Frequently Asked Questions About E-Mail Alerts


How do I sign up for e-mail alerts from this journal?
Go to this journal's "E-Mail Alerting Service Sign-up/Cancel Page," enter your e-mail address, and select the format you prefer for the table of contents (TOC). Then, click the "Subscribe" button. You'll then receive a message to reply to in order to confirm that you've opted to receive TOC alerts. Once you've confirmed your subscription to the alerting service, you'll receive another message confirming that you've been subscribed. The next message you receive from the service will be the TOC of the next issue as soon as it is published online.

Why am I getting e-mail from "listserv@listserv.aip.org"?
The software chosen to handle e-mail alerts for the Scitation service is called LISTSERV®. This address is machine-generated and configured to process confirmation e-mails only.

How do I unsubscribe from the service?
Go to this journal's "E-Mail Alerting Sign-up/Cancel Page," enter your e-mail address, and select the format you selected for the table of contents (TOC). Then, click the "Unsubscribe" button. You'll then receive a message to reply to in order to confirm that you've opted out of receiving TOC alerts. Once you've confirmed your cancellation, you'll receive another message confirming that you've been unsubscribed.

How do I change my e-mail address?
Currently, you'll have to unsubscribe your old address and resubscribe with your new address. (The next iteration of this service will feature a more direct option to simply enter a new e-mail address.)

What is the difference between plain-text (ASCII) and HTML formats?
Plain-text (ASCII) TOCs are easily digestible by all mail clients, and are designed for users who have mail programs that cannot handle HTML-formatted e-mail messages. URLs in plain-text alerts are not clickable, but can be copied and pasted into a browser.

HTML-formatted TOCs are fully hyperlinked and have the look and feel of web pages; that is, all links in the message body are clickable and can be followed as if you were browsing the information on a web page. NOTE: HTML-formatted TOCs are larger than their plain-text counterparts, so take this into account if disk space is an issue for you when storing and downloading e-mail messages. In addition, some mail clients do not support HTML e-mail (i.e., Pine), so be sure to consult the help for your particular application. If you've opted for the HTML format and receive what looks like gibberish, you've most likely received an HTML TOC that your mailer cannot render correctly and you're seeing the actual HTML code. You should immediately unsubscribe yourself from the HTML-format alert and resubscribe with the plain-text (ASCII) option.

How do I switch delivery formats?
Go to this journal's E-Mail Alerting Service sign-up/cancel page, enter your e-mail address, and select the desired format you'd like to receive the table of contents (TOC) in. You'll then receive a message confirming the change in your desired format.

What if I need help?
Scitation has technical support specialists who can assist with all aspects of the alerting service. They can be contacted at:

Online Services Customer Service
American Institute of Physics
Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington Quadrangle
Melville, NY 11747-4502 USA
Phone (U.S. and Canada):  +1 800 874 6383
Phone (other locations):  +1 516 576 2664
FAX:  +1 516 576 2604
E-mail: onlinehelp@aip.org

Will my e-mail address be used for other purposes, or disclosed to third parties?
No. Your address will not be sold or otherwise distributed to any other individual or entity. Outgoing messages are individually addressed and are not sent to groups. Also, the service has been configured so that only administrators and technical support specialists with privileged access to them can access individuals' addresses.

LISTSERV is a registered trademark licensed to L-Soft international, Inc.