A Guide to Majordomo Lists

Topics covered in this docuemnt

Users' guide to the Majordomo package.

A user can subscribe to a list, or ask about his or other users' subscriptions, by sending mail to the majordomo server, usually majordomo@dingo.uq.edu.au. Put the commands in the body of the mail message (not on the "Subject:" header component). Other than white space, the commands must be the first text in the message body. In other words, don't begin with "Dear Majordomo."

In the sections below, items in brackets ([]) are optional. If you include the optional item, don't type the brackets.

Majordomo listserver commands

Majordomo for List Owners

The list owner is the person (or persons) who will run day-to-day operations of a mailing list by responding to mail messages from Majordomo. Each mailing list operated by Majordomo can have its own list owners.

Majordomo has "open" and "closed" lists. A subscriber to an open list will be approved automatically unless they specify an "address" different from the one in their e-mail header. All subscriptions to closed lists will be sent to the list owner for approval.

If you'd like a list with the absolute minimum of maintenance (but also a minimum of security), you could create an "auto" list. All subscription or unsubscription requests will be honored without any input from the list owner. For example, anyone could unsubscribe anyone else.

Majordomo also has "public" and "private" lists. In a public list, subscribers have access to information about other subscribers through the "who" and "which" commands; in a private list, they don't. When a list is private, only subscribers can use the archive commands "index" and "get".

The owner can potentially receive four types of messages: requests to approve subscriptions (or unsubscriptions), requests to approve messages to the list, notifications of successful subscriptions or unsubscriptions, and bounces (messages sent to the list that weren't delivered). Which of these the owner receives, and how many, depends on the setup of the list (and of course, how many members the list has). Majordomo provides the "approve" script to help handle approval of subscriptions and messages, and "bounce" to help handle bounces.

Managing the Lists

Majordomo makes day-to-day operation of a mailing list easier, but there are still things to do. If your mailing lists are open (anyone can subscribe) and unmoderated (anyone can post), you'll get fewer messages, but you should still expect some.

When mail (a subscription, unsubscription, or an article intended for a moderated list) needs approval, majordomo sends the message to the list owner(s). Any list owner (and in fact, anyone who knows the list password) can send an approval message back to Majordomo to approve the request.

A "list owner" is the person (or people) listed on the "listname-approval" alias in your system aliases file. (For sendmail, that filename is usually /usr/lib/aliases or /etc/aliases.)

Note that Majordomo lets you put different people on the "listname-approval" and "listname-owner" aliases. If you split those duties between two different people, keep that in mind as you read the sections below. I've assumed that all list messages needing action go to a single "list owner."

A List Owner's Account

All a list owner needs is to be able to send and receive e-mail. The owner doesn't need to have login access to the system where the list is handled.

The list owner doesn't even need to be on a UNIX system, although majordomo comes with some UNIX scripts that make life easier for the list owner.

Majordomo Commands for List Owners

The requests for users can also be used by list owners. But there are three more password-protected commands just for list owners. These aren't mentioned in Majordomo's help file. If the owner doesn't have an account on the machine where Majordomo runs, these commands allow routine housekeeping via e-mail:

Approving Subscriptions

The list owner will receive two types of mail messages from Majordomo:

If someone sends a non-routine subscription to "majordomo", the server sends a message to the list owner. There are two kinds of non-routine subscription. One is when the person sends a subscribe/unsubscribe command with a different e-mail address than their own. The other is if the list is "closed"--that is, when the owner must approve all new subscriptions.

For example, the system postmaster at a bakery might want to set up a list exploder (see Chapter 2) for the "donut-makers" mailing list. She adds an exploder named donut-makers-dist@yummybake.com and sends this mail to the Majordomo server:

   From: postmaster@yummybake.com
   To: majordomo@bakers.org

   subscribe donut-makers donut-makers-dist@yummybake.com
When Majordomo gets the message, it sees that the subscription address isn't the same as the sender's address. So it sends the following mail message to the list owner:
   From Owner-Majordomo@bakers.org Sun Sep  5 08:56:09 1993
   To: donut-makers-approval
   From: Majordomo@bakers.org
   Subject: APPROVE donut-makers
   Reply-To: Majordomo@bakers.org

   --
   postmaster@yummybake.com requests that you approve the following:

       subscribe donut-makers donut-makers-dist@yummybake.com

   If you approve, please send a message such as the following back to
   Majordomo@bakers.org (with the appropriate PASSWORD filled in, of course):
       approve PASSWORD subscribe donut-makers donut-makers-dist@yummybake.com

   If you disapprove, do nothing.  Thanks!

   Majordomo@bakers.org
If an owner doesn't want to approve the subscription request, I suggest that he not just "do nothing." If a subscription is rejected, it's a good idea to reply and explain why. Otherwise, the subscriber will probably write to ask because she already got a message like this:
   From Owner-Majordomo@bakers.org Sun Sep  5 08:56:09 1993
   To: postmaster@yummybake.com
   From: Majordomo@bakers.org
   Subject: Majordomo results
   Reply-To: Majordomo@bakers.org

   --
   >>>> subscribe donut-makers donut-makers-dist@yummybake.com
   Your request to Majordomo@bakers.org:

           subscribe donut-makers donut-makers-dist@yummybake.com

   has been forwarded to the owner of the "donut-makers" list for approval. 
   This could be for any of several reasons:
       You might have asked to subscribe to a "closed" list, where all new
           additions must be approved by the list owner. 
       You might have asked to subscribe or unsubscribe an address other than
           the one that appears in the headers of your mail message.
   When the list owner approves your request, you will be notified.

   If you have any questions about the policy of the list owner, please
   contact "sample-approval@bakers.org".  Thanks!

   Majordomo@bakers.org
As the message to the list owner explained, the owner can approve the subscription by mailing an "approve" command to the majordomo server:
   From: owner-name@owner-address
   To: Majordomo@bakers.org

   approve !BooM! subscribe donut-makers donut-makers-dist@yummybake.com
(where "!BooM!" is the list password).


Prepared by the Network Development group at The Prentice Centre.
Last modified on March 18, 1996.