path: root/admin/www/mailman-member.txt

   #first Contents

                      GNU Mailman - List Member Manual
     _________________________________________________________________

                      GNU Mailman - List Member Manual

                                 Terri Oda

                            terri(at)zone12.com

                                Release 2.1
                              October 2, 2004


                                 Front Matter

  Abstract:

   This document describes the list member interface for GNU Mailman 2.1.
   It contains instructions for subscribing, unsubscribing, viewing the
   archives, editing user options, getting password reminders, and other
   subscriber-level tasks. It also answers some common questions of
   interest to Mailman list members.

Contents

     * Front Matter
          + 1 Introduction
               o 1.1 Acknowledgements
               o 1.2 What is a mailing list?
               o 1.3 GNU Mailman
          + 2 Translating from our examples to real lists
          + 3 Mailman's interfaces
               o 3.1 The web interface
               o 3.2 The email interface
          + 4 I need to talk to a human!
          + 5 Subscribing and unsubscribing
               o 5.1 How do I join a list? (subscribe)
               o 5.2 How do I leave a list? (unsubscribe)
          + 6 Passwords
               o 6.1 How do I get my password?
               o 6.2 How do I change my password?
               o 6.3 How do I turn password reminders on or off?
                 (reminders option)
          + 7 Changing mail delivery
               o 7.1 How do I turn mail delivery on or off? (delivery
                 option)
               o 7.2 How can I avoid getting duplicate messages?
                 (duplicates option)
               o 7.3 How do I change my subscription address?
               o 7.4 How do I stop or start getting copies of my own
                 posts? (myposts option)
               o 7.5 How can I get Mailman to tell me when my post has
                 been received by the list? (ack option)
               o 7.6 I don't seem to be getting mail from the lists. What
                 should I do?
          + 8 Digests
               o 8.1 How can I start or stop getting the list posts
                 grouped into one big email? (digest option)
               o 8.2 What are MIME and Plain Text Digests? How do I
                 change which one I get? (digest option)
          + 9 Mailing list topics
               o 9.1 How do I make sure that my post has the right topic?
               o 9.2 How do I subscribe to all or only some topics on a
                 list?
               o 9.3 How do I get or avoid getting messages with no topic
                 set?
          + 10 Setting other options
               o 10.1 Change Globally? Set Globally? What does that mean?
               o 10.2 How do I change my name as Mailman knows it?
               o 10.3 How do I set my preferred language?
               o 10.4 How do I avoid having my name appear on the
                 subscribers list? (the hide option)
          + 11 Other common questions
               o 11.1 How do I view the list archives?
               o 11.2 What does Mailman do to help protect me from
                 unsolicited bulk email (spam)?
          + 1 Email commands quick reference
          + 2 Member options quick reference
     * About this document ...

                                1 Introduction

   This document is intended to help the members of a Mailman 2.1 mailing
   list learn to use the features available to them. It covers the use of
   the web and email interfaces for subscribing and unsubscribing,
   changing member options, getting password reminders and other
   subscriber-level tasks. It also answers some common questions of
   interest to Mailman list members.

   Information for list and site administrators is provided in other
   documents.

   This document need not be read in order. If you are simply looking for
   an answer to a specific question, jump to the appropriate place and
   references to other sections will be provided if necessary or
   potentially helpful.

   Note: For the purposes of this document, we assume that the reader is
   familiar with common terms related to email (eg: Subject line, body of
   the message) and web sites (eg: drop-down box, button) or can look
   them up. We also assume that the reader can already use his or her
   email program and web browser well enough that instructions such as
   ``send email to this address'' or ``visit this web page'' or ``fill in
   the form provided'' are clear. If you are not familiar with these
   actions, you may want to consult other documentation to learn how to
   do these things with your particular setup.

1.1 Acknowledgements

   Sections of this document have been borrowed from the List
   Administrator Manual found in Mailman CVS, which was written by Barry
   A. Warsaw, and from the in-line help for Mailman 2.1.

   The rest of this manual has been written by Terri Oda. Terri has been
   maintaining mailing lists since the year she attained voting age in
   Canada, although the two are not related. She currently oversees the
   mailing lists at Linuxchix.org, as well as several smaller servers. In
   the world outside of list administration, Terri is doing work with an
   artificial life spam detector, and is actually more of a programmer
   than technical writer.

   Thanks to Margaret McCarthy, Jason Walton and Barry Warsaw for their
   help in proofreading and otherwise improving this manual.

   Thanks also to Ikeda Soji, who made the Japanese translation of this
   document, and Pablo Chamorro C., who made the Spanish translation.

1.2 What is a mailing list?

   A mailing list is simply a list of addresses to which the same
   information is being sent. If you were a magazine publisher, you would
   have a list of the mailing addresses of all the subscribers to the
   magazine. In the case of an electronic mailing list, we use a list of
   email addresses from people interested in hearing about or discussing
   a given topic.

   Two common types of email mailing lists are announcement lists and
   discussion lists.

   Announcement lists are used so that one person or group can send
   announcements to a group of people, much like a magazine publisher's
   mailing list is used to send out magazines. For example, a band may
   use an announcement mailing list to let their fan base know about
   their upcoming concerts.

   A discussion list allows a group of people to discuss topics amongst
   themselves, with everyone able to send mail to the list and have it
   distributed to everyone in the group. This discussion may also be
   moderated, so only selected posts are sent on to the group as a whole,
   or only certain people are allowed to send to the group. For example,
   a group of model plane enthusiasts might use a discussion mailing list
   to share tips about model construction and flying.

   Some common terms:
     * A ``post'' typically denotes a message sent to a mailing list.
       (Think of posting a message on a bulletin board.)
     * People who are part of an electronic mailing list are usually
       called the list's ``members'' or ``subscribers.''
     * ``List administrators'' are the people in charge of maintaining
       that one list. Lists may have one or more administrators.
     * A list may also have people in charge of reading posts and
       deciding if they should be sent on to all subscribers. These
       people are called list moderators.
     * Often more than one electronic mailing list will be run using the
       same piece of software. The person who maintains the software
       which runs the lists is called the ``site administrator.'' Often
       the site administrator also administrates individual lists.

