Skip to main content
What types of page to search?

Popular pages: Undergraduate Postgraduate PhD Accommodation Research International students

Alternatively use our A-Z index.

Francofil

Francofil, launched in November 1995, is the major French Studies discussion list in the Anglophone world. It now has around 3500 subscribers, principally but not exclusively from institutions of higher education, in about 40 countries. 

Francofil

The list administrators are Kay Chadwick of the University of Liverpool, Jane Gilbert of University College London, and Tim Unwin of the University of Bristol.

Francofil is a not-for-profit operation providing a collective discussion and information space for scholars and teachers working in all areas of French and Francophone studies. Its working languages are English and French. The forum should not be used for postings that have no obvious connection with our subject area. Within that broad area, we encourage discussion not only of cultural, linguistic, literary, social, historical and philosophical issues, but also of practical, pedagogical and political matters relating to our discipline. We also welcome the sharing of information about resources, conferences, publications or important events of professional interest to our members, and we encourage members to post relevant job announcements to the list. Notices from academic presses are also welcome if they provide information about publications that are relevant to our membership. A weekly message containing accommodation announcements is also sent out. Francofil will otherwise not accept advertising.

Joining the list

If you wish to subscribe directly to the list, send a message to: listserv@listserv.liv.ac.uk. The subject line of your message should be left blank, and the text of your message should be in the following format:

subscribe francofil your-first-name your-last-name
e.g. subscribe francofil Céline Smith

Your message, which is processed automatically by the server, should contain strictly no other text (make sure that your mailing programme does not add a signature). Shortly after subscribing to Francofil, you will receive a welcome message which confirms your membership. You will be asked to keep this message, which provides essential information about the functioning of the list and about how to sign off when you wish to do so.

List Archives

Every message sent to our list is automatically archived. The archives are fully searchable by date, word or word string, message title, message sender. You may check the archives of Francofil. We suggest that you bookmark the archives page for easy future reference.

Francofil

Frequently asked questions

  1. What is Francofil and what does it do?
  2. How do I join the list?
  3. How do I leave the list?
  4. How do I send a message to the list?
  5. Will the list accept messages with attachments?
  6. My message has not appeared on the list. Why?
  7. The list keeps sending me two copies of every message. Why?
  8. I'm not receiving messages from Francofil, even though I'm a member of the list. Why?
  9. I appear to have been removed from the list, even though I did not ask to be. Why?
  10. Why can't you forward an announcement to the list for me?
  11. I'm looking for a message that was sent in to the list. Can you help me find it?
  12. I'm looking for an e-mail address and I believe the person is on this list. Can you help me find them?
  13. How do I get the list to send me all the messages in a single weekly posting?
  14. How do I get information about list settings and commands?
  15. Does Francofil have Facebook and Twitter pages?
  16. Could you please get me off this list?


 
1. What is Francofil and what does it do?

Francofil (please note the spelling) is a general discussion list and electronic noticeboard for French Studies at university level. It is a forum for announcements, requests, information and debate on any matters which fall within the broad range of the discipline, and it is moderated by Kay Chadwick (University of Liverpool), Jane Gilbert (University College London) and Tim Unwin (University of Bristol). Its membership is currently around 2500, and covers some 40 countries around the world. More information can be found on the Francofil home page.
We suggest that members of the list bookmark this page for easy reference. To contact the list moderators, write to francofil-request@liverpool.ac.uk.


 
2. How do I join the list?

You can do this by sending a message to listserv@liverpool.ac.uk leaving your subject-line empty. Because the message will be processed automatically by the server, it must contain only one line of text (no signatures etc) like this:

subscribe francofil Céline Smith

(Obviously, you must put your own name and not the one suggested here.  Please note the spelling of "francofil".)


 
3. How do I leave the list? 

Send a message to listserv@liverpool.ac.uk leaving your subject-line empty. Your message must contain only one line of text:

signoff francofil

(Please note the spelling of "francofil")

Note that for unsubscribing you do not give your name but you must unsubscribe from exactly the same address that you originally subscribed to; otherwise the listserv will not recognize you. If you are having trouble, please contact the list administrators at francofil-request@liverpool.ac.uk and they will do it for you.

 

4. How do I send a message to the list? 

Simply write your message and post it to:

francofil@liverpool.ac.uk

Since Francofil is a moderated list, the message will then be held on the server for the list moderators to approve it. However, please do not include any aside to the moderators along the lines of “please could this message be distributed on Francofil”, because the text of that aside will also end up being posted out (the moderators are unable to edit your posting). Send your message just exactly as you want it to be read, bearing in mind too that the message title is crucial in determining whether it gets opened or binned by list members. The message title is also crucial in determining whether it will be retrievable from the archive.


