Home

How to Use the ABI Online Discussion Groups

Subscribing to Online Discussion Groups

Step One:

Decide which ABI committees interest you most (ABI recommends involvement in no more than four). A general description of each is available on the main committee page — just click on its name in the blue navigation bar. CLICK HERE

Step Two:

By clicking on the link to join the committee listserv, you will be directed away from the ABI webste where you can enter your main e-mail address and full name. You will receive a confirmation e-mail at the address you specified. In the meantime, please familiarize yourself with the Terms of Use.

Step Three:

Choose your level of participation by selecting "My account" and then the "Membership Type" option. Five are available:

  • Mail

    You receive messages in real time, as they are contributed to the mailing list. It is the most timely format, but a discussion in progress can result in a considerable volume of email.

  • Digest

    You receive a single plain text e-mail message containing all the messages contributed to the mailing list during a single day. The top of the message will present a numbered list of the subjects in that digest, followed by the complete messages themselves.

  • MIME Digest

    The same as a digest, but with the original message's formatting preserved. ABI recommends MIME Digest if you plan to switch to a digest version of the listserv e-mails.

  • Index

    You receive a single e-mail message containing only the subject lines of all the messages contributed to the mailing list the previous day, along with an e-mail command to retrieve their message bodies.

  • No Mail

    No e-mail is sent, but you may use the web interface to read and respond to posted messages at your convenience. This setting is also useful for people who want the ability to contribute to a mailing list, but do not care to see the contributions to the mailing list.

All subscribers can access online archives, regardless of their chosen e-mail format, by selecting "Messages" from the list on the left when using the Lyris interface.

Making Changes to Your Account

Unsubscribe from All Online Discussion Groups

Step One:

Follow this link, and log in using your e-mail address when prompted.

Step Two:

You'll then see the list of online discussion groups to which you're currently subscribed. To unsubscribe from all online discussion groups, simply click the "Unsubscribe All" button at the top right corner of the web page. After you confirm by clicking 'Yes,' your information will be removed. (NOTE: You may still receive mailings that already were in progress as you were making the changes.)

Unsubscribe from A Single Online Discussion Group

There are two options for unsubscribing from a particular discussion group. The first is by e-mail and the second uses the web interface.

Option A:

To unsubscribe from a committee listserv, such as the Consumer Bankruptcy Committee, send a blank e-mail to leave-abi_consumer_bankruptcy@dizzy.abiworld.org. You will receive a message letting you know you have been unsubscribed from this listserv. For each committee the e-mail address matches that of the listserv address, with "leave-" at the beginning.

Option B:

Step One:

Follow this link, and log in using your e-mail address when prompted.

Step Two:

You'll then see the list of online discussion groups to which you're currently subscribed. To unsubscribe from one online discussion group, simply click the "Unsubscribe" button to the right of its name. After you confirm by clicking 'Yes,' your information will be removed. (NOTE: You may still receive any mailings that already were in progress as you were making the changes.)

Change Your Contact Information or Settings

Step One:

Follow this link, and log in using your e-mail address when prompted. Click the tab marked "My Account" to access your information.

Step Two:

To make changes to your name or e-mail address for the listserv, please use the Update Your Membership Profile section of ABIWorld.

Step Three:

Choose your level of participation under the "Membership type" option as mentioned above. To sign up for the digest version of, for example the Consumer Bankruptcy committee e-mails, simply send a blank e-mail to digest-abi_consumer_bankruptcy@dizzy.abiworld.org. You will receive a message letting you know your membership type has changed for this listserv. For each committee the e-mail address matches that of the listserv address, with "digest-" at the beginning.

Step Four:

Several options are available on the Advanced tab:

  • Password

    Use of a password is optional for the ABI online discussion groups.

  • See Your Postings

    If set to "Yes" (the system default), you will receive copies of all messages you contribute.

Sending a Message

Subject lines are required on all posts. They should be succinct but descriptive, to help other subscribers respond more appropriately, and to make the archives easier to search by subject.

E-mail

Send an e-mail through your usual software (MS Outlook, Eudora, etc.) to the address provided in the e-mail you received upon signing up. A review of the addresses for all committees can be found here. The address for each particular committee appears on that committee's home page, which you can access by clicking the particular committee listed on the right.

Following approval by the moderator, your message will be forwarded to all subscribers.

Web

From the "My Forums" tab, click the name of the online discussion group you wish to contact. Click the “create new message" button located on the right above the message list. Just click OK after entering the subject and message, and your message will be forwarded to all subscribers (pending approval by the moderator).

You will see the list of existing messages, along with the author's name and the number of responses each one received.

Replying to a Message

E-mail

Using the reply button in your e-mail application will automatically send your response to the ENTIRE list. To reply directly to a member of the list, forward the e-mail and copy and paste his or her e-mail address into the "To" line. In particular, "Thanks" or "Me, too", as well as messages of a personal or promotional nature, should be sent directly to the appropriate individual. If another subscriber requests a professional referral, contact them directly to recommend yourself or others.

Avoid resending the entire message to which you are replying by deleting the parts not relevant to your response (example: the header and footer messages).

Identify yourself with a signature tag in all messages. Include your name, firm or company, location, telephone number and e-mail address.

Web

To send your response, send your response to the ENTIRE list, simply click on the subject line of the appropriate message from the message list, then the reply button. Click OK when finished.

"Thanks" or "Me too" messages, as well as messages of a personal or promotional nature, should be sent directly to the appropriate individual. If another subscriber requests a professional referral, contact them directly to recommend yourself or others. To do so, just click the sender's name (which appears as a blue hyperlink to the right of the dark gray subject areas), then the "send e-mail" button.

 

Sponsored by: American Bankruptcy Institute  |  Built on: Drupal