The IMail list server lets you set up automated mailing lists on the IMail server. These automated lists are known as “list-server mailing lists;” they differ dramatically from a simple group alias (which is just a name for a list of users).
A list-server mailing list can receive mail and re-send the mail to all the users on the mailing list. List-server mailing lists are used widely on the Internet to share information about a topic.
You access the IMail list server using IMail Administrator.
Features
The IMail list server provides the following features:
• Lists can be completely “open” -- allowing postings by anyone on the Internet.
• Lists can be also be “public,” meaning that anyone can get on the list by subscribing to it. Users can subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, a list by simply by sending the appropriate message to the list server.
• Lists can be unmoderated (any message sent to the list is immediately posted to all users on the list) or moderated (all messages are viewed by the moderator before being posted to the list).
• Postings to the list can be further controlled by use of a password or by use of a “posters list” (a list of people authorized to post to that list).
• Lists can also be private. A private list does not accept a Subscribe command; only the list administrator can add people to the list.
• Messages to a list-server mailing list can be accumulated and periodically mailed out as a digest.
• The list administrator can enter an identifying text string to appear on the Subject line of all messages (or a digest) posted to the list.
• The list administrator can enter header or trailer text (containing information such as the Subscribe and Unsubscribe instructions) to appear with all messages (or a digest) posted to the list.
Types of List-Server Mailing Lists
Mail that is received by a list-server mailing list and re-sent to the list subscribers is “posted.” Those who can post to a particular list are determined by the type of list. There are three types of basic lists. (The list type is set on the Security tab of the list properties.)
• Open lists (to which anyone can post a message; the poster need not even subscribe to the list)
• Subscriber lists (to which only subscribers can post)
• Moderated lists (to which only the list owner can post) Using Passwords and Posters Lists
The posting of messages to each type of list can be further restricted by enabling one or both of the following:
• A password requirement (See “Using a Password” on page 174.)
• A posters list
If a password or posters list is enabled, anyone not using the password and/or listed in the posters list will have their mail returned. The list owner (or moderator) is also notified at the same time of the attempt to post.
Note
If there are only a few individuals who you want to post to the list, you can simply give those few the appropriate password. However, if there are more than a few individuals who are to be allowed to post to the list, it may be more efficient to use a “posters” list.
Open lists (Anyone can post)
The characteristics of an open list are the following:
• Anyone can post to the list by sending a message to an address in the form of [email protected] if Use Password and Enable Posters List are turned off.
• If Use Password is turned on, only those with the password can post. (See “Using a Password” on page 174.)
• If Enable Posters List is turned on, only those in the posters list can post.
• If both Use Password and Enable Posters List are turned on, the poster must use the password and be in the poster list.
Subscriber Lists
The characteristics of a subscriber list are the following:
• The list is made up of subscribers. An individual becomes a subscriber by sending a message addressed to the IMail list server ([email protected] where domain.com represents the mail host); in the body of the message, the intended subscriber enters the subscribe command and the list name.
For more information, see “Requesting Information and Subscribing” on page 174.
• Subscribers can post by addressing a mail in the form of [email protected] if Use Password and Enable Posters List are turned off.
• If Use Password is turned on, only subscribers with the password can post. (See “Using a Password” on page 174.)
• If Enable Posters List is turned on, only subscribers in the posters list can post.
• If both Use Password and Enable Posters List are turned on, the subscriber must use the password and be in the poster list in order to post.
Moderated Lists
The characteristics of a moderated list are the following:
• The moderator can post by sending a message to an address in the form of [email protected] if Use Password and Enable Posters List are turned off.
• If Use Password is turned on, the moderator must enter a password in order to post to the list. This prevents others from
“impersonating” the moderator by using the moderator's mailing address. (See “Using a Password” on page 174.)
• If Enable Posters List is turned on, the moderator receives only mail from those in the posters list.
• If both Use Password and Enable Posters List are turned on, the moderator receives only mail from those in the posters list, and the moderator must enter a password in order to post to the list.
Posting to a List
A user attempts to post a message to a list by addressing the message to the name of the list-server mailing list. For example, to send a message to the “beer” list on domain.com, the user would enter:
To: [email protected] Subject: India Pale Ale ... body of message ...
Using a Password
To use a password, the first characters on the Subject line must be the password enclosed by two colons and brackets:
Subject: [:password:]India Pale Ale ... body of message ...
