1. EZMLM/IDX USER'S MANUAL1.1 Introduction.This chapter helps the (potential) subscriber to ezmlm/idx lists to learn the basic functions of the mailing list manager. It contains information on how to start and stop subscribing to ezmlm/idx list, how to access the list archive, how to send messages to the list, and how to contact the list owner, if necessary.1.2 Sending commands to an ezmlm/idx mailing list.Ezmlm has a different address for each command. In essence, the address is the list address and the command. This is straight forward to interpret and therefore very fast. It also makes it very easy to send commands from the command line without having to worry about the subject and the message body. If you want to interact with the ezmlm mailing listmailinglist@comp.org, send
an empty message (contents and subject are ignored) to mailinglist-command@comp.org,
replacing ``mailinglist@comp.org'' with
the list address, and ``command'' with the desired command. For some
commands, you can add arguments. Here are a few examples, which will be
discussed further below:
1.3 Subscribing to an ezmlm mailing list.As mentioned previously, ezmlm commands are put into the ADDRESS. To subscribe tomailinglist@comp.org, send
an (empty) message to mailinglist-subscribe@comp.org.
Ezmlm will send a confirmation request back to you. To confirm your
subscription, just reply to the ``Reply-To:'' address. Usually, the
``reply'' function of your mail program will do this. When ezmlm receives
your confirmation, it will add your address to the subscriber database and
send you a message to tell you that you are a subscriber. If your mail
program supports it, you may be able to just click on the address in the
message. The confirmation is used so that only you (and the list
administrator) can add/remove your address from the list of subscribers.
Sometimes, you may want to subscribe an address other than the one you are
sending from. Let's say you're sitting at john@home.net and that all your
mail is forwarded here from harold@work.com (when you are not
in the office). You'd like harold@work.com to be the
subscriber (so that you get the messages at work). To do this, send mail
to: mailinglist-subscribe-harold=work.com@comp.org.
Ezmlm will send the confirmation request to harold@work.com which will be
forwarded and reach you at john@home.net. When you reply,
harold@work.com is added
as a subscriber. The ezmlm verification mechanism tests the only relevant
issue: That the person at the subscriber address really wants to be a
subscriber. After the confirmation reply is received, ezmlm will send a
message to the subscriber address to let the recipient know that s/he is a
subscriber. Some ezmlm 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). You become a subscriber only after one of the
moderators has approved your request. If you want to send any additional
information to the moderator, do so in your confirmation message. Ezmlm
will notify you once you are a subscriber.
1.4 Unsubscribing from an ezmlm mailing list.You've guessed it already! To unsubscribe frommailinglist@comp.org just
send a message to mailinglist-unsubscribe@comp.org,
then reply to the confirmation request. Ezmlm will send you a message to
let you know that you are no longer a subscriber. Ezmlm will also let you
know if the address was not in the subscriber list. If so, you are
probably subscribed under another address. To find out your subscription
address, look at the very first header of any message from the list. This
should contain something like mailinglist-return-2345-harold=work.com@comp.org
which tells you that the message number is ``2345'' and the subscriber
address is harold@work.com. Now you remember
that you subscribed a different address, and construct the appropriate
command address to remove that address from the subscriber database:
mailinglist-unsubscribe-harold=work.com@comp.org.
Replying to the confirmation request will return the desired
acknowledgement that the address has been removed from the subscriber
database. There is another way to find which one of many possibilities is
your subscription address. Imagine you have addresses fred@old.com, gollum@previous.edu, and
webmaster@previous.edu all
forwarded to f1234@paid.job.com. You get
the messages, but you don't know to which address they are sent. You could
figure it out from the ``Delivered-To:'' and ``Received:'' headers. You
can also send -unsubscribe requests for each potential
subscription address and reply to the confirmation requests. The message
sent by ezmlm in response to you -unsubscribe confirmations will
tell you if you -unsubscribe attempt was successful. With
ezmlm-idx(*) you can also send mail to mailinglist-query-fred=old.com@comp.org,
mailinglist-query-gollum=previous.edu@comp.org,
and so on. For each message, you will receive a reply telling you if the
address is subscribed or not. Construct a ``-unsubscribe''
message from the one that gave you a positive reply and you're off the
list! If you for some reason are not successful with these attempts you
can as a last resort contact mailinglist-owner@comp.org.