1.3 GNU Mailman

   GNU Mailman is software that lets you manage electronic mailing lists.
   It supports a wide range of mailing list types, such as general
   discussion lists and announce-only lists. Mailman has extensive
   features which make it good for list subscribers, such as easy
   subscription and unsubscription, privacy options, and the ability to
   temporarily stop getting posts from the list. The list member features
   are covered in this document.

   Mailman also has many features which make it attractive to list and
   site administrators. These features are covered in the list and site
   administrator manuals.

                 2 Translating from our examples to real lists

   Often, it's easier to simply give an example than explain exactly how
   to find the address for your specific list. As such, we'll frequently
   give examples for a fictional list called LISTNAME@DOMAIN whose list
   information page can be found at
   http://WEBSERVER/mailman/listinfo/LISTNAME.

   Neither of these are real addresses, but they show the form of a
   typical list address. The capital letters used for the list-specific
   parts of each address should make it easier to see what should be
   changed for each list. Although specific list configurations may be
   different, you will probably be able to just replace the words given
   in capital letters with the appropriate values for a real list:

   LISTNAME
          The name of your list.

   DOMAIN
          The name of the mail server which handles that list.

   WEBSERVER
          The name of the web server which handles the list web
          interface. This may be the same as DOMAIN, and often refers to
          the same machine, but does not have to be identical.

   As a real-life example, if you are interested in the mailman-users
   list, you'd make the following substitutions: LISTNAME=mailman-users,
   DOMAIN=python.org, WEBSERVER=mail.python.org. As such, for the
   mailman-users@python.org mailing list, the list information page can
   be found at the URL
   http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/mailman-users. (These, unlike
   most of the examples given in this document, are real addresses.)

   Most lists will have this information stored in the List-*: headers.
   Many mail programs will hide these by default, so you may have to
   choose to view full headers before you can see these informational
   headers.

                            3 Mailman's interfaces

   Mailman has two different interfaces for the list subscriber: the web
   interface and the email interface. Most discussion list subscribers
   use the email interface, since this includes the email address you use
   to send mail to all the subscribers of that list.

   The interface you use for changing options is largely a matter of
   preference, since most (but not all) of the options which can be
   changed from the web interface can also be changed by email. Usually
   it is easier to use the web interface for changing options, since the
   web interface provides instructions as you go, but there are times
   when people may prefer the email interface, so both are provided.


3.1 The web interface

   The web interface of Mailman is its selling point for many people,
   since it makes it much easier for subscribers and administrators to
   see which options are available, and what these options do.

   Every mailing list is also accessible by a number of web pages. Note
   that the exact URLs are configurable by the site administrator, so
   they may be different than what's described below. We'll describe the
   most common configuration, but check with your site administrator or
   hosting service for details.

   List information (listinfo) page

          + Usually found at http://WEBSERVER/mailman/listinfo/LISTNAME
            (for example,
            http://lists.example.com/mailman/listinfo/mylist)
          + The listinfo page is the starting point for the subscriber
            interface. As one would assume from the name it's given, it
            contains information about the LISTNAME list. Usually all the
            other subscriber pages can be accessed from this point, so
            you really only need to know this one address.

   Member options page

          + Usually found at
            http://WEBSERVER/mailman/options/LISTNAME/EMAIL (For example,
            http://lists.example.com/mailman/options/mylist/kathy@here.co
            m)
          + This page can also be accessed by going to the listinfo page
            and entering your email address into the box beside the
            button marked ``Unsubscribe or Edit Options'' (this is near
            the bottom of the page).
          + The member options page allows you to log in/out and change
            your list settings, as well as unsubscribe or get a copy of
            your password mailed to you.
          + To log in to your member options page: If you are not already
            logged in, there will be a box near the top for you to enter
            your password. (If you do not know your password, see
            Section 6.1 for more information on getting your password.)
            Enter your password in the box and press the button.
          + Once you are logged in, you will be able to view and change
            all your list settings.

   List Archives

          + Usually found at http://WEBSERVER/pipermail/LISTNAME if the
            list is publicly archived, and
            http://WEBSERVER/mailman/private/LISTNAME if the list is
            privately archived. (For example,
            http://lists.example.com/pipermail/mylist or
            http://lists.example.com/mailman/private/mylist)
          + The list archive pages have copies of the posts sent to the
            mailing list, usually grouped by month. In each monthly
            group, the posts are usually indexed by author, date, thread,
            and subject.
          + Note: Pipermail is the name of the default archiver that
            comes with Mailman. Other archive programs are available.
          + If the archive is private, you will need to supply your
            subscribed email address and your password to log in. (See
            Section 6.1 for more information on getting your password.)


3.2 The email interface

   Every mailing list has a set of email addresses to which messages can
   be sent. There's always one address for posting messages to the list,
   one address to which bounces are sent, and addresses for processing
   email commands. For a fictional mailing list called
   mylist@example.com, you'd find these addresses:

     * mylist@example.com - this is the email address people should use
       for new postings to the list.
     * mylist-join@example.com - by sending a message to this address, a
       new member can request subscription to the list. Both the Subject:
       header and body of such a message are ignored. Note that
       mylist-subscribe@example.com is an alias for the -join address.
     * mylist-leave@example.com - by sending a message to this address, a
       member can request unsubscription from the list. As with the -join
       address, the Subject: header and body of the message is ignored.
       Note that mylist-unsubscribe@example.com is an alias for the
       -leave address.
     * mylist-owner@example.com - This address reaches the list owner and
       list moderators directly. This is the address you use if you need
       to contact the person or people in charge.
     * mylist-request@example.com - This address reaches a mail robot
       which processes email commands that can be used to set member
       subscription options, as well as process other commands. A list of
       members' email commands is provided in Appendix A.
     * mylist-bounces@example.com - This address is used in Mailman's
       automatic bounce processing.
     * mylist-confirm@example.com - This address is used for processing
       confirmation messages for subscription and unsubscription
       requests.

