MFTC-L Home Page

MFTC-L is a listserv for discussion of issues related to marriage and family therapy or that are of interest to marriage and family therapists. The list was started at Austin Peay State University by Stuart Bonnington in the spring of 1994. After the Therapeutic Conversations 2 Conference in the summer of 1994, a number of conference participants began to use the listserv to stay in touch and continue discussions begun at the conference. While opinions from varied theoretical approaches are encouraged, since the summer of 1994, the discussions have taken on a narrative/solution focused, 2nd order cybernetics flavor. One thing that the members of this list have insisted upon is that all opinions be respected. Flame wars are not welcome. In summer of 1996, the list moved to the St. John's University server.

How to Sign on:

Send an e-mail message to:

listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu

Put "no subject" into the the "subject" line. The actual message should read:

sub MFTC-L <yourFirstName> <yourLastName>

Note: <yourFirstName> means you enter your own first name without the "< >". Same for <yourLastName>. There are spaces between each word of the message.

You will receive a confirmation message with further instructions. That should get you going. After your return your confirmation, you will receive a welcome message. Please read the welcome message. It contains information that answers most questions that users have. Pay special attention to the instructions about the different addresses for your messages and commands.

Basic Netiquette

Some suggestions on etiquette for this (and all) list(s):

Be respectful.
Lurking is encouraged. You might want to read for a few days to get the hang of what this list is like. After you get the idea, please contribute!
Sign your posts with your name, not just your address.
If your post is relevant only to one member of the list, please contact that person using personal e-mail.
When quoting, quote only relevant passages of the previous post rather than quoting the whole message.
Avoid "Me, too" and "Yes" messages. Your contribution should move the discussion along, not just make it longer.
Please take the time to read the instructions, especially if you are unfamiliar with the list server.
A suggestion: If you read something on this list that irritates or offends you, go ahead and write your response but hold off with the "Send" button. Let it set overnight then reread it before you send it. My experience with the folks on this list has been that offensive messages are the result of misunderstandings and are unintended.
Respect the work of others. If you are making more than a small quote of someone else's work, get permission to do so. If you are making a quote, be sure to give credit to the author. The posting of copyrighted material cannot be tolerated. If you didn't write it, assume that it is copyrighted.
Sign your post.

If your mail from MFTC-L abruptly stops

or you find that you are receiving only a strange looking list of files without the actual text of the files, your server was probably down and the list owner's mailbox filled up with error messages. When that happens, we set the user's options to "index." That means that you receive a list of posts each day without their text. You can then order the texts you want. You can reset your options by sending the message "set MFTC-L mail" to "listserv@sjuvm.stjohns.edu". If you get confused, contact the list owner.

Listserv Commands

These commands are commonly used to manage your subscription to MFTC-L. Note that all these commands are always sent as the content of e-mail addressed to listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu.
The "< >" marks indicate that this part of the command is optional.
The " | " indicates that you need to make a choice between the options.

Basic Commands
These are all most people need to know to use the list.

SUBscribe MFTC-L <full name> Subscribe to MFTC-L

SIGNOFF MFTC-L Sign off from MFTC-L

More Advanced Commands
Not absolutely necessary but nice to know about.

listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu

INFO REFCARD Comprehensive reference card

Lists <Detail | Short | Global> Get a description of all lists on server

SIGNOFF * (NETWIDE from all lists on all servers (CAUTION!)

REView MFTC-L <options> Get list of members and addresses

INDex MFTC-L Order a list of downloadable MFTC-L files

GET filename filetype Order a file from LISTSERV

Query MFTC-L Query your subscription options

SET MFTC-L DIGEST Receive MFTC-L messages in daily digest form

SET MFTC-L <NOMail | Mail> Temporarily stop then restart from MFTC-L

SET MFTC-L <REPro / NOREPro> Want a copy of your own postings?

SUBscribe MFTC-L <full name>	Subscribe to MFTC-L
SIGNOFF MFTC-L	Sign off from MFTC-L

INFO REFCARD	Comprehensive reference card

Lists <Detail \| Short \| Global>	Get a description of all lists on server

SIGNOFF * (NETWIDE	from all lists on all servers (CAUTION!)

REView MFTC-L <options>	Get list of members and addresses

INDex MFTC-L	Order a list of downloadable MFTC-L files

GET filename filetype	Order a file from LISTSERV

Query MFTC-L	Query your subscription options

SET MFTC-L DIGEST	Receive MFTC-L messages in daily digest form

SET MFTC-L <NOMail \| Mail>	Temporarily stop then restart from MFTC-L

SET MFTC-L <REPro / NOREPro>	Want a copy of your own postings?