tar@ksuvax1.cis.ksu.edu (Tim Ramsey) (12/02/88)
I've just volunteered myself to administer a mailing list. I need
software to handle the task of keeping control of the list. I'd like
something that:
Adds headers like "Errors-To:", "Send-Requests-To:", "Send-Submissions-To:",
"Resent-From", etc.
Interfaces with sendmail (I'm running 5.59 with Ida enhancements).
Is reasonably easy to maintain.
Is free!
If you have something that fits the bill, please let me know. Also, any
advice from experienced mailing list coordinaters would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Tim
--
Timothy Ramsey, USENET Keeper-Upper
BITNET: tar@KSUVAX1
Internet: tar@ksuvax1.cis.ksu.edu
UUCP: ...!rutgers!ksuvax1!tar -or- ...!{pyramid,ucsd}!ncr-sd!ncrwic!ksuvax1!tarkarl@triceratops.cis.ohio-state.edu (Karl Kleinpaste) (12/03/88)
tar@ksuvax1.cis.ksu.edu (Tim Ramsey) writes:
I've just volunteered myself to administer a mailing list.
Lucky you. :-)
I need
software to handle the task of keeping control of the list.
The following stuff is my generic mailing list administration scheme,
which is used in the care and feeding of 9 mailing lists based here.
In /usr/lib/aliases, you need the set of aliases:
listname-request: YourUserName
listname: "|/u/YourUserName/listname/sendscript"
owner-listname: listname-request
listname-out: :include:/u/YourUserName/listname/aliases
owner-listname-out: listname-request
Then the sendscript which I use is:
#!/bin/sh
sed -e '/^Reply-To:/d' -e '/^From /d' | \
(echo Reply-To: listname@cis.ohio-state.edu; \
echo Errors-To: listname-request@cis.ohio-state.edu; \
echo Precedence: bulk; cat -) | \
/usr/lib/sendmail -f listname-request@cis.ohio-state.edu \
-F 'Listname Mailing List' listname-out
Maintenance of the list's aliases file is up to the list maintainer.
This keeps its hassles away from the machine's administrator. Note
the inclusion of an Errors-To:, thus foisting all problems back on the
list maintainer as well. The "Precedence: bulk" is used (as well as
"-f listname-request") to keep vacation(1) silent; see vacation's man
page.
Since all mail goes through the sendscript, it is possible to make it
arbitrarily complex. I have one modified incarnation of the
sendscript which provides what I refer to as a "fire extinguisher,"
which allows me to exclude certain addresses from being able to post
to the list. (It was only needed once, and...well...temporarily, at
that.)
You may or may not want to force the new Reply-To: header; but there
are (primarily SysV) mail user agents out there that insist on trying
to send replies to the wrong place, and the presence of an explicit
Reply-To: helps in some (not all) of these cases.
Include yourself as the first entry in the aliases file for the list;
you will thus get first delivery, and can be aware of potential
problems which might arise soonest.
Thanks in advance,
Y'welcome.
--Karl