Please describe your problem and include a FORWARDED message from the list
and a list of the possible addresses you might be subscribed under. The
list owner will be able to help you get off the list, and can usually
figure out your subscription address from the information sent.
Unsubscribe from subscription moderated lists works the same way as for
normal lists. You never need approval to remove your address from the
list. When a list is set up to allow posts from subscribers only(*), a
post from an address (jonesj@softx.com) may be
rejected since this address is not a subscriber (even though mail to the
subscriber john@univ.edu
reaches you, ezmlm has no way of knowing this). The easiest way to deal
with this is to unsubscribe john@univ.edu and subscribe
jonesj@softx.com. If
this is not possible/desirable, send the addresses in question with a note
to mailinglist-owner@comp.org.
The list owner can add your sender address (in this case jonesj@softx.com) to an extra
address lists of non-subscribers allowed to post (and access the archive).
1.5 Sending messages to an ezmlm mailing list.To send messages to an ezmlm list, you must know its name. If the list is calledmailinglist@comp.org, just
send a message to mailinglist@comp.org. Any
message accepted at this address is sent to all list subscribers. Due to
the efficiency of ezmlm, you usually get back the message you sent to the
list within a few minutes. Of course, this is true only is you are a
subscriber. Most ezmlm lists require that you specify a ``Subject'', a few
words that give everyone an idea what your message is about. This is a
good thing, since many subscribers automatically delete mailing list
messages without subject. Conversely, a good subject causes those
interested/able to help with your comment/problem to read the message. If
you send a message without a subject, ezmlm will send it back to you with
an error message. ezmlm also rejects messages to the list if the subject
is a single command word only, such as ``subscribe'' or ``help''. These
are almost always misdirected commands from novice users. Instead of
``flames'' from many subscribers, the sender gets an informative error
message. As you know, your should send mail to mailinglist-unsubscribe@comp.org
to unsubscribe from the list mailinglist@comp.org and a
message to mailinglist-help@comp.org
to get help and command information. The list owner may place additional
restrictions on messages to the list. Ezmlm allows rejection of messages
that are not from subscribers(*), that are too long/short(*), or that
contain certain MIME parts(*). If your message is not acceptable by these
criteria, ezmlm will send your message back to you and tell you why it
failed. You can then correct the problem and try again. You can also mail
mailinglist-owner@comp.org
to reach the list owner and ask for assistance. Replace ``mailinglist''
and ``comp.org'' with the real list and host name, respectively. In all
messages to the owner, please include a FORWARDED copy of the
error/problem message (see below). Note: ezmlm lists handle
almost everything themselves. Therefore, the list-owner may check the mail
only infrequently. Use ezmlm if at all possible, and be patient when you
wait for a reply from the owner. In special cases, the list owner may set
up the list to be message moderated(*). When you subscribe, you should be
told if the list is moderated. Also, ezmlm adds a special ``Delivered-To:
moderator for ...'' header to the messages. On a message moderated list,
your message, instead of going directly to the list, is 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 sent back to you, 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. Message
moderation is very useful for e.g. announcement lists, or lists where for
other reasons not all posts are accepted.