Requesting Information and Subscribing
In order for a user to get information about lists on a particular host, or to subscribe to lists on a particular host, the user must send a request addressed to [email protected] (where domain.com is the name of the host). This e-mail address is a built-in IMail alias that lets users:
• Get general help about the list-server for a particular mail host
• Get specific help about a particular list
• Get a list of all the lists available on a particular mail host
• Get a list of all the subscribers to a particular list
• Subscribe to a subscriber list
• Unsubscribe from a subscriber list
Format of Requests
Requests addressed to [email protected] must contain a list-server command and (when appropriate) a list name in the body of the message. The following commands may appear in the body of the message:
• Help
• Help listname
• List
• List listname
• Subscribe listname your_name
• Unsubscribe listname your_name Commands for Requesting Information
The following examples assume there is a list named beer on a mail host named domain.com. The commands for requesting information are the following:
• To get general help from the list server:
TO: [email protected] Subject:
help
• To display the names of all of the lists on the IMail server:
TO: [email protected] Subject:
list
• To get a list of users subscribed to a specific list:
TO: [email protected] Subject:
list beer
• To get help for a specific list:
TO: [email protected] Subject:
help beer
Commands for Subscribing and Unsubscribing
The following examples assume there is a list named beer on a mail host named domain.com. The commands for subscribing and unsubscribing are the following:
• To subscribe to the list:
TO: [email protected] Subject:
Subscribe beer Fred Farkle
• To unsubscribe from the list:
TO: [email protected] Subject:
Unsubscribe beer Fred Farkle Commands for the Use of Subscribers
The following examples assume there is a list named beer on a mail host named domain.com. Once a user is already subscribed to a list, he can use the following commands:
• To receive a digest of messages sent to the list enter a command in the form of set mode digest listname. For example,
TO: [email protected] Subject:
set mode digest beer
• To cancel digest mode and receive messages as they are sent to the list, enter a command in the form of set mode standard listname. For example,
TO: [email protected] Subject:
set mode standard beer
Commands for the Use of the List Owner (or Moderator) The following example assumes there is a list named beer on a mail host named domain.com. Only the list owner (or moderator) can use the following:
• To unsubscribe a user from the list:
TO: [email protected] Subject:
Unsubscribe beer [email protected]
How the List Server Works
When you create a mail host, the program alias imailsrv is created automatically and defined as imailsrv.exe domain. Therefore, messages addressed to [email protected] are processed by the IMail list server application, imailsrv.exe.
Note
Upgraders: In earlier versions of IMail Server, the list server application and its alias were named listserv, but they were changed due to a trademark conflict. If you have used the listserv alias, you do not have to change anything because IMail Server allows the old listserv alias to work properly. However, all aliases now return imailsrv in place of listserv. If you set up a new list, use the imailsrv alias.
The list server directory is the directory lists created under your main imail directory. Each list is created as a separate directory under that directory and there is an alias created for each list.
Creating a List-Server Mailing List
To create a list (assuming that Use Wizards on the Tools menu is turned off):
1 In the left panel, expand the mail host folder and then select the Lists folder.
2 Click the Add List button. The “Add New List” dialog box appears.
3 Enter a name for the list-server mailing list. This is the name used to send mail to the list. For example, if you enter the name Parrotlist, users will send mail to the list by specifying the “To”
address as follows: [email protected].
The name must be from 3 to 23 characters in length, with no spaces between characters.
Note
Do not use the name imailsrv for a list-server mailing list; this name is reserved.
4 Click OK. The General tab appears. The List Name and Directory are displayed but cannot be edited.
5 Complete the entries.
Title. Enter a descriptive title to help the list owner and/or administrator identify the list. The title must be from 3 to 23 characters in length; spaces are allowed.
Owner. This is the full e-mail address of the mail account that receives all messages (such as Subscribe requests, Unsubscribe requests, and error messages) to the list. It is also the account from which all messages are sent:
• To the list
• To anyone who requests information about the list
• In response to invalid attempts to post to the list
The list owner and list administrator are usually the same person, but a “dummy” user account can be set up to be the list owner in order to hide the identity of the list administrator.
On a moderated list, the list owner is also known as the
“moderator.”
Local administrator. This is a user ID on the current mail host who can administer the list using Web Messaging. This person can modify list properties, add and delete users, and edit all related files.
Note
List-server mailing lists can also be administered by any user on the local mail host who is a List Administrator as specified on the General tab of the user properties.
Related Files. You can edit related files by clicking the appropriate button:
• Help. The Help file (HELP.TXT) displays a prepared message (limited to 1000 characters) that the list sends in reply to a Help listname request.
• Subscribe. The Subscribe file (SUBSCRIB.TXT) contains a prepared message (limited to 1000 characters) that the server sends in reply to successful completion of a Subscribe listname request.
• Addresses. The Addresses file (USERS.LST) is the list of e-mail addresses that is used to address e-mail to this list. This file is updated automatically when someone subscribes or
unsubscribes. It is a text file with one address per line ending in a carriage return/list feed.
This file can be edited using a text editor to add or delete addresses that receive mail from this list. However, the Users file (USERS.TXT) should also be similarly edited if you want people who use the list listname command to see an updated list of subscribers. Note that any invalid addresses in this file (if, for example, you make a typing error while editing this file) will be ignored when a message is sent to the list.
