DR-ED Instructions

DR-ED: An Electronic Discussion Group for Medical Educators

DR-ED was started in 1996; over 600 subscribers joined the list in the first 12 months of operation. This virtual community of medical educators has continued to grow, reaching 1,000 subscribers in 1999 and achieving more than 2,000 subscribers in 2013. As of June 2018, DR-ED has grown to more than 2,800 subscribers worldwide, representing over 30 countries. DR-ED is supported by the Office of Medical Education Research and Development (OMERAD) at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Please take a moment to review the information below to get the most from your DR-ED subscription.

 

A. SUBSCRIBING TO DR-ED:DR ED 02

  1. address an e-mail message to: listserv@list.msu.edu
  2. leave the subject line blank
  3. the only text in the message should read: subscribe dr-ed firstname lastname substituting your own first and last names
  4. send the e-mail; you will receive an automated confirmation if successful, as well as additional instructions if necessary.
  5. NOTE: Subscription requests will be processed manually 1-2 times per week.
  6. once you have subscribed, you can post notes to DR-ED by addressing them to: dr-ed@list.msu.edu

 

B. UN-SUBSCRIBING TO DR-ED:

  1. address an e-mail message to: listserv@list.msu.edu
  2. leave the subject line blank
  3. the only text in the message should read: UNSUBSCRIBE DR-ED
  4. send the e-mail; you will receive an automated confirmation if successful

 

C. POSTING MESSAGES TO THE DR-ED LIST:

  1. address an e-mail message to: dr-ed@list.msu.edu
  2. add a brief descriptive title to the subject line
  3. type your message: DO NOT use attachments
  4. send the e-mail; you will receive an automated confirmation if successful

Only registered subscribers can post messages to DR-ED. The software used to operate DR-ED recognizes subscribers on the basis of e-mail addresses. Only messages that originate from registered e-mail addresses will be accepted for posting to DR-ED.

In almost all cases, if you get a message indicating that you are not authorized to post messages to DR-ED you are probably sending the message from an e-mail address not included in the subscriber database. This can occur even if you are still receiving messages posted to DR-ED.

The most frequent cause is changes your subscribers’ e-mail addresses at their home institutions; sometimes the changes have been made in a way not transparent to the users.

First, try to unsubscribe yourself from the list using your old e-mail address. Failing that, send a message to DR-ED-Request@list.msu.edu and note you are unable to post messages to the list. Tell the list manager what email address you are currently using. It is helpful if you can also tell him any other addresses you might have used when you were subscribed so he can delete them (you should be able to determine this from the messages you are getting). If the other e-mail addresses are not deleted, you might get multiple copies of every posting until the old address can be unsubscribed.

If you change your email address (e.g., your campus switches to simpler addresses or to a new server that you have to specify), please write the list owner and let her know your new address so she can change your subscription. Better yet, unsubscribe from the old address yourself.

 

D. REVIEWING THE SETTINGS FOR YOUR DR-ED SUBSCRIPTION:

  1. address an e-mail message to: listserv@list.msu.edu
  2. leave the subject line blank
  3. the only text in the message should read: query dr-ed

The reply will tell you if you are being sent individual postings as they are received, if you are receiving a copy of your own postings (this is the default), and if you will be sent an acknowledgement of successfully processed postings that you submit (this is the default).

 

E. CHANGING THE SETTINGS FOR YOUR DR-ED SUBSCRIPTION:

It is possible to change these settings, if you desire to do so, through the use of LISTSERV commands. To change your settings, address a message to listserv@list.msu.edu, you can leave the subject line blank, and in the text of your message, put in one or more of these SET commands:

SET commands

Effect of this command

SET DR-EDACK

Requests acknowledgements for each of your postings (default setting).

SET DR-ED NOACK

Turn off acknowledgements for your postings.

SET DR-ED NOMail

Turns off your mail from this list when you go on vacation or take an extended absence and don't want weeks of old messages waiting for your return. This is helpful if your mailbox would otherwise get full and mail would be bounced.

SET DR-ED MAIL

Turns on your mail when you return from a long vacation or absence (default setting).

SET DR-ED REPro

Sends you copies of your own postings (default setting).

SET DR-ED NOREPro

Does not send you copies of your own postings.

SET DR-ED DIGests

Ask for digests, rather than getting messages as they are posted. Instead, you will get one big message with the previous day's postings grouped together, including a table of contents at the top.

SET DR-ED NODIGests

Turns off the digest option -- returns you to getting individual messages as they are posted (default setting).

 

F. FOR MORE INFORMATION CHECK OUT THE DR-ED FAQ SITE

Click on DR-ED-FAQ

Compiled by Brian Mavis
August 2004