updating the content for this guide

author: bwarsaw <> 2004-12-14 14:14:32 +0000
committer: bwarsaw <> 2004-12-14 14:14:32 +0000
commit: a3a7b94b04974c40bca54caece474e8506d53822 (patch)
tree: bb447beeccdfa07a18082a99929ea7eb9f85cf9e /admin/www/mailman-admin/node19.html
parent: d497f1c251bff2eae3bce19d183a4bd988fe37e4 (diff)
download: mailman2-a3a7b94b04974c40bca54caece474e8506d53822.tar.gz
mailman2-a3a7b94b04974c40bca54caece474e8506d53822.tar.xz
mailman2-a3a7b94b04974c40bca54caece474e8506d53822.zip
1 files changed, 150 insertions, 236 deletions
diff --git a/admin/www/mailman-admin/node19.html b/admin/www/mailman-admin/node19.html
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-<title>3.5 The Non-digest Options Category</title>
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+<title>2.6 The Digest Options Category</title>
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-<td><A HREF="node18.html"><img src="../icons/previous.gif"
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-<H2><A NAME="SECTION002350000000000000000">
-3.5 The Non-digest Options Category</A>
+<H2><A NAME="SECTION002260000000000000000">
+2.6 The Digest Options Category</A>
 </H2>
 
 <P>
-Mailman delivers messages to users via two modes.  List members can
-elect to receive postings in bundles call <i>digests</i> one or a few
-times a day, or they can receive messages immediately whenever the
-message is posted to the list.  This latter delivery mode is also
-called <i>non-digest delivery</i>.  There are two administrative
-categories available for separately controlling digest and non-digest
-delivery.  You can even disable one or the other forms of delivery
-(but not both).
+Digest delivery is a way to bundle many articles together into one
+package, which can be delivered once per day (if there were any posted
+articles), or whenever the package is bigger than a specified limit.
+Some users may prefer this style of delivery for higher traffic lists
+since they will receive fewer messages.
 
 <P>
-Both kinds of delivery can have list-specific headers and footers
-added to them which can contain other useful information you want your
-list members to see.  For example, you can include instructions for
-unsubscribing, or a url to the lists digest, or any other information.
+Mailman supports two standard digest formats, and if digests are
+enabled, users can select which of the two formats they receive.  One
+is MIME digests, where each message is an attachment inside a
+<span class="mimetype">multipart/digest</span>.  This format also contains a summary
+table of contents, and of course the an optional header and footer,
+and it retains most of the headers of the original messages.
 
 <P>
-Non-digest deliveries can also be <i>personalized</i> which means
-certain parts of the message can contain information tailored to the
-member receiving the message.  For example, the <span class="mailheader">To:</span> header
-will contain the address of the member when deliveries are
-personalized.  Footers and headers can contain personalized
-information as well, such as a link to the individual user's options
-page.
+The second type is called ``plaintext'' digests because they are
+readable in mail readers that don't support MIME.  Actually, they
+adhere to the <a class="rfc" id='rfcref-1080' xml:id='rfcref-1080'
+href="http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1153.html">RFC 1153</a> digest standard.  The retain some, but not
+all of the original messages, but can also include a summary and
+headers and footers.
 
 <P>
-In addition, personalized messages will contain extra information that
-Mailman can use to unambiguously track bounces from members.
-Ordinarily, Mailman does some pattern recognition on bounce messages
-to determine list members whose addresses are no longer valid, but
-because of the vagaries of mail systems, and the countless forwards
-people can put in place, it's often the case that bounce messages
-don't contain any useful information in them.  Personalized messages
-avoid this problem by encoding information in certain headers that
-unambiguously identify the recipient of a message.  If that message
-bounces, Mailman will know exactly which member it was intended for.
+Like non-digest delivery, you can enable or disable digest delivery,
+but you cannot disable both types of delivery.  You can specify
+different headers and footers for digest and non-digest deliveries.
+You cannot personalize digest deliveries.
 
 <P>
-Note that because personalization requires extra system resources, it
-must be enabled by the site administrator before you can choose it.
+As list administrator, you may want to send an urgent message to all
+list members, bypassing the normal digest bundling.  To do this, send
+the message with a <span class="mailheader">Urgent:</span> header, where the value of the
+header is the list administrator's password.  Non-digest members will
+receive the message like normal, but digest members will receive the
+message immediately<A NAME="tex2html7"
+  HREF="#foot182"><SUP>5</SUP></A>.
 
