Mailman List Manager

Mailman Version Releases (announced via email)

Elsewhere on the web

• Official Mailman websites: list.org, mailman.sourceforge.net, and www.gnu.org/software/mailman
• Mailman described at Wikipedia
• Mailman is distributed under the GNU General Public License.
• Mailman List Management Guide
• Information for Mailman list owners and moderators
• General information on server-managed email lists

List Configuration Options

The settings below are on the mailing list administration screen and are set by the person who manages the list.

Too avoid spam to members of the list, be careful with options marked "##" below.

Suggested or default values below are for lists where only a very few people may post. There are other possibilities.

General Options

• General list personality (public information)
  • real_name: part before "@" of list's email address (only case changes allowed)
  • owner: email addresses of list administrators
  • moderator: optional email addresses sent notices of subscription and post requests
  • description: title of public listinfo page
  • info: introduction paragraphs in HTML on public listinfo page
  • subject_prefix: optional text put at the beginning of subject line of every post
  • anonymous_list: whether to hide message sender (usually no)
• Reply-To header munging (default destination of replies to posts)
  • first_strip_reply_to: Yes, so replies go to "from" address
  • reply_goes_to_list: Poster, not This list or Explicit address
  • reply_to_address (only if above is "Explicit")
• Umbrella list settings (to determine where to send password reminders)
  • umbrella_list: No, don't add suffix to addresses sent posts
  • umbrella_member_suffix (only if above is "Yes"): usually -owner
• Notifications (of subscription and posts)
  • send_reminders: No, don't email passwords monthly
  • welcome_msg: text emailed to new subscribers;
    Prefixed with "Welcome to the list_name mailing list! ", and followed with web_page_url, user_optionsurl, and user_password.
  • send_welcome_msg: Yes, email welcome when someone subscribes
  • goodbye_msg: text emailed to unsubscribers
  • send_goodbye_msg: Yes, email it to whoever unsubscribes
  • admin_immed_notify (of new requests): Yes
  • admin_notify_mchanges: do you want to be emailed when anyone subscribes or unsubscribes?
  • respond_to_post_requests: email poster when their posting is held for approval? No ##
• Additional settings
  • emergency (all traffic held for moderation): No
  • new_member_options (default)
    • Conceal the member's address: not checked
    • Acknowledge the member's posting: not checked
    • Do not send a copy of a member's own post: not checked
    • Filter out duplicate messages to list members (if possible): checked
  • administrivia (intercept administrative requests): Yes
  • max_message_size (KB): 40
  • host_name: domain name
  • include_rfc2369_headers (List-*): Yes!
  • include_list_post_header (List-Post): Yes only if recipients may post
  • max_days_to_hold (messages): 0, until handled

list ownership passwords

• administrator password: word for total access
• moderator password

Language

• preferred_language
• available_languages
• encode_ascii_prefixes (subject prefix): Never or Always or As needed

Non-digest options (immediately delivered list traffic)

• nondigestable: Yes, allow option for posts to be received immediately
• personalize (message): Yes or No/batches, not Full which puts member address in "To" field
  Personalization Yes or Full allows user_{address/delivered_to/password/name/optionsurl} in next 2 fields.
• msg_header: usually empty
  Header and footer may always use: real_name, list_name, host_name, web_page_url, description, info, cgiext, _internal_name.
• msg_footer:

     _______________________________________________
     You are subscribed as %(user_delivered_to)s
     %(real_name)s mailing list at %(real_name)s@%(host_name)s
     You can unsubscribe or change your options at: %(web_page_url)slistinfo%(cgiext)s/%(_internal_name)s

• scrub_nondigest (put attachments on web instead): No

Digest options (batched delivery)

• digestable: Yes, allow option for posts to be combined into a single email
• digest_is_default: Regular, not Digest
• mime_is_default_digest: Plain, not MIME
• digest_size_threshhold (KB): 30
• digest_send_periodic (daily if below threshhold): Yes
• digest_header: same as non-digest header
• digest_footer: same as non-digest footer
• digest_volume_frequency: Daily, Yearly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Weekly
• new_volume (now only): No
• send_digest_now (now only): No

Privacy options ##

• Subscription rules
  • Subscribing
    • advertised (when people ask what lists are on this machine): No
    • subscribe_policy: Confirm and approve, not just Confirm or just Require approval
    • unsubscribe_policy (require approval?): No
  • Ban list
    • ban_list (from membership)
  • Membership exposure
    • private_roster (who can view subscription list): List admin only, not Anyone or List members
    • obscure_addresses (to avoid harvesting for spam): Yes
• Sender filters
  • Member filters
    • default_member_moderation: Yes
    • member_moderation_action: Hold, not Reject or Discard
    • member_moderation_notice (rejection)
  • Non-member filters
    • accept_these_nonmembers
    • hold_these_nonmembers
    • reject_these_nonmembers
    • discard_these_nonmembers
    • generic_nonmember_action: Hold or Reject (causes spam relaying) or Discard (no notice), not Accept
    • forward_auto_discards (to list moderator): Yes
    • nonmember_rejection_notice
• Recipient filters
  • require_explicit_destination (list named): Yes
  • acceptable_aliases (for To or Cc)
  • max_num_recipients: 10
• Spam filters
  • header_filter_rules (header filters)
    • Spam Filter Regexp
    • Action: Defer, not Hold, Reject, Discard, or Accept
  • bounce_matching_headers (legacy anti-spam filters)

Bounce processing

• Bounce detection sensitivity
  • bounce_processing: Yes
  • bounce_score_threshold (if above, disable subscription): 5.0
    (hard bounces = fatal errors = +1; soft bounces = temporary errors = +0.5)
  • bounce_info_stale_after (days, discard): 7
  • bounce_you_are_disabled_warnings: 3
  • bounce_you_are_disabled_warnings_interval (if above, unsubscribe): 7
• Notifications
  • bounce_unrecognized_goes_to_list_owner: Yes
  • bounce_notify_owner_on_disable: Yes
  • bounce_notify_owner_on_removal: Yes

Archiving Options

• archive: do you want store posts on the web? ##
• archive_private: private, not public ##
• archive_volume_frequency: Monthly or Yearly or Quarterly or Weekly or Daily

Mail <-> News gateways

• News server settings
  • nntp_host
  • linked_newsgroup
  • gateway_to_news (send to newsgroup): No
  • gateway_to_mail (send to mailing lis t): No
• Forwarding options
  • news_moderation: None, not Open list moderated group, or Moderated
  • news_prefix_subject_too: Yes
• mass_catchup (Mass catch up on newsgroup now): No

Auto-responder ##

• autorespond_postings: No
• autoresponse_postings_text
• autorespond_admin (if to -owner): No
• autoresponse_admin_text
• autorespond_requests (if to -request): No, not Yes w/discard, or Yes w/forward
• autoresponse_request_text
• autoresponse_graceperiod (days): 90

Content filtering (attachments)

• filter_content: No
• filter_mime_types
• pass_mime_types (all if blank): multipart/mixed, multipart/alternative, text/plain
• filter_filename_extensions: exe bat cmd com pif scr vbs cpl
• pass_filename_extensions (all if blank)
• convert_html_to_plaintext: Yes
• filter_action: Discard, not Reject, Forward to List Owner, or Preserve

Topics (so members can select by subject which posts to receive)

• topics_enabled: Disabled or Enabled
• bodylines_limit: 5
• topics (name, regexp, and description)

This page was last modified 2006 December 1 by David Cohen, and is one of his many Internet-related pages.