   There's also an -admin address which also reaches the list
   administrators, but this address only exists for compatibility with
   older versions of Mailman.

   For changing options, we use the LISTNAME-request address (for
   example, mylist-request@example.com).

   Commands can appear in the subject line or the body of the message.
   Each command should be on a separate line. If your mail program
   automatically appends a signature to your messages, you may want to
   put the word ``end'' (without the quotes) on a separate line after
   your other commands. The end command tells Mailman not to process the
   email after that point.

   The most important command is probably the ``help'' command, since it
   makes Mailman return a message full of useful information about the
   email commands and directions to the web interface.

   Quick references to the subscriber commands have been provided in
   Appendices A and B. (These have been slightly adapted from the output
   of the help command.)


                         4 I need to talk to a human!

   If you have any trouble with any of these commands, you can always
   reach the person or people in charge of a list by using the list
   administrator email address. The list administrators can help you
   figure out how to do something, subscribe/unsubscribe you, or change
   your settings if you are unable to change them yourself for some
   reason. Please remember that many mailing list administrators are
   volunteers who are donating their spare time to run the list, and they
   may be very busy people.

   This list administrator email address is in the form
   LISTNAME-owner@DOMAIN, where LISTNAME is the name of the list (eg:
   mailman-users) and DOMAIN is the name of the server (eg: python.org).
   This email address, along with the email addresses of specific
   administrators, is given on the bottom of the list information pages.
   See Section 3.1 for more information on finding the list information
   page for your list

                        5 Subscribing and unsubscribing

   Since subscribing (joining) and unsubscribing (leaving) lists are
   often the only things a list member needs to know, these can both be
   done without requiring you to know a password.


5.1 How do I join a list? (subscribe)

   There are two common ways you can subscribe to a Mailman mailing list.

   Using the web interface:
    1. Go to the list information page for the list you want to join.
       (This will probably be something like
       http://WEBSERVER/mailman/listinfo/LISTNAME)
    2. Look for the section marked ``Subscribing to LISTNAME'' and fill
       in the boxes. You can fill in the following:
          + You must enter your email address.
          + You may choose to supply your real name.
          + You may choose a password. If you do not choose one, Mailman
            will generate one for you.
            Warning: Do NOT use a valuable password, since this password
            may occasionally be mailed to you in plain text.
          + If the list supports more than one language, you may be able
            to choose your preferred language. Note: This setting does
            not affect posts to the list, only Mailman texts that come
            from the list software, such as your member options page.
    3. Press the subscribe button. A new page should appear telling you
       that your subscription request has been received. This page will
       provide you with further instructions, such as the need to wait
       for and reply to a confirmation messages, depending on the list's
       subscription policies.

   Using the email interface:
    1. Open a mail program which sends mail from the address you want to
       subscribe.
    2. Send a mail to the list subscription address, which will be in the
       form LISTNAME-join@DOMAIN. The subject and body of the message
       will be ignored, so it doesn't matter what you put there.

   After following one of these sets of instructions (you don't need to
   do both!), there are a few possible outcomes depending upon the
   settings for that list.
     * You may receive an email message asking for confirmation that you
       really want to be subscribed to the list. This is to prevent
       anyone from subscribing you to lists without your permission.
       Follow the instructions given in the message to confirm your wish
       to be subscribed.
     * A moderator may also need to confirm your subscription if you are
       subscribing to a closed list.
     * Or you may have to wait for a moderator and follow the
       instructions in the confirmation mail.

   Once this is done, you will likely receive another message welcoming
   you to the list. This message contains some useful information
   including your list password and some quick links for changing your
   options, so you may want to save it for later reference.

   Note: Subscribing can be done in other ways as well. See Appendix A
   for more advanced email subscribing commands.


5.2 How do I leave a list? (unsubscribe)

   Don't want to be on a list any more? If you're just going on vacation
   or are too busy to read mails and want to temporarily turn them off,
   you may want to stop mail delivery rather than unsubscribing. This
   means you keep your password and other settings so you can, for
   example, still have access to private list archives. If this is what
   you'd prefer, see Section 7.1 for instructions on disabling mail
   delivery temporarily.

   If you actually want to leave the list, there are two common ways you
   can unsubscribe from a Mailman mailing list.

   Using the web interface:
    1. Go to the list information page for the list you want to leave.
       (This will probably be something like
       http://WEBSERVER/mailman/listinfo/LISTNAME)
    2. Look for the section marked ``LISTNAME subscribers'' (usually
       found near the bottom of the page).
    3. There should be a button marked ``Unsubscribe or Edit Options.''
       Enter your email address in the box beside this button and press
       the button.
    4. You should be brought to a new page which has an ``Unsubscribe''
       button. Press it to unsubscribe and follow the instructions given.

   Using the email interface:
    1. Open a mail program which sends mail from the address you want to
       unsubscribe.
    2. Send a mail to the list unsubscribe address, which will be of the
       form LISTNAME-leave@DOMAIN. The subject and body of this message
       will be ignored, so it doesn't matter what you put there.

   After following one of these sets of instructions (you don't need to
   do both!), you will be sent a confirmation mail and must follow the
   instructions given in that mail to complete the unsubscription. This
   is to stop people from unsubscribing you without your permission. In
   addition, a moderator may need to approve your unsubscription.
   (Administrator-approved unsubscriptions are uncommon.)

   If you do not receive this confirmation mail with instructions, make
   sure that you typed your email address correctly (if you were using
   the web interface to unsubscribe) and that the address you tried to
   unsubscribe is, indeed, actually subscribed to that list. For security
   reasons, Mailman generates the same member options page regardless of
   whether the address entered is subscribed or not. This means that
   people cannot use this part of the web interface to find out if
   someone is subscribed to the list, but it also means that it's hard to
   tell if you just made a typo.

   Once your unsubscription has been processed, you will will probably
   receive another message confirming your unsubscription from the list,
   and at that point you should stop receiving messages.