 <P>
-Here are the variables which control non-digest delivery:
+Here are the variables which control digest delivery:
 
 <P>
 <DL>
-<DT><STRONG>nondigestable</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This option controls whether members can receive immediate
-    delivery or not.  If not, they will be forced to receive messages
-    in digests.  You can't disable non-digest delivery if digests are
-    already disabled.
-
-<P>
-</DD>
-<DT><STRONG>personalize</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This option turns on message personalization.
+<DT><STRONG>digestable</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>The option controls whether members can receive digest deliveries
+    or not.  If not, they will be forced to receive immediate
+    deliveries.  You can't disable digests if non-digests are already
+    disabled.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>msg_header</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This text box lets you enter information that will be included in
-    the header of every non-digest message sent through the
-    list.
-
-<P>
-See below for more information on what can go in the headers and
-    footers.  If you leave this text box empty, no header will be
-    added.
+<DT><STRONG>digest_is_default</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>Controls which style of delivery is the default for new members.
+    You can choose <em>Regular</em> (non-digest) or <em>Digest</em>
+    delivery.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>msg_footer</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>Just like with the header, you can add a footer to every message.
-    The same rules apply to footers as apply to headers.
-</DD>
-</DL>
-
-<P>
-Headers and footers can contain any text you want.  For non-English
-lists, the headers and footers can contain any character in the
-character set of the list's preferred language.  The headers and
-footers can also contain <i>substitution variables</i> which Mailman
-will fill in with information taken from the mailing list.  These
-substitutions are in Python string interpolation format, where
-something like <code>%(list_name)s</code> is substituted with he name of
-the mailing list.  Note that the trailing "<tt class="samp">s</tt>" is
-required<A NAME="tex2html4"
-  HREF="#foot281"><SUP>2</SUP></A>.
-
-<P>
-For example, a footer containing the following text:
-
-<P>
-<dl><dd><pre class="verbatim">
-This is the \%(list_name)s mailing list
-Description: \%(description)s
-</pre></dl>
-
-<P>
-might get attached to postings like so:
-
-<P>
-<dl><dd><pre class="verbatim">
-This is the Example mailing list
-Description: An example of Mailman mailing lists
-</pre></dl>
-
-<P>
-Here is the list of substitution variables available for your headers
-and footers:
-
-<P>
-<DL>
-<DT><STRONG>real_name</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This is the value of the <code>real_name</code> configuration variable
-    in the General options category.
+<DT><STRONG>mime_is_default_digest</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>If a member is allowed to choose digests, this variable controls
+    which is the default digest style they will receive.  <em>Plain</em>
+    digests are <a class="rfc" id='rfcref-1082' xml:id='rfcref-1082'
+href="http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1153.html">RFC 1153</a> format as described above.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>list_name</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This is the canonical name of the mailing list.  In other words
-    it's the posting address of the list<A NAME="tex2html5"
-  HREF="#foot282"><SUP>3</SUP></A>.
+<DT><STRONG>digest_size_threshold</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>Normally, digest members get at least one message per day, if
+    there have been any messages posted to the list.  However, for
+    high volume lists, you may want to send out digests when the size
+    has reached a certain threshold, otherwise, the one digest they
+    receive could be huge.  This variable controls the size threshold
+    by specifying the maximum digest size in kilobytes.  Note that
+    this threshold isn't exact.  Set this variable to zero to specify
+    that there is no size threshold, in which case no more than one
+    digest will be sent out per day.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>host_name</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This is the domain name part of the email address for this list.
+<DT><STRONG>digest_send_periodic</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>This variable actually controls whether or not a digest is sent
+    daily when the size threshold has not yet been met.  If set to
+    <em>No</em>, then digests will only be sent when they are bigger
+    than <code>digest_size_threshold</code>.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>web_page_url</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This is the base url for contacting the list via the web.  It can
-    be appended with <code>listinfo/%(list_name)s</code> to yield the
-    general list information page for the mailing list.
-
-<P>
-</DD>
-<DT><STRONG>description</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>The brief description of the mailing list.
-
-<P>
-</DD>
-<DT><STRONG>info</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This is the full description of the mailing list.
-
-<P>
-</DD>
-<DT><STRONG>cgiext</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>This is the extension added to CGI scripts.  It might be the empty
-    string, <code>.cgi</code>, or something else depending on how your site
-    is configured.
-</DD>
-</DL>
-
-<P>
-Note that <code>real_name</code>, <code>host_name</code>, <code>description</code>, and
-<code>info</code> substitution variables take their values from the list
-configuration variables of the same name.
-
-<P>
-When personalization is enabled, the following substitution variables
-are also available:
-
-<P>
-<DL>
-<DT><STRONG>user_address</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>The address of the recipient of the message, coerced to lower case.
+<DT><STRONG>digest_header</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>This text box lets you enter information that will be included in
+    the header of every digest message sent through the list.  The
+    same information can go in this header as can go in the
+    <code>msg_header</code>, except for the personalization variables.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>user_delivered_to</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>The case-preserved address that the user subscribed to the mailing
-    list with<A NAME="tex2html6"
-  HREF="#foot283"><SUP>4</SUP></A>.
+<DT><STRONG>digest_footer</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>Just like with the header, you can add a footer to every message.
+    The same rules apply to digest footers as apply to digest headers.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>user_password</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>The user's password, in clear text.
+<DT><STRONG>digest_volume_frequency</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>Each digest is numbered with a volume and an issue.  This variable
+    controls how often a new digest volume is sent.  When the digest
+    volume number is incremented, the issue number is reset to 1.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>user_name</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>The user's full name.
+<DT><STRONG>_new_volume</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>This is an action variable, which forces an increment of the
+    volume number as soon as you submit the form.
 
