Boston Area Physics Calendar (BAPC) - User Guide

This guide is for anyone who wants to submit an event to the BAPC or receive the weekly listing. No account or web access is required--everything works by email.

Submitting an event

Send an email to the BAPC submission address bapc.submit@gmail.com.

Important: The subject line must contain "Create" (case-insensitive; e.g. "Create" or "Create: colloquium"). Messages whose subject doesn't include "Create" are not processed as new submissions. (Replace, Delete, Cancel, and Uncancel use different subject lines; see below.)

Required format: Use the structured format in the body of your email. You must include Date: and Time:. Location:, Event:, Speaker:, Title:, and Abstract: are optional. Order doesn't matter, but the spelling of those labels does.

Date: Friday, December 13, 2024
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: MIT Room 4-270
Event: Colloquium
Speaker: Jane Smith (Harvard)
Title: Dark Matter Searches at the LHC
Abstract: We present new results from...

Zoom link: https://example.com/meeting

Date and Time are required.
Date: Use a full date (e.g. "Friday, December 13, 2024" or "December 13, 2024"). If you include the weekday, it must match the date. Past dates are rejected.
Time: Only the following formats are supported; any other format will be rejected.
- Single time (event duration is then 1 hour by default): 3:00 PM, 3pm, 15:00. Use hour (1-12 with am/pm, or 0-23 in 24-hour style), optional :minutes, optional space and am/pm.
- Time range (explicit start and end): 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM, 15:00 - 16:30, 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Use a hyphen, en dash, minus sign, or the word "to" between the two times; the end time must be after the start time.
Location, Event (event type or series, e.g. "Colloquium"), Speaker, Title (talk title), and Abstract are optional.
Calendar title: The event title shown on the calendar and in the digest is built from Event, Speaker, and Title (not from Abstract). Examples when all three are present: [Colloquium] Jane Smith: Dark Matter Searches at the LHC. If only some are present, the title is shortened (e.g. Jane Smith: Dark Matter Searches, Colloquium, or Untitled event if none are given).
Abstract may span multiple lines; everything after Abstract: until the next field label is treated as the abstract. A field label is a line that starts with one or two words followed by a colon (e.g. Zoom link:). The abstract is stored in the calendar event description (not in the title). Whether abstracts appear in the weekly digest email depends on list configuration.
Extra fields (e.g. Zoom link:, Registration:, Pizza:) use the same one- or two-word label format. They are not parsed as Date/Time/etc., but are kept in the event note on the calendar. Put them after the abstract (or anywhere outside the abstract block).
Avoid starting a line in your abstract with text that looks like a field label (one or two words and a colon), or the abstract may end early at that line.
Submissions that don't follow this format are marked for manual review and will not be added to the calendar until corrected.

What happens after you submit

Your email is processed automatically (usually within an hour).
The event is added to the BAPC calendar.
It will appear in the next weekly digest email (see below).
If the event starts before the next weekly digest is sent, the mailing list also receives a separate BAPC Update email announcing the late addition (with the new event details and a summary of upcoming events).
If the system is configured to notify submitters, you will receive a confirmation email that includes a BAPC ID (e.g. BAPC-m5x2k3a7b2) for each event. Save this ID--you need it to replace, delete, cancel, or uncancel the event later (see below).
If the system can't parse your submission, an administrator may contact you to fix it; you can then resubmit.

Tip: Submit as early as you can. The digest is sent once a week on Thursday afternoon. Events that start after that mailing wait until the following week's digest; nearer-term events can also trigger a list update (see above).

Note: New submissions are only accepted from senders whose email address ends with .edu (e.g. you@mit.edu). If your institution uses a different domain, contact the list administrator.

Modifying or removing an event

You can change or remove an event by email using the BAPC ID from your confirmation email in the subject line (e.g. Replace BAPC-m5x2k3a7b2). Anyone who knows the ID can perform these actions.