   If you wish to skip the confirmation process (for example, you might
   be unsubscribing an address which no longer works), it is possible to
   bypass it by using your password instead and either logging in to your
   options page using it (See Section 3.1), or sending it with your email
   commands to LISTNAME-request (See Appendix A for advanced email
   unsubscription commands). See Section 6.1 for more information on
   getting your password.


                                  6 Passwords

   Your password was either set by you or generated by Mailman when you
   subscribed. You probably got a copy of it in a welcome message sent
   when you joined the list, and you may also receive a reminder of it
   every month. It is used to verify your identity to Mailman so that
   only the holder of the password (you!) and the administrators can view
   and change your settings.

   Warning: Do NOT use a valuable password for Mailman, since it can be
   sent in plain text to you.


6.1 How do I get my password?

   If you've forgotten your password and haven't saved the welcome
   message or any reminder messages, you can always get a reminder
   through the web interface:

    1. Go to the list information page for the list from which you wish
       to get your password (This will probably be something like
       http://WEBSERVER/mailman/listinfo/LISTNAME)
    2. Look for the section marked ``LISTNAME subscribers'' (this section
       is usually found near the bottom of the page).
    3. There should be a button marked ``Unsubscribe or Edit Options.''
       Enter your email address in the box beside this button and press
       the button.
    4. You should be brought to a new page which has an ``Password
       Reminder'' section. Press the ``Remind'' button to have your
       password emailed to you.

   If you do not receive the password reminder email after doing this,
   make sure that you typed your email address correctly and that the
   address you used is, indeed, actually subscribed to that list. For
   security reasons, Mailman generates the same member options page
   regardless of whether the address entered is subscribed or not. This
   means that people cannot use this part of the web interface to find
   out if someone is subscribed to the list, but it also means that it's
   hard to tell if you just made a typo.

   You can also get a reminder using the email interface,
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command password
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
       If you are not sending mail from your subscribed address, you can
       also specify this address by sending the command password address=
       $<$ ADDRESS $>$ .

6.2 How do I change my password?

   Warning: Do NOT use a valuable password, since this password may be
   mailed to you in plain text.

   From the web interface:
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for
       instructions on how to do this.)
    2. Look for the password changing boxes on the right-hand side of the
       page and enter your new password in the appropriate boxes, then
       press the button marked ``Change My Password.''

   This can also be changed for multiple lists at the same time if you
   are subscribed to more than one list on the same domain. See
   Section 10.1 for information about changing settings globally.

   From the email interface:
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command password
       $<$ OLDPASSWORD $>$   $<$ NEWPASSWORD $>$ .
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
       If you are not sending mail from your membership address, you can
       also specify this address with address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$ after $<$
       NEWPASSWORD $>$ .
       For example, if kathy@here.com wanted to change her mylist
       password from zirc to miko, but she was sending mail from her work
       address kathy@work.com, she could send a message to
       mylist-request@example.com with the subject set to
       password zirc miko address=kathy@here.com.

6.3 How do I turn password reminders on or off? (reminders option)

   If you don't wish to the reminder email including your password every
   month, you can disable it from the member options page. (You can
   always get the password mailed out when you actually want it. See
   Section 6.1 for instructions.)

   Using the web interface:
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for
       instructions on how to do this.)
    2. Look for the section marked ``Get password reminder email for this
       list?'' and change the value accordingly.

   This can also be changed for multiple lists at the same time if you
   are subscribed to more than one list on the same domain. See
   Section 10.1 for information about changing settings globally.

   Using the email interface:
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command
       set reminders on or set reminders off.
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
    2. Set it to ``on'' to receive reminders, and ``off'' to stop
       receiving reminders.

                           7 Changing mail delivery


7.1 How do I turn mail delivery on or off? (delivery option)

   You may wish to temporarily stop getting messages from the list
   without having to unsubscribe. If you disable mail delivery, you will
   no longer receive messages, but will still be a subscriber and will
   retain your password and other settings.

   This can be handy in a many different cases. For example, you could be
   going on vacation or need a break from the list because you're too
   busy to read any extra mail. Many mailing lists also allow only
   subscribers to post to the list, so if you commonly send mail from
   more than one address (eg, one address for at home and another for
   when you're travelling), you may want to have more than one subscribed
   account, but have only one of them actually receive mail. You can also
   use this as a way to read private archives even on a list which may be
   too busy for you to have sent directly to your mailbox. All you need
   to do is subscribe, disable mail delivery, and use your password and
   email to log in to the archives.

   To disable/enable mail delivery using the web interface:
    1. Log in to your options page. (See Section 3.1 for instructions.)
    2. Go down to the section marked ``Mail delivery'' and select
       ``Disabled'' to stop receiving mail, and ``Enabled'' to start
       receiving mail.

   This can also be changed for multiple lists at the same time if you
   are subscribed to more than one list on the same domain. See
   Section 10.1 for information about changing settings globally.

   To disable/enable mail delivery using the email interface:
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command
       set delivery off or set delivery on.
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
    2. Set it to ``off'' to stop receiving posts, and ``on'' to start
       receiving them again.


7.2 How can I avoid getting duplicate messages? (duplicates option)

   Mailman can't completely stop you from getting duplicate messages, but
   it can help. One common reason people get multiple copies of a mail is
   that the sender has used a ``group reply'' function to send mail to
   both the list and some number of individuals. If you want to avoid
   getting these messages, Mailman can be set to check and see if you are
   in the To: or CC: lines of the message. If your address appears there,
   then Mailman can be told not to deliver another copy to you. This
   means you get only the copy sent by the original sender, and not a
   copy which been altered by Mailman (to include headers and footers,
   strip attachments, etc.).

   To turn this on or off using the web interface:
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the section marked
       ``Avoid duplicate copies of messages?'' and change the value
       accordingly.

   This can also be changed for multiple lists at the same time if you
   are subscribed to more than one list on the same domain. See
   Section 10.1 for information about changing settings globally.

