This document is for people or systems subscribed to mailing
lists on the Central Administration lists (CALists) system. The scope of this document is answer some of
the more commonly asked questions about the Mailman system running on
CALists. If you have questions that go
beyond the scope of this document, please contact the UIS Help Desk at (617)
496-2001 or send electronic mail to uis_helpdesk@harvard.edu.
Table of Contents
Subscribing and Unsubscribing to a
Mailman List
Subscribing Through the Web
Subscribing Through Electronic Mail
Unsubscribing Through the Web
Unsubscribing Through Electronic
Mail
Mailman List Passwords
Retrieving Lost Passwords Through
the Web
Retrieving Lost Passwords Through
Electronic Mail
Changing Passwords Through the Web
Changing Passwords Through
Electronic Mail
Mailman Subscriber Options
Setting List Options Through the Web
Setting List Options Through
Electronic Mail
Mailman Electronic Mail Commands
Reference
Valid E-Mail Commands
Subscribing and Unsubscribing to a Mailman
List
- Open
a web browser. Make sure this
browser is able to use cookies.
- Surf
to the web page for the list. The
web page for your list will be in the form of:
http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/list name
where list name is the name of the list to which you wish to
subscribe.
- Scroll
down to the fields under the subtitle Subscribing to list name.
- Enter
your e-mail address and name (not required) into the marked fields.
- Enter
a password into the password fields (N.B. the browser will put either dots
or stars in place of your password in those fields, depending on which
browser you are using).
- Decide
whether or not you want your mail in digest form.
- Click
the Subscribe button at the bottom of the screen.
- Many
lists require confirmation of your subscription. You should receive an e-mail message from the Mailman system
asking you to confirm your subscription.
The system will invalidate subscriptions that are not confirmed
within three days. Please note
that if you lose this confirmation e-mail, you may simply revisit the web
page and subscribe again to receive a new confirmation e-mail message.
- For
lists that require confirmation, either use a web browser to surf to the
link provided in the confirmation e-mail message, then click the Subscribe
to list button or simply send a reply to the confirmation message (no
edits required). Either action
will confirm your subscription and subscribe you to the mailing list. Web users may also click on the Cancel
my subscription request button to invalidate immediately the
subscription request.
- After
the system processes your confirmation, it will send you a welcome message
confirming your addition to the list and your password, unless the
administrator of this particular list has disabled this feature.
- Compose
an e-mail message to list name-request@calists.harvard.edu where list
name is the list to which you wish to subscribe. Do NOT send e-mail to
mailman@calists.harvard.edu as the system does process subscription
requests in this manner.
- In
either the body or the subject of the message, you may simply put the
word:
subscribe
As Mailman issues user passwords so that you can change your options later
either through e-mail or through the web, you may specify your password as
well by putting:
subscribe
password
Where password is the password you wish to use (note this password should
not be a valuable password, such as the one you use for the Harvard PIN
services, as this password will get e-mailed to you). If you do not specify a password,
Mailman will randomly assign you one.
Additional options, such as setting digest mode and subscribing an
alternate address are also available.
- Many
lists require confirmation of your subscription. You should receive an e-mail message from the Mailman system
asking you to confirm your subscription.
The system will invalidate subscriptions that are not confirmed
within three days. Please note that
if you lose this confirmation e-mail, you may simply revisit the web page
and subscribe again to receive a new confirmation e-mail message.
- For
lists that require confirmation, either use a web browser to surf to the
link provided in the confirmation e-mail message, then click the Subscribe
to list button or simply send a reply to the confirmation message (no
edits required). Either action
will confirm your subscription and subscribe you to the mailing list. Web users may also click on the Cancel
my subscription request button to invalidate immediately the
subscription request.
- After
the system processes your confirmation, it will send you a welcome message
confirming your addition to the list and your password, unless the
administrator of this particular list has disabled this feature.
- Open
a web browser. Make sure this
browser is able to use cookies.
- Surf
to the web page for the list. The
web page for your list will be in the form of:
http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/list name
where list name is the name of the list to which you wish to
unsubscribe.
