Renewal Keyword

Renewal=interval1,interval2...,intervalx,Delay(number)[,Probe]

This keyword is not available in LISTSERV Lite.

This keyword controls whether or not subscribers are required to renew their subscriptions on a regular basis and what the subscription period is. Multiple renewal times can be set. Each renewal time can be specified as an interval or a set date:

• Monthly, Yearly, Weekly, Daily, or a numeric variation such as 3-Monthly (meaning, quarterly).
• An absolute date in the format yyyy/mm/dd (once on this specific day), or the format mm/dd (once yearly on this month/day).

The confirmation delay is in the format Delay(n), where (n) is the number of days between the time the subscriber is asked to confirm the subscription and the day the user is removed from the list. This default is Delay(7), or seven days.

A typical "Renewal=" configuration might be:

• "Renewal= 6-Monthly,Delay(14)"

Conceivably "Renewal=" could also be set to something like:

• "Renewal= 6-Monthly,01/01,Delay(14)"

This would cause LISTSERV to send renewal requests once every six months on the anniversary date of the user's original subscription and a request every year on New Year's Day.

When setting up "Renewal=" for the first time on an older, established list, you may find that a substantial number of subscribers are prompted for confirmation immediately even though you may have set "Renewal=" to a value that might not be expected to cause such behavior. This is because LISTSERV uses the last activity date (which may or may not be the same as the subscription anniversary date) for the purpose of subscription renewal. The last activity date may be one of the following: the subscription date, the last date the subscriber posted to the list, or the last date the subscriber changed personal options.

If you code a specific date without specifying a year field (for example, "Renewal=06/01"), LISTSERV will immediately request a renewal from any subscriber whose last activity date is prior to that date in the current year.

The "Probe" parameter (disabled in LISTSERV Lite) activates the "active probing" bounce processing feature of LISTSERV, whereby the users are "probed" regularly using the PROBE1 mail template. The desired response from the user is to discard the message and do nothing. If the probe bounces, LISTSERV first sends the PROBE2 template with a copy of the bounce (assuming that the address actually works regardless of the bounce), and then schedules a new probe for the next day or deletes the user immediately, depending on the list's "Auto-Delete=" policy.

Subscription renewal is disabled by default.