   To turn this on or off using the email interface:
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command
       set duplicates on or set duplicates off.
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
    2. Set it to ``on'' to receive list copies of messages already sent
       to you, set it to ``off'' to avoid receiving these duplicates.


7.3 How do I change my subscription address?

   To change your subscription address,
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. In the section marked ``Changing your LISTNAME membership
       information,'' enter your new address.
    3. If you wish to change your address for all subscriptions using the
       old address, select the ``Change globally'' box. If you have
       subscriptions under another address or for lists on a different
       domain, these will have to be done separately. See Section 10.1
       for more information about changing settings globally.

   A confirmation message will be sent to your new address, and the
   change will not happen until you confirm the change by following the
   instructions in that message.

   There is no special way to do this from the email interface, but you
   can subscribe and unsubscribe for more or less the same effect. (See
   Sections 5.1 and 5.2 for more information on subscribing and
   unsubscribing.)


7.4 How do I stop or start getting copies of my own posts? (myposts option)

   By default in Mailman, you get a copy of every post you send to the
   list. Some people like this since it lets them know when the post has
   gone through and means they have a copy of their own words with the
   rest of a discussion, but others don't want to bother downloading
   copies of their own posts.

   Note: This option has no effect if you are receiving digests.

   You may also want to see Section 7.5, which discusses acknowledgement
   emails for posts sent to the list.

   To set this using the web interface:
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. Look for the section marked ``Receive your own posts to the
       list?'' Set it to ``Yes'' to receive copies of your own posts, and
       ``No'' to avoid receiving them.

   To set this using the email interface:
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command
       set myposts on or set myposts off.
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
    2. Set it to ``on'' to receive copies of your own posts, and ``off''
       to avoid receiving them.


7.5 How can I get Mailman to tell me when my post has been received by the
list? (ack option)

   On most lists, you will simply receive a copy of your mail when it has
   gone through the list software, but if this is disabled (See
   Section 7.4), your list mail delivery is disabled (See Section 7.1),
   you are not subscribed to that topic (See Section 9.2) or you simply
   want an extra acknowledgement from the system, this option may be
   useful to you.

   Note: If you are not subscribed to the list, this option cannot be
   used. You must either check the archives yourself (if the list has
   public archives), ask someone who is subscribed to the list, or
   subscribe to use this option.

   To set this using the web interface:
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. Look for the section marked ``Receive acknowledgement mail when
       you send mail to the list?'' Set it to ``Yes'' to receive a mail
       letting you know your post has been received, and ``No'' to avoid
       receiving such an acknowledgement.

   To set this using the email interface:
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command set ack on
       or set ack off.
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
    2. Set it to ``on'' if you wish to receive mail letting you know your
       post has been received, and ``off'' to avoid receiving such an
       acknowledgement.

7.6 I don't seem to be getting mail from the lists. What should I do?

   There are a few common reasons for this:
     * No one has sent any mail to the list(s) you're on for a little
       while.
       To check if this is the case, try visiting the archives of the
       list (assuming that the list has archives). If the list has no
       archives, you may have to ask another subscriber. (See Section 3.1
       for help in finding the list archives.)
       Note: Generally, it is considered impolite to send test messages
       to the entire list. If you feel a need to test that the list is
       working and for some reason you cannot simply compose a regular
       message to the list, it is less disruptive to send a help message
       to the list request address (LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN) to see if
       that works, or to contact the list administrator
       (LISTNAME-owner@DOMAIN) to ask if the list is working.
     * You were bouncing mail and have had mail delivery (temporarily)
       disabled by the list software.
       If your mail provider ``bounces'' too many messages (that is, it
       tells Mailman that the message could not be delivered) Mailman
       eventually stops trying to send you mail. This feature allows
       Mailman to gracefully handle addresses which no longer exist (for
       example, the subscriber has found a new Internet service provider
       and forgot to unsubscribe the old address), as well as addresses
       which are temporarily out-of-service (for example, the subscriber
       has used up all of the allotted space for his or her email
       account, or the subscriber's mail provider is experiencing
       difficulties).
       Even if you are unaware of any difficulties with your mail
       provider, it is a good idea to check this. Some popular webmail
       providers and internet servers are not as reliable as one might
       assume, nor is the internet as a whole. You may want to also send
       yourself a test message from another account or ask a friend to
       send you a test message to make sure your subscribed address is
       working.
       To check if this may be the reason you are not receiving messages,
       log in to the your options page (See Section 3.1 for more details
       on how to do this) and look at your options. If your subscription
       has been disabled or Mailman has received bounces from your email
       address, there will be a big banner at the top of this page.
       To re-enable mail delivery, look for an option marked ``Mail
       Delivery'' and set it to ``Enabled'' to start receiving mail
       again. To get rid of your bounce score, you can disable and then
       re-enable delivery. For more instructions on disabling or enabling
       mail delivery, see Section 7.1.
       Note: Even if you have not been disabled at the time you check,
       you could be bouncing messages and not have reached the threshold
       for your subscription to be disabled. You may need to check again.
     * There is a delay or break in the networks between you and the list
       server.
       No matter what many of us would like, the internet is not 100%
       reliable, nor is it always fast. Sometimes, messages simply take a
       long time to get to you. Try to be patient, especially if the
       server is far (in terms of networks, not geography, although often
       one implies the other) from your internet service provider.
       To check if this might be causing your problem, you can try
       pinging the list server or tracing the route between you and it.
       (Instructions on how to do this varies from platform to platform,
       so you may want to use a search engine to find those appropriate
       for you.)
     * The mail server or Mailman might not be functioning properly. This
       can happen if the system is overloaded with viruses or spam and
       the mail system that hosts Mailman has trouble keeping up.
       To test if this is a case, try visiting the list's web interface
       and try sending a message to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the
       command ``help'' (without the quotes) in the Subject:. If neither
       of these works after a reasonable length of time, this may be the
       problem. You may wish to contact either the list or site
       administrator(s).