• Users. The purpose of this file, USERS.TXT, is to provide a list of subscribers to anyone who sends a list listname command to the list-server mailing list. (The list
administrator can disable the list command.) This file is a list of user names and e-mail addresses that is updated
automatically when someone subscribes or unsubscribes.
Note that this is not the list that is used to actually send mail to the list.
If you use a text editor to add or delete addresses from the Addresses file (USERS.LST), you should also edit this file (USERS.TXT) the same way (if you want people who use the list listname command to see an updated list of subscribers.
6 Click Apply to save your changes.
7 From a different system, send a test mail message to imailsrv@domain. In the body of the message, place the lines:
subscribe listname your_full_name help
help listname list
list listname
You should get five messages back from the system.
For a description of the commands accepted by the list server, see
“Requesting Information and Subscribing” on page 174.
Setting Advanced Options
You can use the Advanced tab to further define the operation of a list-server mailing list. To do this:
1 Click the Advanced tab. The Advanced options appear.
2 Select the options you want to use.
Reply-To list (vs. sender). Turn on Reply-To list (vs. sender) to have replies from a subscriber go to the list. Turn this off to have replies from a subscriber go to the sender of the original message.
Enable Digest Mode. Turn this on to allow users to group the messages sent to the list into a digest, which is then sent periodically to digest subscribers as a single message. You schedule the digest to be sent on a particular time-basis (for example daily or weekly). When list users receive a digest, it contains all the messages sent to the list for the specified period.
When you select Enable Digest Mode, the Digest and Digest Scheduling tabs appear. You need to define how the digest will operate by setting the options on these tabs. For more
information, see “Setting Up Digest Mode” on page 185.
Enable Subject Modification. When selected, displays the text string (entered in the Edit box) at the beginning of the subject line of every message sent to the list.
For example, if you enter [Bird-info] as the defined text string, the subject line of messages will appear as follows:
Subject: re:[Bird-info] How do you receive mail?
The default string is the name of the list-server mailing list.
Enable Header/Enable Trailer. When selected, displays text information (entered in the Edit function) at the beginning or end of every message sent to the list. To enter the header information, select the Enable Header option, click Edit, and then enter the text information. This information is entered in the header.txt file.
To enter the trailer info, select the Enable Trailer option, click Edit, and then enter the text information. This information is entered in the trailer.txt file.
For example, you can enter the Subscribe/Unsubscribe
information for the list and have it appear at the beginning or end of every message.
Max message size in bytes (0 = unlimited). The maximum size (in bytes) of a message that can be sent to the list. Enter 0 if you want the size to be unlimited.
Number of recipients per message. You must calculate this number; it determines the number of recipients each SMTP process will send to.
Divide the expected number of subscribers by 25, and enter the result. We recommend that no more than 25 processes be used by any list.
For information on how to change the default number of SMTP processes for IMail Server, see “Changing the Number of SMTP Processes” on page 244.
3 Click OK to save your changes.
Setting Security
You can use the Security tab to determine whether you want the list-server mailing list to be moderated or unmoderated, and to set access to the list.
1 Click the Security tab. The Security options appear.
2 Select the options you want to use.
Allow posting by. Determines who can post mail to the list.
• Anyone lets anyone on the Internet post mail.
• Subscribers lets only the subscribers post mail.
• Moderator lets only the list owner post mail. Select Moderator when you want the list owner to review all messages before they are posted to the list.
Allow List Unsubscribes based on Subject line. When a user wants to unsubscribe from the list, most list servers expect the Unsubscribe command to be specified in the body of mail message. If you want the list to also accept an Unsubscribe command specified in the Subject line of the message, select this option.
When selected, the list will accept the following commands in the Subject line to unsubscribe: unsubscribe, remove, signoff.
Note
It is recommended that you enable this command, but do not advertise that the list server supports it, because these messages are sent to the list address and will go out to the list if the command is misspelled.
Disallow Subscriptions. When selected, a Subscribe request will be rejected, and users can only be added in one of the following ways:
• By using IMail Administrator to edit the Users file
• By the list administrator through Web Messaging
• By the list administrator through the Web Remote Administration utility
Note that Unsubscribe requests cannot be disabled.
Disable List Command. A user can obtain a list of the users subscribed to a list-server mailing list by addressing a message to the list server (for example, [email protected]) and entering the List listname command in the body of the message. If you do not want users to receive a list of the subscribers to your list, select this option. (Note, however, that list owners can always access this command.)
Use Password. Turn this on to require a password for posting to the list. See “Using a Password” on page 174.
Enable Posters List. Turn this on to specify who can post by listing their e-mail addresses in a file. Click Edit Posters to edit this list.
Edit Kill File. The kill file lets you specify a mail address or a particular mail host that you do not want to accept mail from. To
Edit Kill File. The kill file lets you specify a mail address or a particular mail host that you do not want to accept mail from. To