- Scroll
to the bottom of the web page.
Locate the text field under the text beginning with To
unsubscribe from…, get a password reminder.
- In
the text field below that line, enter the e-mail address that is
subscribed to this list. Please
note that this address must match exactly with the subscribed address
(e.g. if john_harvard@harvard.edu is the subscribed address, enter
john_harvard@harvard.edu into this field).
- Click
the button labeled Unsubscribe or edit options.
- Locate
the button marked Unsubscribe and click it.
- Many
lists require confirmation to unsubscribe. You will receive a confirmation e-mail message to the
unsubscribing account. Either
simply reply to this message (no editing required) or use a web browser
and surf to the URL given in this message.
- After
the system processes your confirmation, it will send you a goodbye message
confirming your removal from the list, unless the administrator of this
particular list has disabled this feature.
- Compose
an e-mail message to list name-request@calists.harvard.edu where list
name is the list to which you wish to unsubscribe. Do NOT send e-mail to
mailman@calists.harvard.edu as the system does process requests in this
manner.
- In
either the subject or the body of the message, put the word unsubscribe. If you have a signature in your e-mail
client, please remove it or disable that feature for this particular
message, if possible.
- Send
the message.
- Many
lists require confirmation to unsubscribe. You will receive a confirmation e-mail message to the
unsubscribing account. Either
simply reply to this message (no editing required) or use a web browser
and surf to the URL given in this message.
- After
the system processes your confirmation, it will send you a goodbye message
confirming your removal from the list, unless the administrator of this
particular list has disabled this feature.
Every subscribing address on the CALists Mailman system has
associated with it a password. Usually,
the Mailman system will send you this password when join a mailing list as part
of the welcome message. If you lost
this welcome message or if you did not receive one (list administrators can
disable them for particular lists), you can retrieve your lost password either
through the web or through electronic mail.
Mailman also has the ability to synchronize all the passwords associated
with a particular e-mail address for ease.
Note that these passwords get associated with particular e-mail
addresses. If you are subscribed to
some Mailman lists with your @harvard.edu alias and some lists with your
absolute address (usually in the form of login@something.harvard.edu),
then Mailman will always treat those distinctly.
PLEASE NOTE: These
passwords are only for individual subscriber passwords, not for the lists’
administrator or moderator passwords.
Please call the UIS Help Desk at (617) 496-2001 to get those passwords
reset.
- Open
a web browser. Make sure this
browser is able to use cookies.
- Surf
to the web page for the list. The
web page for your list will be in the form of:
http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/list name
where list name is the name of the list for which you need your
password.
- Scroll
to the bottom of the web page.
Locate the text field under the text beginning with To
unsubscribe from…, get a password reminder.
- In
the text field below that line, enter the e-mail address that is
subscribed to this list. Please
note that this address must match exactly with the subscribed address
(e.g. if john_harvard@harvard.edu is the subscribed address, enter
john_harvard@harvard.edu into this field).
- Click
the button marked Remind.
- Mailman
will then send you the password associated with that subscribing address
to that subscribing address.
- Compose
an e-mail message to list name-request@calists.harvard.edu where list
name is the list for which you want to retrieve the lost
password. Do NOT send e-mail to
mailman@calists.harvard.edu as the system does process requests in this
manner.
- In
either the body or the subject of the message, you may simply put the
word:
password
if the e-mail address from which you are sending this message matches
exactly to the address subscribed to the list. Otherwise, you will need to alter this body or subject to
be:
password
address=subscribed address
where subscribed address is the address for which you wish to
retrieve the password (note that Mailman will send the password to that
subscribed address, not to yours).
- Send
the message.
- Mailman
will process your request and will re-issue the password to the subscribed
address.
With the web interface, Mailman allows you to change the
password for a subscribing address associated with a particular list or across
all Mailman lists on the CALists system.
Changing passwords across all lists is not available through the
electronic mail interface.
- Open
a web browser. Make sure this
browser is able to use cookies.