                                   8 Digests


8.1 How can I start or stop getting the list posts grouped into one big email?
(digest option)

   Groups of posts are called ``digests'' in Mailman. Rather than get
   messages one at a time, you can get messages grouped together. On a
   moderately busy list, this typically means you get one email per day,
   although it may be more or less frequent depending upon the list.

   You may also want to look at Section 8.2 which discusses MIME and
   plain text digests.

   To turn digest mode on or off using the web interface,
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. Look for the section marked ``Set Digest Mode.''
       Set it to ``On'' to receive messages bundled together in digests.
       Set it to ``Off'' to receive posts separately.

   To turn digest mode on or off using the email interface,
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command
       set digest plain or set digest mime or set digest off.
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
    2. Set it to ``off'' if you wish to receive individual posts
       separately, and to ``plain'' or ``mime'' to receive posts grouped
       into one large mail. See Section 8.2 for more information on plain
       versus MIME digests.


8.2 What are MIME and Plain Text Digests? How do I change which one I get?
(digest option)

   MIME is short for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. It is used to
   send things by email which are not necessarily simple plain text. (For
   example, MIME would be used if you were sending a picture of your dog
   to a friend.)

   A MIME digest has each message as an attachment inside the message,
   along with a summary table of contents.

   A plain text digest is a simpler form of digest, which should be
   readable even in mail readers which don't support MIME. The messages
   are simply put one after the other into one large text message.

   Most modern mail programs do support MIME, so you only need to choose
   plain text digests if you are having trouble reading the MIME ones.

   Note: This option has no effect if you are not receiving mail bunched
   as digests. (See Section 8.1 for more information on receiving mail as
   digests.)

   To set your digest type using the web interface:
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. Look for the section marked ``Get MIME or Plain Text Digests?.''
       Set it to ``MIME'' to receive digests in MIME format, or ``Plain
       text'' to receive digests in plain text format.

   This can also be changed for multiple lists at the same time if you
   are subscribed to more than one list on the same domain. See
   Section 10.1 for information about changing settings globally.

   To set your digest type using the email interface,
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command
       set digest plain or set digest mime.
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
    2. Set it to ``plain'' to get posts bundled into a plain text digest,
       or ``mime'' to get posts bundled together into a MIME digest.


                             9 Mailing list topics

   Some lists are set up so that different topics are handled by Mailman.
   For example, the courses list on Linuxchix.org is a discussion list
   for courses being run by linuxchix members, and often there are
   several courses being run at the same time. (eg: Networking for
   beginners, C programming, LATEX document mark up.) Each of the courses
   being run is associated with a separate topic on the list so that
   people can choose only to receive the course they want to take.

   These topics must be configured by the list administrator, but it is
   the responsibility of each poster to make sure that their post is put
   with the correct topic. Usually, this means adding a word or tag of
   some type to the subject line (eg: [Networking] What type of cables do
   I need?) or making sure the Keywords: line has the right information.
   (By default, you can put a Keywords: section in the beginning of the
   body of your message, but this can be configured by your list
   administrator.) Note that these tags are case-insensitive.


9.1 How do I make sure that my post has the right topic?

   When a list administrator defines a topic, he or she sets three
   things:
     * a topic name
     * a regular expression (regexp.)
     * a description

   You can view this information by logging in to your member options
   page. (See Section 3.1 for more details on how to do this.) and
   clicking on the ``details'' link for any topic that interests you.

   To post on a given topic, you need to make sure that the Keywords: or
   Subject: headers in a message match the regular expression for that
   topic. A regular expression is a pattern which may match more than one
   thing. Regular expressions can actually be fairly complex, so you may
   want to just ask the list administrator if you don't know how to make
   heads or tails of the expression given.

   If you really want to know more about regular expressions, read on,
   but for the most part, your list administrator should include in the
   topic description what you need to add to your Keywords or Subject
   line to match the topic pattern.

   Most Mailman topic expressions will be fairly simple regular
   expressions, so in this document we will simply give you some common
   examples. Regular expressions are a bit too complex to teach in a few
   lines here, so if you really want to understand how the regular
   expressions work, you should find a tutorial or reference elsewhere.
   (For example, DevShed has a decent tutorial at
   http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/Administration/RegExp/)

   Here are some examples of possible regular expressions and matching
   lines:

                     Regular expression  Matching lines
                            zuff Keywords: zuff
                            zuff Keywords: ZUFF
                            zuff Keywords: Zuff
                 zuff Keywords: amaryllis, zuff, applesauce
         zuff Subject: [zuff] Do you have the right stuff for zuff?
            zuff Subject: Do you have the right stuff for zuff?
                        zuff Subject: What is zuff?
                         \[zuff\] Keywords: [zuff]
           \[zuff\] Subject: [zuff] Do you have the right stuff?
   \[zuff\] Subject: Online zuff tutorials (was Re: [zuff] What is zuff?)

   A few notes:
     * The matching is case-insensitive, so if zuff matches, so will
       ZUFF, zuFF, and any other variations in capitalization.
     * Some characters have special meaning in a regular expression, so
       to match those characters specifically, they must be ``escaped''
       with a backslash (\). As you can see in the above example, [ and ]
       are such characters. (Others include ``.'', ``?'', and ``*''). The
       backslash is also used for other things (I wasn't kidding about
       regular expressions being complex: consult other documentation for
       details about other uses of the backslash character), but this is
       the most likely use in a topic expression.


9.2 How do I subscribe to all or only some topics on a list?

   If topics have been set up by your mailing list administrator, you can
   choose to subscribe to only part of a list by selecting the topics you
   want to receive.

   If you wish to get all messages sent to the list, make sure you are
   not subscribed to any topics.

    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. Look for the section marked ``Which topic categories would you
       like to subscribe to?''
       If any topics are defined, you can select those you wish. If you
       do not select any topics of interest, you will receive all posts
       sent to the list.

   You probably also want to look at Section 9.3 which discusses changing
   your settings for messages where no topic is set.