What you want to do	Subject line (case-insensitive)	Body
Replace the event with new details	`Replace BAPC-#####` (use your event's ID, e.g. `Replace BAPC-m5x2k3a7b2`)	One event in the same structured format (Date:, Time:, Location:, Event:, Speaker:, Title:, Abstract:, etc.)
Delete the event from the calendar	`Delete BAPC-#####`	Empty or any text (ignored)
Cancel the event (mark as cancelled but leave on calendar)	`Cancel BAPC-#####`	Empty or any text (ignored)
Uncancel a previously cancelled event	`Uncancel BAPC-#####`	Empty or any text (ignored)

Keep your BAPC ID private--it is the only credential needed to modify the event (when sender authorization is off). The ID is not shown on the public calendar; it appears only in your confirmation email.
For Replace, the body must be exactly one event in the same structured format as a new submission. If the body doesn't parse correctly, the message is marked for manual review.
Replace or Cancel on an upcoming event (before the next weekly digest is sent) may trigger a separate update email to everyone on the BAPC mailing list, so subscribers see corrections or cancellations without waiting for Friday. Delete does not send a list update (only a confirmation to you).

Receiving the weekly digest

If you're on the BAPC mailing list, you'll get one weekly digest email (usually Friday afternoon). It lists all events on the BAPC calendar for the following calendar week (Sunday through Saturday), grouped by date.

Between digests, you may receive a BAPC Update email when someone adds, corrects, or cancels an event that starts before the next weekly mailing. New-event updates include the late addition and a summary of upcoming events.
No sign-up is needed beyond being on the list.
The digest is plain text and works in any email client and on locked-down networks.
Each event in the digest includes a link to that event (opens the event in Google Calendar in a browser). Use this to see full details. Use the BAPC ID from your confirmation email for Replace/Delete/Cancel/Uncancel.

Optional: Subscribe to the calendar

If your institution allows it, you can add the BAPC Google Calendar to your own calendar (e.g. Google Calendar, Outlook). You'll then see BAPC events alongside your other events without waiting for the digest.

The digest email includes a subscription link at the bottom. Use that link to add the BAPC calendar in one click. If no link is shown, ask the list administrator for the calendar link or ID.
Calendar subscription is optional; email is enough to stay informed.

If something goes wrong

My event didn't appear in the digest.
Submissions are processed periodically; it may show up in the next digest. If it still doesn't appear, your message may have been unparseable--contact the list administrator and consider resubmitting using the structured format above. If you use a non-.edu address, new submissions are not accepted; contact the administrator.
I made a mistake in my submission.
If you have the BAPC ID from your confirmation email, send an email with subject Replace BAPC-##### (use your ID) and put the corrected event in the body using the same structured format. Otherwise, ask the administrator to remove or correct the original.
I need to cancel or remove my event.
Send an email with subject Cancel BAPC-##### to mark it cancelled (title will be prefixed with "CANCELLED:"), or Delete BAPC-##### to remove it from the calendar. Use the BAPC ID from your confirmation email.
I cancelled an event by mistake.
Send an email with subject Uncancel BAPC-##### to remove the "CANCELLED:" prefix and restore the normal title.
I need to submit at the last minute.
You can submit anytime. Your event will be added to the calendar. If it starts before the next weekly digest, the mailing list also gets a BAPC Update announcing the late addition (plus an upcoming-events summary); otherwise it appears in the next weekly digest.

For administrators

If you manage the BAPC automation, set ADMIN_EMAIL in the script configuration to your address.

Look up BAPC IDs for upcoming events: Send an email to the submission address with subject Status (body ignored). You will receive a reply in the same thread listing all future calendar events, each with its BAPC ID, title, time, location, and submitter (when known). Use those IDs in Replace BAPC-#####, Delete BAPC-#####, Cancel BAPC-#####, or Uncancel BAPC-##### subjects to modify events.

Only mail from ADMIN_EMAIL is honored; other senders' Status messages are ignored.
New submissions can also include the BAPC ID in the admin notification email when that option is enabled.
Events created before BAPC IDs were introduced may show "no BAPC ID"; edit those directly in Google Calendar.

Summary

I want to...	What to do
Submit an event	Email the submission address with subject containing Create and the structured format in the body. (.edu addresses only.)
Replace an event	Email with subject Replace BAPC-##### and the new event in the body (same format).
Delete an event	Email with subject Delete BAPC-#####.
Cancel an event	Email with subject Cancel BAPC-#####.
Uncancel an event	Email with subject Uncancel BAPC-#####.
Get the weekly listing	Be on the BAPC mailing list; you'll receive the digest automatically, plus BAPC Update emails for late additions, corrections, and cancellations before the next digest.
See events in my calendar	Use the subscription link at the bottom of the digest, or ask the list administrator.
Fix or ask about something	Contact the BAPC list administrator.

The submission address, calendar subscription link, and a link for each event are included in each weekly digest.