- Surf
to the web page for the list. The
web page for your list will be in the form of:
http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/list name
where list name is the name of the list for which you wish to
change your password, or any list to which you are subscribed if you want
to change all your passwords.
- Scroll
to the bottom of the web page.
Locate the text field under the text beginning with To
unsubscribe from…, get a password reminder.
- In
the text field below that line, enter the e-mail address that is
subscribed to this list. Please
note that this address must match exactly with the subscribed address
(e.g. if john_harvard@harvard.edu is the subscribed address, enter
john_harvard@harvard.edu into this field).
- Locate
the Password text field towards the center of the page.
- Enter
the password associated with both this list and the subscribing address
you used above.
- Click
the Log in button.
- Scroll
down to the fields under the Change Your Password heading.
- Enter
the new password that you wish to use into the New password and the
Again to confirm fields.
- If
you wish to change your passwords across all lists, click the checkbox beside
the Change globally field under the Change My Password button.
- Click
the Change My Password button to make the change.
- The
page will refresh and the results will display at the top of the
page. If you are done with
changing passwords, options, etc., then click the Log out button in
the top right-hand corner of the page.
- Compose
an e-mail message to list name-request@calists.harvard.edu where list
name is the list for which you want to retrieve the lost password. Do NOT send e-mail to
mailman@calists.harvard.edu as the system does process requests in this
manner.
- In
either the body or the subject of the message, you may simply put the
word:
password
<old password> < new password>
where <old password> is your existing Mailman password and <new
password> is the new one (do not use spaces in your password). If the e-mail address from which you
are sending this message does not match exactly to the address subscribed
to the list, you will need to alter this body or subject to be:
password
<old password> < new password> address=subscribed
address
where subscribed address is the address for which you wish to
retrieve the password (note that Mailman will send the password to that
subscribed address, not to yours).
- Send
the message.
- Mailman
will process your request and will send you a message informing you of
whether or not it changed your password successfully. If this request is to change the
password for an alternate address, then the reply will go there.
Mailman offers a large number of options for list
subscribers. Subscribers can change
their options through the web or through electronic mail. Some features, such as the suspending all
list subscriptions, can be set across all lists at once through the web
interface.
- Open
a web browser. Make sure this
browser is able to use cookies.
- Surf
to the web page for the list. The
web page for your list will be in the form of:
http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/options/list name
where list name is the name of the list for which you wish to
change your subscriber options.
- Locate
the text field marked Email address and enter the e-mail address
with which you subscribed to this list.
- Enter
the list password associated with this address in the Password
field below that.
- Click
the Log in button below those fields.
You will now see the subscription options for this list
associated with your mail address. Note
that any button with the Change globally checkbox under it allows you to
set that option or setting across all lists to which your e-mail address is currently
subscribed.
- Compose
an e-mail message to list name-request@calists.harvard.edu where list
name is the list for which you want to retrieve the lost
password. Do NOT send e-mail to
mailman@calists.harvard.edu as the system does process requests in this
manner.
- In
either the subject or the body of the message, put the phrase set
authenticate <your password>, where <your password> is the
password that is associated with the subscribing e-mail address. This command must be before any other set
command or Mailman will not process your option changes.
- In
the body of the message, put the appropriate set command or
commands (e.g. set delivery off to disable subscription
temporarily). Each set command
should be on a line by itself.
- End
the message by putting the word end on a line by itself.
- Send
the message. Mailman will send you
a confirmation message once it has processed your requests.
Although Mailman’s primary administration interface is its
web interface, it does users to send some commands through electronic
mail. To use these commands, compose an
e-mail message to list name-request@calists.harvard.edu where list
name is the list to which you wish subscribe, unsubscribe, change options,
etc.
confirm <confirmation-string>
Confirm an action. The confirmation-string is required and
should be
supplied by a mailback confirmation
notice.
end
Stop processing commands. Use this if your mail program automatically
adds a signature file.
help
Print this 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.
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!). Note that in this case the
response is always sent to the
subscribed address.
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.
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!)
Set commands
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 not receive
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 to not 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.