9.3 How do I get or avoid getting messages with no topic set?

   Some messages will not match any predefined topic pattern. You can
   choose to receive or ignore such non-matching messages. If you wish to
   get all messages sent to the list, make sure you are not subscribed to
   any specific topic. (See Section 9.2.)

   If you are only subscribed to some topics, you can either choose to
   either receive or not receive messages with no topic set, much the way
   you can choose to subscribe only to certain topics.

   To change this setting,
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. Look for the section marked ``Do you want to receive message that
       do not match any topic filter?''
       If you wish to receive messages with no topic set, select ``Yes.''
       If you do not wish to receive such messages, choose ``No.''

   This setting has no effect if you are not subscribed to any topics.

                           10 Setting other options


10.1 Change Globally? Set Globally? What does that mean?

   For some of the options given in your member options page, there is a
   checkbox which says ``Change Globally'' or ``Set Globally.'' This
   means that if you change this option, you can also have the change
   made for all your other subscriptions on the same domain. This can be
   handy if, for example, you want to make sure all your passwords are
   the same, or you are going on vacation and want to turn off mail
   delivery from all the lists.


10.2 How do I change my name as Mailman knows it?

   To change your subscription name,
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for more
       details on how to do this.)
    2. In the section marked ``Changing your LISTNAME membership
       information,'' enter your new name in the appropriate box.

   This can also be changed for multiple lists at the same time if you
   are subscribed to more than one list on the same domain. See
   Section 10.1 for information about changing settings globally.

   Note: You do not need to have a subscription name set.

10.3 How do I set my preferred language?

   Mailman is multi-lingual, meaning its interface has been translated to
   many different languages. Your list administrator can enable various
   languages for their use when interacting with Mailman. (For a complete
   listing of the languages see http://www.list.org/i18n.html.) If your
   list has other languages enabled, you may be able to have the web
   interface, etc. in a language of your choice.

   Note: This does NOT necessarily mean that all the posts sent to the
   list will be in the language you selected. Only the pre-prepared texts
   presented by Mailman will be affected by this setting. Posts are in
   whatever language the poster uses.

   Your preferred language is set when you subscribe (see Section5.1),
   and can be changed later if the list supports more than one language.

   To change your preferred language in Mailman,
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for
       instructions on how to do this.)
    2. Go to the section marked ``What language do you prefer?'' and
       choose the appropriate language from the drop-down list. If there
       is no drop-down list of languages, the list you are on probably
       only supports one language.

   If your list does not support the language you would prefer to use,
   you may contact the list administrator (LISTNAME-owner@DOMAIN) to see
   if it can be added, but remember that this may mean some work that the
   list and/or site administrator(s) do not have time or the ability to
   do.

   If your language of choice is not available because no translation
   exists for Mailman, please consider volunteering your time as a
   translator. For more information you may want to consult the
   mailman-i18n mailing list at
   http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/mailman-i18n. The current
   status of internationalization efforts is available at
   http://www.list.org/i18n.html.

   Note: i18n is a common short-hand for ``internationalization'' because
   the word starts with an i, ends with an n, and has 18 letters in
   between. If you mumble a bit, i18n even sounds a bit like
   ``internationalization.''


10.4 How do I avoid having my name appear on the subscribers list? (the hide
option)

   If you do not want to have your email address show up on the
   subscriber list for any reason, you can opt to have it concealed.

   Common reasons for doing this include avoiding unsolicited bulk email
   (spam). By default, the subscribers list is obscured to hinder spam
   harvesters, but if you feel this is insufficient it's easy enough to
   remove your address from the subscriber list given in the information
   pages or by email request. (Note that this does not conceal your
   address from the list administrators.) You may wish to see
   Section 11.2 for more information on what Mailman can do to help avoid
   spam.

   To change this setting using the web interface:
    1. Log in to your member options page. (See Section 3.1 for
       instructions on how to do this.)
    2. Go to the section marked ``Conceal yourself from subscriber
       list?'' and choose ``Yes'' to hide your name from the list, or
       ``No'' to allow your name to appear on the list.

   To change this setting using the email interface:
    1. Send a mail to LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN with the command
       set hide on or set hide off.
       Commands can appear in either the body or the subject of the
       message. (See Section 3.2 for more information about sending mail
       commands.)
    2. Set it to ``on'' to conceal your email address from the membership
       list, or ``off'' to stop concealing your address.

                           11 Other common questions

11.1 How do I view the list archives?

   If the list is being archived, previously posted messages can be
   viewed by going to the archive's web pages, a link to which can be
   found on the list information page and in the List-Archive: header of
   every posted message (unless your list administrator has disabled such
   headers). Many mail programs hide the List-Archive: mail header, so
   you may have to tell your mail program to allow you to view full
   headers before you will be able to see it.

   Public archives usually have addresses of the form
   http://WEBSERVER/pipermail/LISTNAME/ and private archives usually have
   addresses of the form http://WEBSERVER/mailman/private/LISTNAME.

   See Section 3.1 for more information on finding the addresses of a
   list.


11.2 What does Mailman do to help protect me from unsolicited bulk email
(spam)?

   A technical list's archives may include answers to a range of
   different questions. Often, the people who have posted these answers
   would be happy to help someone who doesn't quite understand the
   answer, and don't mind giving their address out for that purpose. But
   although it would be wonderful if everyone could contact each other
   easily, we also want to make sure that the list and list archives are
   not abused by people who send spam.

   To make a range of options available to list administrators, Mailman
   allows a variety of configurations to help protect email addresses.
   Many of these settings are optional to the list administrator, so your
   particular list may be set up in different ways. List administrators
   must walk a fine line between protecting subscribers and making it
   difficult for people to get in touch.