 
5. Will the list accept messages with attachments?

The policy of the list is to discourage attachments, since these often create problems. We also advise list members not to open any attachments received unless they have first run a virus check on them. If the information contained in an attachment can be included in the text of a message, this is much the preferred solution. If list members wish to make an attachment available, we suggest either that they offer to send it off-list to those who request it, or that they post it on the web for download and simply give a URL in their list message. The server will in any event reject postings in excess of 100 KB.


 
6. My message has not appeared on the list. Why?

  1. Are you sure you sent it?
  2. Did you send it to the right address (francofil@liverpool.ac.uk)?
  3. Does your message contain attachments, or does it exceed 100 KB?
  4. Is your message a bone fide contribution of interest to a French studies community?

Occasionally postings are blocked by the list moderators. Usually this is because they are inappropriate to the aims and purposes of the list (e.g. they do not relate to French studies, even though they may have perfectly bona fide academic content). In very rare instances, it is because of abusive or offensive postings.  However, if a message that you have posted fails to get out onto the list and you are genuinely unsure why (hiccups do sometimes happen!), please contact the list administrators at francofil-request@liverpool.ac.uk.


 
7. The list keeps sending me two copies of every message. Why?

This is probably because you are signed up twice to the list from two different addresses. What you must do is unsubscribe from one of them, or set one of them to "nomail" (you check your mailing options, and alter them, by going to the Francofil Archives page and clicking on the "Join or leave the list (or change settings)" link). If you are having trouble finding out which addresses you are subscribed from, please contact the list administrators at francofil-request@liverpool.ac.uk.
 


8. I'm not receiving messages from Francofil, even though I'm a member of the list. Why?

  1. Are you sure you're really still a member of Francofil, and are you signed up under the e-mail address you're now using?
  2. Are you sure you haven't set a "nomail" option, suspending postings to your address?

You can check your mailing options, and alter them, by going to the Francofil Archives page and clicking on the "Join or leave the list (or change settings)" link. If you are having trouble, please contact the list administrators at francofil-request@liverpool.ac.uk.


 
9. I appear to have been removed from the list, even though I did not ask to be. Why?

First, please accept our apologies, it's almost certainly nothing personal - this usually happens when the listserv has encountered persistent problems with postings to your address. The best thing to do is sign on again immediately (see question two above). If you are having trouble, please contact the list administrators at francofil-request@liverpool.ac.uk.


 
10. Why can't you forward an announcement to the list for me?

The list owners are often asked to be post-persons, and the short answer is that, barring a few exceptions, we would far prefer list members to do their own work! In this way, recipients can immediately see the origin of messages. Fortunately, posting to the list is a very easy operation (see question four above).


 
11. I'm looking for a message that was sent in to the list. Can you help me find it?

Yes, no problem. Every single message that has ever gone out on the list has been archived. You can search the archives by word or word string, message title, message date or approximate date, or by message sender. You can also find similar messages on the same subject. All you need to do is go to the Francofil List Archives. The search options are very intuitive and user-friendly, and you should find what you are looking for. You will also find a link to the archives from the Francofil Home Page.


 
12. I'm looking for an e-mail address and I believe the person is on this list. Can you help me find them?

We do have an obligation to protect subscribers’ privacy. However, if you have a bone fide request, please contact the list administrators at francofil-request@liverpool.ac.uk.


 
13. How do I get the list to send me all the messages in a single weekly posting?

The "digest option", as it is called, is one of the most popular options among list members. The easiest way to set this is to go to the Francofil Archives page and click on the "Join or leave the list (or change settings)" link. Under "Subscription Type", click the digest option. For inexperienced users, we recommend the "traditional" digest.


 
14. How do I get information about list settings and commands?

Send a message (nothing in the subject-line) to listserv@liverpool.ac.uk with the following text only:

Help

Or, for information about your own settings, or to change them, go to the Francofil Archives page and visit the "Join or leave the list (or change settings)" link.

 

15. Does Francofil have Facebook and Twitter pages?

Yes. Visit us on Facebook and Twitter. There is also a Francofil members in Paris page, where list members spending time in Paris can contact each other and share information.

 

16. Could you please get me off this list?

Yes, no problem at all. Just send a message to francofil-request@liverpool.ac.uk and we’ll do the job for you.

Otherwise, you can do this yourself. Just go to the Francofil Archives page and click on the "Join or leave the list (or change settings)" link.

Of course, you can only sign yourself off if you know precisely what address and domain you signed up under, and this is usually the reason for problems people have in removing themselves from the list.
 

Facebook and Twitter

Francofil has a presence on both Facebook and Twitter. We encourage you to sign up on either or both of these pages, to which you can also post comments and links, and where you will from time to time find supplementary links and information. In addition to these pages, there is also a Francofil members in Paris page on Facebook, where list members spending time in Paris can contact each other and share information.