Mailing list allows you to send mail
to multiple users. The Mailing Lists feature is
implemented through EZMLM/IDX MAILING LIST MANAGER
(www.ezmlm.org).
A comprehensive FAQ for ezmlm can be found at http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/infosys/mail/qmail/ezfaq/.
Adding
and Creating Mailing Lists
To create a mailing list, do the
following:
- On your control panel home page, click E-Mail.
- Click Add New Mail Resource at the
bottom of the page. A new form appears:
- Choose Mailing List from the drop-down
box above.
- Agree to additional charges if any.
- Create the mailing list using the form that
appears:
-
Enter E-mail address:
This is the e-mail address from which
mail will be forwarded to subscribers.
Important: you can only enter
a new e-mail address. If you need to
use an existing address, first delete
the resource that uses it.
-
Comment: add
a comment that will help you identify
this address among other mail resources,
if needed.
Note: to remove a mailing
list, click the Delete icon in the Mailing
List Properties section .
See below how to configure
the mailing list according to your needs.
Configuring
a Mailing List
To configure a mailing list, do
the following:
- Click the name of the mailing list. Its
properties will show on the right.
- Click the Edit icon next to the Mailing
List name.
- On the page that appears, choose the preferred
settings. See below for details.
- Click the Submit button to save changes.
For profound information on how
to configure your mail list please read documentation
at www.ezmlm.org)
Now let's take a closer look at
some of the options.
Enter the e-mail address that enables
mail list subscribers to report their problems
or error messages sending requests to your_mailinglist-owner@domain.com.
Since EZMLM can take care of virtually
all requests 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
contain it, to 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.
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
Subscribers to your Mail List
Subscribers are the recipients of
your newsletters. The total number of subscribers
is displayed in the brackets.
To add subscribers to your
mail list, do the following:
- Click the name of the mailing list. Its
properties will show on the right.
- Click the Add icon next to the Subscribers
name.
- Enter subscriber's email in the Add subscriber
field. To add several subscribers at once,
enter their e-mail addresses separated with
line break in the Batch subscribers creation
field:
- Click Submit.
Removing subscribers:
- To delete subscribers one by one, click the
Delete icon next to the subscriber.
- To mass delete all subscribers, click the
Delete icon in the Remove all subscribers
field.
To send a message to a mailing list,
send the newsletter to the mail list e-mail address
using WebMail or any mail client such as Outlook
Express.
Adding
Moderators to your Mail List
Moderators approve of message
posts and requests for subscription. Individual
moderator's addresses are kept secret, even from
other moderators.
To add moderators to your mail
list, do the following:
- Click the name of the mailing list.
- Click the Add icon next to the Moderator
name.
- Add a new subscriber by submitting your
entry.
- To add several subscribers at once, enter
them in a Batch Subscribers Creation
field.
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.
Important: As a rule of
thumb, most lists use the same addresses for both
functions. The total number of moderators is displayed
in the brackets.
Adding
Message Trailer To Mailing Lists
(available in version 2.3 and higher)
Message trailer is an additional
text you can add to each message. It usually contains
information on how to unsubscribe from the list
or some important information for subscribers.
There is one trailer for all messages within one
mailing list. To add a message trailer:
- Click the name of the mailing list. Its
properties will show on the right.
- Click the Add icon next to Message Trailer.
The following page will show:
- Enter the text that will be added to each
of your subscribe messages.
- Click Submit.
To edit a message trailer, click
the Edit icon next to the Message Trailer,
edit the text and click Submit.
To remove a message trailer, click
the Delete icon against the Message
Trailer field.