     * Subscriber lists
          + The list administrator can choose to have the subscriber list
            public, viewable only to list members, or viewable only to
            list administrators.
          + The subscriber list is shown with the addresses obscured to
            make it difficult for spam harvesters to collect your
            address.
          + You can choose to have your address hidden from the
            subscriber list. (See Section 10.4 for more information.)
          + Note: The entire subscriber list is always available to the
            list administrators.
     * List archives
          + The list administrator can choose for the archives to be
            public, viewable only to members (private), or completely
            unavailable.
          + The HTML archives which are created by Pipermail (the
            archiving program which comes default with Mailman) contain
            only obscured addresses. Other archiving programs are
            available and can do different levels of obfuscation to make
            addresses less readable.
          + If you wish to be more sure, you can set the mail header
            ``X-No-archive: yes'' and Mailman will not archive your
            posts. Similarly, you can set the mail header ``X-Archive:
            no'' to disable archiving.
            Warning: This does not stop other members from quoting your
            posts, possibly even including your email address.
     * Limited posting to the lists
          + The list administrator can choose who can post to the list.
            Most lists are either moderated (a moderator or administrator
            reviews each posting), set so only subscribers may post to
            the list, or allow anyone to post to the list.
          + By allowing only subscribers to post to a list, Mailman often
            blocks all spam and some viruses from being sent through the
            list. As such, this is a fairly common setting used by list
            administrators.
     * Anonymous lists
          + Lists can also be made fully anonymous: all identifying
            information about the sender is stripped from the header
            before the message is sent on.
          + This is not typically used for anti-spam measures (it has
            other uses), but it could be used in that way if desired.

   Of course, many address-obscuring methods can be circumvented by
   determined people, so be aware that the protections used may not be
   enough.


                       1 Email commands quick reference

     * confirm $<$ CONFIRMATION-STRING $>$
          + Confirm an action. The confirmation-string is required and
            should be supplied within a mailback confirmation notice.
     * end
          + Stop processing commands. Use this if your mail program
            automatically adds a signature file.
     * help
          + Receive a copy of the help message.
     * info
          + Get information about this mailing list.
     * lists
          + See a list of the public mailing lists on this GNU Mailman
            server.
     * password [ $<$ OLDPASSWORD $>$ $<$ NEWPASSWORD $>$ ] [address= $<$
       ADDRESS $>$ ]
          + Retrieve or change your password. With no arguments, this
            returns your current password. With arguments $<$ OLDPASSWORD
            $>$ and $<$ NEWPASSWORD $>$ you can change your password.
     * set ...
          + Set or view your membership options.
            Use `set help' (without the quotes) to get a more detailed
            list of the options you can change. This list is also given
            in Appendix B.
            Use `set show' (without the quotes) to view your current
            option settings.
     * subscribe [ $<$ PASSWORD $>$ ] [digest|nodigest] [address= $<$
       ADDRESS $>$ ]
          + Subscribe to this mailing list. Your password must be given
            to unsubscribe or change your options, but if you omit the
            password, one will be generated for you. You may be
            periodically reminded of your password.
            The next argument may be either: `nodigest' or `digest' (no
            quotes!). If you wish to subscribe an address other than the
            address you sent this request from, you may specify `address=
            $<$ ADDRESS $>$ ' (no brackets around the email address, and
            no quotes!)
     * unsubscribe [ $<$ PASSWORD $>$ ] [address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$ ]
          + Unsubscribe from the mailing list. If given, your password
            must match your current password. If omitted, a confirmation
            email will be sent to the unsubscribing address. If you wish
            to unsubscribe an address other than the address you sent
            this request from, you may specify `address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$
            ' (no brackets around the email address, and no quotes!)
     * who [ $<$ PASSWORD $>$ ] [address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$ ]
          + See everyone who is on this mailing list. The roster is
            limited to list members only, and you must supply your
            membership password to retrieve it. If you're posting from an
            address other than your membership address, specify your
            membership address with `address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$ ' (no
            brackets around the email address, and no quotes!)


                       2 Member options quick reference

     * set help
          + Show this detailed help.
     * set show [address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$ ]
          + View your current option settings. If you're posting from an
            address other than your membership address, specify your
            membership address with `address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$ ' (no
            brackets around the email address, and no quotes!).
     * set authenticate $<$ PASSWORD $>$ [address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$ ]
          + To set any of your options, you must include this command
            first, along with your membership password. If you're posting
            from an address other than your membership address, specify
            your membership address with `address= $<$ ADDRESS $>$ ' (no
            brackets around the email address, and no quotes!).
     * set ack on
       set ack off
          + When the `ack' option is turned on, you will receive an
            acknowledgement message whenever you post a message to the
            list.
     * set digest plain
       set digest mime
       set digest off
          + When the `digest' option is turned off, you will receive
            postings immediately when they are posted. Use `set digest
            plain' if instead you want to receive postings bundled into a
            plain text digest (i.e. RFC 1153 digest). Use `set digest
            mime' if instead you want to receive postings bundled
            together into a MIME digest.
     * set delivery on
       set delivery off
          + Turn delivery on or off. This does not unsubscribe you, but
            instead tells Mailman not to deliver messages to you for now.
            This is useful if you're going on vacation. Be sure to use
            `set delivery on' when you return from vacation!
     * set myposts on
       set myposts off
          + Use `set myposts off' to avoid receiving copies of messages
            you post to the list. This has no effect if you're receiving
            digests.
     * set hide on
       set hide off
          + Use `set hide on' to conceal your email address when people
            request the membership list.
     * set duplicates on
       set duplicates off
          + Use `set duplicates off' if you want Mailman not to send you
            messages if your address is explicitly mentioned in the To:
            or Cc: fields of the message. This can reduce the number of
            duplicate postings you will receive.
     * set reminders on
       set reminders off
          + Use `set reminders off' if you want to disable the monthly
            password reminder for this mailing list.

                            About this document ...

   GNU Mailman - List Member Manual, October 2, 2004, Release 2.1

   This document was generated using the LaTeX2HTML translator.

   LaTeX2HTML is Copyright � 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, Nikos Drakos,
   Computer Based Learning Unit, University of Leeds, and Copyright �
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   The application of LaTeX2HTML to the Python documentation has been
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     _________________________________________________________________

                      GNU Mailman - List Member Manual
     _________________________________________________________________

   Release 2.1, documentation updated on October 2, 2004.