 <P>
 </DD>
-<DT><STRONG>user_optionsurl</STRONG></DT>
-<DD>The url to the user's personal options page.
+<DT><STRONG>_send_digest_now</STRONG></DT>
+<DD>This is another action variable.  Select <em>Yes</em>, submit the
+    form, and the current digest is packaged up and sent to digest
+    members, regardless of size (well, there has to be at least one
+    message in the digest).
 </DD>
 </DL>
 
 <P>
 <BR><HR><H4>Footnotes</H4>
 <DL>
-<DT><A NAME="foot281">...
-required</A><A
- HREF="node19.html#tex2html4"><SUP>2</SUP></A></DT>
-<DD>The site administrator can configure lists to use a
-simpler interpolation format, where <code>$list_name</code> or
-<code>${list_name}</code> would be substituted with the mailing list's
-name.  Ask your site administrator if the've configured your list this
-way.
-
-</DD>
-<DT><A NAME="foot282">... list</A><A
- HREF="node19.html#tex2html5"><SUP>3</SUP></A></DT>
-<DD>For backward
-    compatibility, the variable <code>_internal_name</code> is
-    equivalent.
-
-</DD>
-<DT><A NAME="foot283">... with</A><A
- HREF="node19.html#tex2html6"><SUP>4</SUP></A></DT>
-<DD>Usually it makes no difference which of
-    <code>user_address</code> and <code>user_delivered_to</code> is used, but it's
-    important to remember that they can be different.  When they're
-    different, Mailman always uses the lower case address as the key
-    to the member's subscription information, but it always delivers
-    messages to the case-preserved version.
+<DT><A NAME="foot182">... immediately</A><A
+ HREF="node19.html#tex2html7"><SUP>5</SUP></A></DT>
+<DD>They'll also receive the message in the
+digest.
 
 </DD>
 </DL>
 <DIV CLASS="navigation">
-<p><hr>
+<div class='online-navigation'>
+<p></p><hr />
 <table align="center" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2">
 <tr>
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+<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="prev" title="2.5 The Non-digest Options"
+  href="node18.html"><img src='previous.png'
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+<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="parent" title="2 The List Configuration"
+  href="node8.html"><img src='up.png'
+  border='0' height='32'  alt='Up One Level' width='32' /></A></td>
+<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="next" title="2.7 The Privacy Options"
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 <td align="center" width="100%">GNU Mailman - List Administration Manual</td>
-<td><A href="contents.html"><img src="../icons/contents.gif"
-  border="0" height="32"
-  alt="Contents" width="32"></A></td>
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-<td><img src="../icons/blank.gif"
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+<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="contents" title="Table of Contents"
+  href="contents.html"><img src='contents.png'
+  border='0' height='32'  alt='Contents' width='32' /></A></td>
+<td class='online-navigation'><img src='blank.png'
+  border='0' height='32'  alt='' width='32' /></td>
+<td class='online-navigation'><img src='blank.png'
+  border='0' height='32'  alt='' width='32' /></td>
 </tr></table>
-<b class="navlabel">Previous:</b> <a class="sectref" HREF="node18.html">3.4 The Membership Management</A>
-<b class="navlabel">Up:</b> <a class="sectref" HREF="node9.html">3 The List Configuration</A>
-<b class="navlabel">Next:</b> <a class="sectref" HREF="node20.html">3.6 The Digest Options</A>
-<hr>
-<span class="release-info">Release 2.1, documentation updated on October 2, 2004.</span>
+<div class='online-navigation'>
+<b class="navlabel">Previous:</b>
+<a class="sectref" rel="prev" href="node18.html">2.5 The Non-digest Options</A>
+<b class="navlabel">Up:</b>
+<a class="sectref" rel="parent" href="node8.html">2 The List Configuration</A>
+<b class="navlabel">Next:</b>
+<a class="sectref" rel="next" href="node20.html">2.7 The Privacy Options</A>
+</div>
+</div>
+<hr />
+<span class="release-info">Release 2.1, documentation updated on December 13, 2004.</span>
 </DIV>
 <!--End of Navigation Panel-->
author	bwarsaw <>	2004-12-14 14:14:32 +0000
committer	bwarsaw <>	2004-12-14 14:14:32 +0000
commit	a3a7b94b04974c40bca54caece474e8506d53822 (patch)
tree	bb447beeccdfa07a18082a99929ea7eb9f85cf9e /admin/www/mailman-admin/node19.html
parent	d497f1c251bff2eae3bce19d183a4bd988fe37e4 (diff)
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