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A mail list is simply a list of e-mail addresses of people that are interested in the same subject, are members of the same work group, or who are taking a class together. When a member of the list sends a note to the group's special address, the e-mail is broadcast to all of the members of the list. The key advantage of a mail list over things such as web-based discussion is that as new messages become available they are immediately delivered to the participants' mailboxes. Mailman, the subject of this document, is a program that will make it easy for your to customize your participation in lists on INNOPACUSERS.ORG.
Before we look further at Mailman there are some key terms that it will help to understand.
The Mailman web interface allows you to visit a mail list server and find out about the lists that the server hosts. The directory of lists at INNOPACUSERS.ORG can be found at: http://innopacusers.org/mailman/listinfo.
Every mail list on the server has its own mail list information page. When you go to the server's main list information page you will see a listing of the publicly available lists along with a brief description of each. To access the information page for a particular list (including subscription information and the list archives) just click on the name of the list. If you want to access a private list that is not advertised then you will need to go directly there using the following address format: http://innopacusers.org/mailman/listinfo/NameOfList
It is important that you understand how to get to a mail list's information page as that is the gateway through which all Mailman features are accessed. When you join a list or are added to the list membership by the owner the list manager software automatically sends you a note telling you the URL that you need to go to in order to access the information page. On most lists the list manager will also send you a monthly reminder with the web address of the list information screen. If you have difficulty finding the location of the information page for a particular list you should contact the list owner or the IUG listmaster.
This section will detail some of the things the you can do with Mailman through the web interface. This assumes that you are able to access your list's information page either directly or through the directory of lists discussed in the above section.
When you arrive at the information page of a list you will see information divided into sections. The first section directs you to the list's archives if they are available. See the archive section below for detailed information. The list info page also tells you how to send a note to the list. Note that the conventional list configuration prevents postings to the list from people who have not subscribed: so if you try to send a note to the list before you join it the message will probably be rejected and returned to you.
At the bottom of the list information page is a section for people who are already subscribers. The first option is a button that allows you to see the people who are subscribed to the list. Note that some list owners disable this function in which case it will not appear on this page. Other lists make this option available only to individuals who are members of the list - in which case you will be prompted for your e-mail address and list password after requesting subscriber information.
The final item on the page allows list subscribers to change their configuration information. Members of the list can type their e-mail address into the box (they need to use the address that the mail list delivers mail to if they have multiple addresses) and then click the Edit Options button. Details on this feature are in the List Options section below.
Subscribing to a list is simple and includes safeguards to prevent abuse of the list. In the subscription section type your e-mail address and then select a password. The password will be used later when you want to log in and change your personal settings.
When you fill out the form you also have the option to receive mail from the list batched in a daily digest. This is convenient if you are a member of a number of lists or if the list that you are joining has a lot of traffic. If you change your mind you will be able to change the digest option at a later time as detailed in the "options" section below.
After you supply your e-mail address and password you should press the subscribe button to add yourself to the list. Your addition to the list is not, however, immediate. After you submit the form Mailman will send an e-mail message to the address that you used to subscribe. The message that you receive will ask you to confirm your subscription request (this is to prevent someone from maliciously adding you to mail lists that you do not want to join). When you receive the confirmation request just follow the instructions - the simplest thing being just to hit the "reply" button in your mail program. If you send the message back without altering the subject line (the Re: added by your mailer is OK) then your confirmation will be accepted.
After successfully confirming your subscription Mailman will send you a welcome e-mail message. The message will include the following important information:
Please keep this message in a safe place. You will need the information that it contains if you ever want modify your personal settings or remove yourself from the list. For most lists this information will be mailed to you as a monthly reminder, but just to be safe you should always keep the original.
Once you have subscribed to a Mailman list there are number of things that you can to do administer and customize your subscription. The most straightforward means of accessing your subscription options is by going to the URL delivered in your welcome message. If you do not have it handy, then you can go directly to the list information page if you know the name of the list. Tell your browser to open:
http://innopacusers.org/mailman/listinfo/NameOfList
For example, to access the IUG's INNOPAC mailing list, go to http://innopacusers.org/mailman/listinfo/innopac. At the bottom of the list information page is a blank that will allow you to type in your e-mail address and click the edit options button. Note that if you have multiple e-mail accounts you need to supply the address that you are using as a member of the list whose options you are trying to edit. When you reach your settings the configuration screen is divided into four sections.
The first section of the configuration screen is straightforward. If you want to remove yourself from the mail list then all you need do is put your password in the blank and click the unsubscribe button. The password is required to prevent other people from removing you from the list without your knowing.
It is likely that you will be subscribed so several lists that reside on the same server. Mailman allows you to jump from one configuration screen to the other through the use of the "other subscriptions" feature. This is useful, for example, if you are going on vacation and need to change to the no mail option on several lists while away.
The password section of the configuration screen provides you with two options. First, it allows you to look up your password if you have forgotten it. Note that for security purposes it will mail your password to the account that you have registered - preventing unauthorized access to your password.
The second section allows you to change your password. To change your list password you need to type in your old password once and then the new password twice. It is a good idea to change your password from the computer generated random password if you were added to the list by the list administrator.
There are two additional things that you should know about Mailman's handling of passwords. As a convenience to the user, the list manager is configured to send you a monthly reminder of the lists that you are subscribed to, the list information URLs of those lists, and your personal passwords for those lists. When you receive this reminder you do not need to do anything, but it is a good idea to keep the note in case you want to make modifications to your subscriptions. It is also important to keep in mind that you have a separate password for each of the lists that you are subscribe to, even though they may be on the same mail server. For convenience you may visit each list and set your password to something common, but changing your password on one list will not change your password on others on the same server. If you ever forget a password, remember that you can request that it be sent to you from the list information page.
At the bottom of the configuration screen are the general subscription options for the list as they are set for your account. When you first load this page the options reflect your current settings. You may make changes to these settings and then put them into effect by typing in your password at the bottom of the screen and then clicking on the "submit my changes" button.
Here is a summary of the settings and a description of what they mean:
You need to look at this setting carefully if you are thinking about changing it. The settings may mean the reverse of what you think they do:
MIME is a way of sending mail that allows for document formatting and the easy shipping of attachments. Most modern mail readers can handle MIME mail; older, text-based mail readers may have problems.