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<h1>Mailing lists</h1>
<p class="para">
This section holds questions about how to get in touch with
the PHP community. The best way is the mailing lists.
</p>
<div class="qandaset"><ol class="qandaset_questions"><li><a href="#faq.mailinglist.isthere">
Are there any PHP mailing lists?
</a></li><li><a href="#faq.mailinglist.others">
Are there any other communities?
</a></li><li><a href="#faq.mailinglist.myown">
Can I start my own PHP mailing list?
</a></li><li><a href="#faq.mailinglist.subscribing">
Help! I can't seem to subscribe to/unsubscribe from
one of the mailing lists!
</a></li><li><a href="#faq.mailinglist.archive">
Is there an archive of the mailing lists anywhere?
</a></li><li><a href="#faq.mailinglist.question">
What can I ask the mailing list?
</a></li><li><a href="#faq.mailinglist.guideline">
What information should I include when posting to the mailing list?
</a></li></ol></div>
<dl class="qandaentry" id="faq.mailinglist.isthere">
<dt><strong>
Are there any PHP mailing lists?
</strong></dt>
<dd class="answer">
<p class="para">
Of course! There are many mailing lists for several subjects.
The most common community mailing lists can be found on our
<a href="http://www.php.net/mailing-lists.php" class="link external">» mailing list</a> page.
</p>
<p class="para">
The most general mailing list is <em>php-general</em>.
To subscribe, send a blank email message to
<a href="mailto:php-general-subscribe@lists.php.net" class="link external">» php-general-subscribe@lists.php.net</a>.
To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <a href="mailto:php-general-unsubscribe@lists.php.net" class="link external">» php-general-unsubscribe@lists.php.net</a>.
</p>
<p class="para">
You can also subscribe and unsubscribe using the web
interface on our <a href="http://www.php.net/mailing-lists.php" class="link external">» mailing list</a>
page, and unsubscribe instructions are included in the footer of
every mailing list message.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl class="qandaentry" id="faq.mailinglist.others">
<dt><strong>
Are there any other communities?
</strong></dt>
<dd class="answer">
<p class="para">
There are countless PHP-centric communities around the world, and we have
links to some of these resources (and information on how to learn more)
on our <a href="http://www.php.net/support.php" class="link external">» Support</a> page.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl class="qandaentry" id="faq.mailinglist.myown">
<dt><strong>
Can I start my own PHP mailing list?
</strong></dt>
<dd class="answer">
<p class="para">
Absolutely! In fact, we not only freely allow it, we encourage it!
Helping others by sharing your knowledge and experience with PHP
helps to foster the growth and development of the global PHP
community and the language itself.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl class="qandaentry" id="faq.mailinglist.subscribing">
<dt><strong>
Help! I can't seem to subscribe to/unsubscribe from
one of the mailing lists!
</strong></dt>
<dd class="answer">
<p class="para">
If you have problems subscribing to or unsubscribing from a mailing
list, it may be because the mailing list software can't figure out
the correct mailing address to use. If your email address is
<em>joeblow@example.com</em>, and you are trying to
subscribe to php-general, you can send your subscription request to
<em>php-general-subscribe-joeblow=example.com@lists.php.net</em>,
or your unsubscription request to
<em>php-general-unsubscribe-joeblow=example.com@lists.php.net</em>.
Use similar addresses for the other mailing lists.
</p>
<p class="para">
The most common reason folks have a hard time unsubscribing from our
mailing lists is due to the use of mail forwarders. For example,
if your email address is danbrown@example.com, but you subscribed to
the mailing list with the forwarder php-lists@example.com and forward
that to danbrown@example.com, attempting to unsubscribe
danbrown@example.com will not work, as that address is not even known
to our systems. Instead, you will need to unsubscribe the address to
which the mail is being sent - in this example, php-lists@example.com.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl class="qandaentry" id="faq.mailinglist.archive">
<dt><strong>
Is there an archive of the mailing lists anywhere?
</strong></dt>
<dd class="answer">
<p class="para">
Yes, you will find links to some of the archive sites on the
<a href="http://www.php.net/mailing-lists.php" class="link external">» mailing list</a> page.
You will also find dozens of sites that archive and/or syndicate
our mailing list content by using your favorite Internet search
engine and searching for "php mailing list archives".
</p>
<p class="para">
All mailing list articles are also archived as news
messages. You can access the news server at <a href="news://news.php.net/" class="link external">» news://news.php.net/</a>
with a news client. There is also an experimental web
interface for the news server at <a href="http://news.php.net/" class="link external">» http://news.php.net/</a>
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl class="qandaentry" id="faq.mailinglist.question">
<dt><strong>
What can I ask the mailing list?
</strong></dt>
<dd class="answer">
<p class="para">
Since PHP is growing more and more popular by the day, the traffic
on the php-general mailing list can be very heavy, ranging from
75 to 200 or more posts per day. Because of this, it is in everyone's
interest that you use the list as a last resort, when you have
exhausted all other avenues.
</p>
<p class="para">
Before you post to the list please have a look in this FAQ and the
manual to see if you can find the help there. If there is nothing
to be found there try out the mailing list archives (see above).
If you're having problem with installing or configuring PHP, please
read through all included documentation and README's. If you still
can't find any information that helps you out, you're more than
welcome to use the appropriate mailing list.
</p>
<p class="para">
To ensure that you receive the best responses (and to reduce the
likelihood of frustrating your fellow developers), please be sure to
post your question to the appropriate list. For example, if you are
having difficulties installing PHP, you should send your question to
the <em>php-install</em> mailing list. A caveat: some lists
have similar names and completely different uses; a question regarding
PHP scripts on Windows should be directed to the Windows PHP users
list, <em class="emphasis">not</em> to the Windows Internals list.
</p>
<p class="para">
Before asking questions, you may want to read the paper on
<a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html" class="link external">» How To Ask Questions The Smart
Way</a> as this is a good idea for everyone.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl class="qandaentry" id="faq.mailinglist.guideline">
<dt><strong>
What information should I include when posting to the mailing list?
</strong></dt>
<dd class="answer">
<p class="para">
Posts like "I can't get PHP up and running! Help me! What is
wrong?" are of absolutely no use to anyone. If you're having problems
getting PHP up and running you must include the operating system being
used, the version of PHP you're trying to use, how you got it
(pre-compiled, Git, RPM, and so on), what you have done so far,
and the exact error message or present result.
</p>
<p class="para">
This goes for any other problem as well: you must include an explanation
of what you have done, what you're trying to do, and any error messages
encountered in the process. If you're having problems with your source
code, you should include the part of the code that isn't working,
indicating which line is the problem by an appropriately-placed code
comment. Do not include more code than necessary though! It makes the
post difficult to read, causing many to ignore your request. If you're
unsure about how much information should be included, post what you
believe is immediately relevant to your present issue, and be prepared
to provide more information upon request.
</p>
<p class="para">
Another important thing to remember is to summarize your problem
on the subject line. A subject like "HELP MEEEE!!!" or "What is the
problem here?" will be ignored by the majority of the readers.
</p>
<p class="para">
And lastly, you're encouraged to read the paper on
<a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html" class="link external">» How To Ask Questions The
Smart Way</a> as this will be a great help for everyone,
especially yourself.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
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