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5.1 How do I join a list? (subscribe)

There are two common ways you can subscribe to a Mailman mailing list.

Using the web interface:

1. Go to the list information page for the list you want to join. (This will probably be something like http://WEBSERVER/mailman/listinfo/LISTNAME)
2. Look for the section marked "Subscribing to LISTNAME" and fill in the boxes. You can fill in the following:
   - You must enter your email address.
   - You may choose to supply your real name.
   - You may choose a password. If you do not choose one, Mailman will generate one for you.

     Warning: Do NOT use a valuable password, since this password may be mailed to you in plain text.

   - If the list supports more than one language, you may be able to choose your preferred language. Note: This setting does not affect posts to the list, only pre-prepared Mailman texts such as your member options page.
3. Press the subscribe button. A new page should appear telling you that your request has been sent.

Using the email interface:

1. Open a mail program which sends mail from the address you want to subscribe.
2. Send a mail to the list subscription address, which will be in the form LISTNAME-join@DOMAIN. The subject and body of the message will be ignored, so it doesn't matter what you put there.

After following one of these sets of instructions (you don't need to do both!), there are a few possible outcomes depending upon the settings for that list.

- You may receive an email message asking for confirmation that you really want to be subscribed to the list. This is to prevent anyone from subscribing you to lists without your permission. Follow the instructions given in the message to confirm your wish to be subscribed.
- A moderator may also need to confirm your subscription if you are subscribing to a limited list.
- Or you may have to wait for a moderator and follow the instructions in the confirmation mail.

Once this is done, you will likely receive another message welcoming you to the list. This message contains some useful information including your list password and some quick links for changing your options, so you may want to save it for later reference.

Note: Subscribing can be done in other ways as well. See Appendix A for more advanced email subscribing commands.