
All messages sent to a moderated RAMS list must be approved before they are delivered to the list members.
When a message is sent to a moderated RAMS list, a notification is first sent to the moderators of that list. Once approved by a moderator the message will be forwarded to everyone on the list.
See List Editor Manual for more information on activating moderation.
How does moderation work?
When a message arrives to a moderated RAMS list, all moderators for that list are sent a confirmation request. Moderators must then decide if they wish to approve the message.
Approving and Declining Messages by E-mail
To approve a message by email, respond to the RAMS confirmation request without changing the subject line. Each message must be approved separately when approving messages by email. If another moderator already approved the message or deleted it, you may receive an informational email message informing you that no such message is pending.
No action is needed to decline the message.
Approving and Declining Messages with the List Manager in the Web Interface
- You will first need to log in to the List Manager using your NetID and password.
- Select which list you want to review.
- By default, after selecting a list, the Manage Messages screen is displayed. If this screen is not listed (because you were editing the list) you will need to click Manage Messages.
- The Manage Messages page displays a list of all pending messages, from newest to oldest. If no messages are displayed then there are no outstanding message. For every message it lists:
- Date: The date and time the message was received by the RAMS.
- Subject: The subject of the message.
- Poster: The sender of the message
- Spam Value: The score assigned to the message by the SpamAssassin program. The higher the listed score, the more spam-like SpamAssassin considered the message. If spam filtering is active, you will also have a button labeled "Show Spam Messages". Click this to review all messages that had a Spam Value higher than the threshold set for the list will be displayed. This allows you to check for the possibility of any messages mistakenly tagged as Spam. See Spam Filtering Basics for more information.
- View: Click View to read the message.
- Approve: Select this option if you want to approve this message for delivery to the list.
- Delete: Select this option if you want to delete this message.
- To approve messages, check the Approve box for each message you wish to approve and click Approve Selected Messages at the bottom of the table.
- To delete messages, check the Delete box and click Delete Selected Messages to delete multiple messages.
Please note you cannot approve and delete messages at the same time.
Tips and Troubleshooting
If you reply to Confirmation Request messages, and you get the informational message and a new Confirmation Request message with a new number, there is a problem with your e-mail settings for the list. Please contact your campus Help Desk for assistance.