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Mailing List
To add a new list, click Add New Mail Resource at the bottom of the list. A new form appears:
Four types of resources are available in the drop-down box:
- mailboxes;
- mail forwarding rules;
- mail aliases;
- mailing lists.
- Mail list: name of the mailing list. Click the Edit icon to configure its settings (for profound information on how to configure your mail list according to your requirements please read documentation at www.ezmlm.org).
- Description: a comment that will help you identify this mailing list from among others.
- Subscribers: to add/remove subscribers to this mailing list, click the Edit icon. The total number of subscribers the mail is sent to is displayed in the brackets.
- Moderators: the people you appoint responsible for Mailing List management. These are usually e-mail addresses to which users send requests for subscription and messages for approval. There can be several moderators, both for messages and subscription.
- Message moderators allow messages to be sent to the mail list. The message will be passed on to the mailing list subscribers only if a moderator approves it.
- Subscription moderators allow people to subscribe to the list. If at least one subscription moderator approves the request, the user address becomes a subscriber.
As a rule of thumb, most lists use the same addresses for all two functions.
The moderation address is kept secret, even from other moderators. To appoint a moderator, click the Edit icon. The total number of moderators is displayed in the brackets.
- Delete: to delete this mailing list, click the Trash icon.
- Trouble Ticket: send your technical administrator a Trouble Ticket to get help with this issue.
Configuring Mail List Settings
To configure your Mail List Settings, click the Edit icon next to the Mailing List name in the Properties section of the mail resource. The form with a list of options will appear.
Now let's take a closer look at some of the options.
Enter the e-mail address to which mail list subscribers can report their problems or error messages sending requests to your_mailinglist-owner@domain.com. Since EZMLM can take care of virtually all request without human intervention, the list owner may read mail only infrequently.
By default, all messages sent to a list are kept archived. This way, subscribers can later retrieve messages from the archive. For instance, subscribers haven't been following the list for a while, or they just want to see the discussion of a specific question.
E.g.: retrieve one message at a time with the -get command: your_mailinglist-get.123@domain.com (get message 123)
Read more on commands to access the ezmlm message archive.
* The archive is also used to create digests.
Check Not Archived to disable archiving the messages sent to the list.
You can prohibit the overall access to the archive and authorize only moderators to get at it.
Here you can restrict the access to the mailing list archive by allowing only subscribers retrieve the archive. Non-subscribers' requests will be rejected.
Check the Digest box to set up the mailing list with a digest function. The digest is a special kind of mailing list extension. Instead of sending separate messages, it sends out a collection of messages ordered by digest subscribers collections of messages. Digest is sent out when a predetermined time or traffic limit has been reached. Receiving digest is very convenient for users who want to follow a list, but not to participate in the discussion. Digests contain each message as it was sent out by the list. No editorials, no missing messages. If the list owner has chosen to restrict posts and archive access to subscribers, digest subscribers are automatically given the same privilege.
From the subscriber point of view, the digest list for the mailing list your_mailinglist@domain.com is called your_mailinglist-digest@domain.com. You use the same commands to work with digest as you do when you work with the main list. The only difference is that you use your commands with 'digest' indication.
Check "No prefix" to prohibit adding prefix to the subject line of each message that does not already contain it. If you want the subject line of each message that does not already contain it include the prefix, place the text in the file DIR/prefix
Usually an applicant for subscription (your_mailinglist-subscribe@domain.com) is sent a confirmation request. To confirm it, one should just reply to the message. When it is done, recipient's address is added to the database and he becomes a subscriber.
This verification mechanism tests if the person at the subscription address really wants to be a subscriber. You can always include or exclude confirmation from the subscription procedure.
Mailing lists may use subscription moderation. Subscription to these lists is identical to the process described above, except that after confirmation the request is passed on to the list moderator(s). One becomes a subscriber only after his request has been approved by a moderator, i.e. he replies to the ``Reply-To:'' address.
In special cases, the list owner may set up the list to be message moderated. On a message moderated list, messages, instead of going directly to the list (to send messages to the list, one must know its name. If the list is called mailinglist@domain.com, just send a message to mailinglist@domain.com), are sent to one or more moderators. They can accept or reject, but not modify the message. If the message is accepted, it is sent to the list unmodified. If it is rejected, it is e-mailed back to the sender, optionally with an explanation from the moderator. On moderated lists it may take a little longer for the message to reach all the subscribers, since it has to be read and approved by at least one moderator before being sent out to the subscribers.
Here, you can allow remote administrators to edit the text files that make up most of the ezmlm responses. Replies are sent only if the target address is a remote administrator. With this switch, ezmlm replies to the -edit command with a list of the files in dir/text/. Only files where editing seems reasonable are included in the list. The remote administrator can edit any file in dir/text/ by sending e-mail containing the new text to -edit.file where ``file'' is the name of the file replaced (edited). In reply to this command, ezmlm sends a message with the file and editing instructions. A ``cookie'' based on the date, file name, and contents of the file is added to the ``Reply-To:'' address. The cookie becomes invalid as soon as the file has been changed, or after 27 hours, whichever is shorter. Also, the cookie cannot be used to edit any other file, even if the other file has exactly the same contents.
Here you can disable posting by subscribers to the mailing list, so they will only receive messages posted by moderators. This is usually chosen to send announcement or notifications where the interaction between recipients is not intended.
A remote administrator is an address with the rights to do certain administrative tasks remotely by E-mail. Depending on how the list is configured, remote administrators may have the right/ability to list subscribers, search for subscriber addresses by name, add and remove subscriber addresses and/or edit the texts that are sent in reply to list commands.
Mailing list users are not allowed to list the addresses of all subscribers. Still, you can allow remote administrator to get it. The subscription log stores entries for each modification made to the subscriber database. Remote administrators can list this log or search it for specific entries. For example, listing this file allows the remote administrator to see recent additions and removals.
You can set up your mailing list to allow posts from subscribers only. In this case posts received from non-subscribers will be rejected and sent back.
Trailer is extra information (e.g. on how to unsubscribe from the list, or where the list html archive is kept) added to each message.
You can configure your mailing list to be accessible from the 'web'. However, it requires additional configuration of your system (mail and web servers mainly).
If you enable this function, users will be required to request to the remote administrator in order to retrieve mail list archives. Otherwise, archive will be accessible only to the remote administrator.
Adding/Removing Subscribers to your Mail List
Click the Edit icon in the Subscribers field. The following form will appear:
Mail domain - click it to get back to the Mail Info page.
Mail List indicates which Mail List subscribers are added to.
Subscription address - the e-mail address that Internet users must write to in order to be added to the mail list.
Subscription address - the e-mail address that the Internet users must write to in order to be removed from the mail list.
Email Address - lists all active subscribers of your Mail List.
Action - remove any of your subscribers from the Mail List.
Remove all subscribers - click the Trash icon to delete all mail list subscribers at once.
Add Subscribers - add subscribers one by one. Click the Add button to confirm your query.
Batch Subscribers Creation - add several subscribers at once. Separate e-mail addresses by pressing the "Enter" key.
To send a message to a mailing list, follow these steps:
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