1.6 Replying to a message from an ezmlm mailing list.Messages sent via an ezmlm mailing list come ``From:'' the original sender. For many lists, it is appropriate to discuss privately with the original sender, then post a follow-up message with e.g. a solution to the list. In this case, just ``Reply'' to the sender. Without this behavior two things may happen: First, a subscriber may intend to reply to the original sender only, but sends a message to the entire list. This can be very embarrassing. Second, misconfigured subscriber programs sometimes send ``John is on vacation'' messages back to the ``From:'' address. The ezmlm setup allows these to go to the original sender (a minor nuisance) rather than to the list (a major nuisance with the potential for mail loops if the subscriber software is severely misconfigured). In other cases, you may want to send the reply to all subscribers. The easiest is to type in the list address by hand or to use the ``Reply-to-all'' function of your mail reader. If you do this, delete your address as well as the original sender's address so that the message goes to the list only. Since messages reach subscribers within minutes, it is usually superfluous to send a reply directly to the sender as well.1.7 Accessing the ezmlm message archive.By default, ezmlm mailing lists keep an archive of all the messages sent to the list. Some of them may have been removed by the list owner, but usually at least the last few month's message will be there. With ezmlm you can retrieve one message at a time with the -get command. With ezmlm-idx(*) you can access the archive in three different ways: You can get an ``-index'' listing message subjects and authors only. This information is sent as sets of 100 messages with up to 2000 entries per request. You can also ``-get'' a range of messages(*) (up to 100 per request) which will be sorted by subject (``Re:'' and other ``subject modifiers'' are ignored) and time received. Finally, you can retrieve a set of messages or a ``thread'' containing a specific message. This usually gives you an ordered set starting with the first post, and then all replies in order received. To access the archive, again remember that commands are put into the ADDRESS. Here are examples of the commands:
mailinglist-thread.667@comp.org
to get the entire set. If you're a digest subscriber and find an
interesting discussion, use -thread or the mailinglist-get@comp.org
address to catch up with the latest messages in that thread or on the
list. The -thread(*) command is also useful if you catch the tail
end of a discussion and want to read earlier messages. Some lists may be
set up to allow archive access to subscribers only(*). If you are not a
subscriber, you can simply subscribe. If you are a subscriber, but are
denied archive access, you are subscribed under an address different from
the one you are sending from. Easiest is to unsubscribe (see above) the
current subscriber address and subscribe the address you're sending from.
Alternatively, some mail programs (e.g. Mutt) allow you to change the
SENDER address depending on where you are sending mail. Last, if this
address difference is necessary, you may FORWARD a list message, and a
note with the two addresses and a request to mailinglist-owner@comp.org.
The owner will add your second address to a special address list of
senders allowed to access the archive (and post) even though they are not
subscribers. Remember to replace ``mailinglist@comp.org'' with
the list address.
1.8 Getting ezmlm digests a few times per weekrather than individual messages(*).Ezmlm list may be set up with a digest function. This is basically a second mailing list. The difference is that this list does not accept messages but sends out ``digests'', ordered collections of messages sent to the main list. Usually, a ``digest'' is sent out every other day. This is very convenient for users who want to follow a list, but not participate in the discussion. A digest is sorted, so it's easy to read what interests you. Simple ezmlm/idx lists test if the conditions for a digest are met whenever a message arrives. Thus, the digests do not arrive at a specific time, but rather approximately every two days, or more often if there is a lot of traffic. The digest of a list ``list'' is called ``list-digest'', and the commands are the same as for the main list. Thus, to subscribe tomailinglist-digest@comp.org
(the digest of mailinglist@comp.org) send a
message to: mailinglist-digest-subscribe@comp.org,
or to subscribe the address jonesj@softx.com send to:
mailinglist-digest-subscribe-jonesj=soft.com@comp.org.
Of course, ezmlm will send a confirmation request, and then a message
notifying the user that s/he is a subscriber.
1.9 Unsubscribing from an ezmlm digest list.You unsubscribe to the digest in the same manner as you unsubscribe from the main list, but using the digest list name. Thus, to unsubscribe your current address frommailinglist-digest@comp.org
send mail to: mailinglist-digest-unsubscribe@comp.org.
Again, you can unsubscribe john@work.com by instead mailing
mailinglist-digest-unsubscribe-john=work.com@comp.org.
Ezmlm confirmation works as usual. If subscription to the main list is
moderated(*), subscription to the digest list is moderated as well.
1.10 Temporarily halting message delivery.Just unsubscribe from the list or list-digest, then subscribe when you want mail to resume. If desired, get missed messages from the archive with -get or just subject/author info with -index(*). Due to the fast replies from ezmlm this is easier and more efficient than having ``dormant'' subscribers.1.11 Contacting the list-owner.You can always contact the list owner by mailing to the ``owner'' address. For the listmailinglist@comp.org just
send your message to mailinglist-owner@comp.org.
Please state your problem and FORWARD any error message or a list message
with your request. Since ezmlm can take care of virtually all request
without human intervention, the list owner may read mail only
infrequently. Please be patient and remember that in most cases you are
asking the list owner to manually do what you could do yourself from your
mail reader via ezmlm with the information in the error or list message.
|
| © Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999 Fred
Lindberg, lindberg@id.wustl.edu
& Fred B. Ringel, fredr@rivertown.net This page was last built on 10/3/99; 1:25:40 PM on the MacOs Comments/Suggestions: webmaster@ezmlm.org |