Mailman List Configuration Options

Overview

Mailman has an extensive set of configuration options available to list owners/administrators. These options are available in the list's administration page https://lists.uaa.alaska.edu/mailman/admin/listname where listname is replaced with the actual name of your list.

In this article:

Configuration settings explained

Below is a description of each configuration setting available to you as a list owner in your list's administration pages.

General Options
Configuration Setting Explanation
real_name
The public name of the list.		 This is how the name of the list will appear. The capitalization of this name can be change to make it presentable in polite company as a proper noun, or to make an acronym part all upper case, etc. However, the name must not be otherwise altered, doing so can cause email sent to the list to fail to be delivered. For example: you can change the case of "mylist" to "MyList", but it can not be changed to "my-list".
owner
The list administrator's email address(es).		 This field contains the list owner's email address(es). For multiple owners, enter each address on a separate line. Each owner address must end in @alaska.edu.
moderator
The list moderator's email address(es).		 This field contains the list moderator's email address(es). Moderators can approve, or reject list subscriptions and postings if the list is configured as such. For multiple moderators, enter each address on a separate line.
description
A terse phrase identifying the list.		 The description appears on the list information page, and in the List-ID header included with each message sent to the list. The description should be short. It should be as succinct as you can get it, while still identifying what the list is. More detailed information can be provided in the info setting.
info
An introductory description about the list.		 This information is included at the top of the list information page. You can use this setting to provide detailed information, a few paragraphs, about the list. The text will be treated as html except that newlines will be translated to <br> - so you can use links, pre-formatted text, etc, but don't put in carriage returns except where you mean to separate paragraphs. And review your changes - bad html (like some un-terminated HTML tags) can prevent display of the entire listinfo page.
subject_prefix
Prefix for the subject line of list postings.		 The value placed in this field will be placed at the beginning of the subject line for all messages sent to the list. For example, you can have the subject line start with the list name in brackets (e.g. [MyList]). The result is that subject line would look similar to the following:

Subject: [MyList] Track meet this weekend!
from_is_list
Replace the from address with the list's email address

Several protocols now in wide use attempt to ensure that use of the domain in the author's address (i.e. in the From: header field) is authorized by that domain. These protocols may be incompatible with common list features such as footers, causing participating email services to bounce list traffic merely because of the address in the From: field. This has resulted in members being unsubscribed despite being perfectly able to receive mail.
anonymous_list
Hide the sender of a message, replacing it with the list address.		 If set to an anonymous list, the list's address will appear in both the To and From fields of the list messages, rather than displaying the original sender's email address. The original From, Sender, and Reply-To fields will also be removed. Note that configuring a list as anonymous will result in all replies being directed back to the list's address.
first_strip_reply_to
Removes any existing Reply-To headers in the message.		 This option will remove any existing Reply-To: header found in the original message regardless of whether an explicit Repy-To: header is added by Mailman or not.
reply_goes_to_list
Where are replies to list messages directed?		 Choose what you want the default behavior for replies to list messages to be sent to the original poster, the list, or a specific email address. If the purpose of the list is to facilitate discussions, setting this option to This list is probably best.
reply_to_address
Explicit Reply-To header.		 If you set the reply_goes_to_list setting to Explicit address, specify the address here.
umbrella_list
Send administrative notices to "-owner" address instead of directly to user.		 If the list is an "umbrella" list, meaning it has other lists rather than individual email addresses as its members, set this value to Yes. If the list has other lists, as well as individuals as members, you do not need to configure it as an umbrella list. This setting affects where administrative notices intended for members (e.g. welcome messages) are sent.
send_reminders
Send monthly password reminders?		 Set this value to Yes if you'd like password reminders to be sent out once per month to the list members. Note that members may disable their own individual password reminders.
welcome_msg
List-specific text prepended to new-subscriber welcome message		 When individuals are added to the list, either by subscribing themselves or being added by the list owner, they are sent a welcome message (if the list owner wants to - see send_welcome_msg). Any text you enter in this setting will be included in the welcome message. 

The rest of the welcome message already describes the important addresses and URLs for the mailing list, so you don't need to include any of that kind of information. This should just contain mission-specific kinds of things like etiquette policies, team orientation, or that kind of thing.

Note that this text will be wrapped, according to the following rules:

  • Each paragraph is filled so that no line is longer than 70 characters.
  • Any line that begins with whitespace is not filled.
  • A blank line separates paragraphs.
send_welcome_msg
Send welcome message to newly subscribed members?		 You can choose whether or not new subscribers are sent the welcome message. You can customize the text of the welcome message in the welcome_msg setting.
goodbye_msg
Text to send to people leaving the list.		 When a person leaves the list, or is removed by the list owner, the individual will be sent a "goodbye message" (if the list owner wants to - see send_goodbye_msg). Any text added in this setting will be included in the message. If left blank, no text will be added to the generic unsubscribe message.
send_goodbye_msg
Send goodbye message to members when they are unsubscribed?		 You can choose whether or not individuals who are leaving the list are sent a message when the unsubscribe. You can customize the text of the goodbye message in the goodbye_msg setting.
admin_immed_notify
Should the list moderators get immediate notice of new requests, as well as daily notices about collected ones?		 List owners, and moderators are sent daily reminders of requests pending approval. These may include subscriptions, or postings that are being held for approval. Setting this option causes notices to be sent immediately on the arrival of the new requests in addition to the daily reminder.
admin_notify_mchanges
Should administrator get notices of subscribes and unsubscribes?		 If set to Yes, you will be notified when a person subscribes to, or unsubscribes from, the list.
respond_to_post_requests
Send mail to poster when their posting is held for approval?		 If set to Yes, members will be notified whenever a message they send to the list is held for approval.
emergency
Emergency moderation of all list traffic.		 If set to Yes, all incoming email messages which would normally be distributed to the list will be automatically held for approval. This setting does not affect message that would normally be rejected or discarded.
new_member_options
Default options for new members.

These are the initial options set for members when they are subscribed to the list. These settings can be updated on an individual basis after the individual is subscribed.

Options available are:

  • Conceal the member's address: Specifies whether or not the address is displayed in the list roster.
  • Acknowledge the member's posting: Controls whether or not Mailman sends an acknowledgement to a member when they post a message to the list.
  • Do not send a copy of a member's own post: Specifies whether a member posting to the list will get a copy of their own posting.
  • Filter out duplicate messages to list members (if possible): Specifies whether members who are explicitly listed as a recipient of a message (e.g. via the Cc: header) will also get a copy from Mailman.

Of course, members can always override these defaults by making changes on their membership options page.
administrivia
Check postings and intercept ones that seem to be administrative requests?		 Administrivia will check postings to see whether they are really meant as administrative requests such as subscribing or unsubscribing. If the postings are administrative requests, they will be held for approval and the owner will be notified.
max_message_size
Maximum length in kilobytes (KB) of a message body.		 Set the maximum message size limit for the list. This can help you control the posting of attachments to the list. Any message sent to the list that is over the maximum message size will be held for approval. Set to 0 for the system-wide maximum (currently 25 MB). From a practical point of view this value can be left at the default setting. If the list owner desires to set a custom value they can; however, it is recommended that this value not be set any higher than 25,000 KB (25 MB) in order to ensure maximum compatibility with third-party email servers.
admin_member_chunksize
Maximum number of members to show on one page of the Membership List.		 Determines how many individual will be displayed at one time when viewing the Membership Management -> Membership List page.
include_rfc2369_headers
Should messages from this mailing list include RFC 2369 (i.e. List-*) headers? Yes is highly recommended.		 RFC 2369 defines a set of List-* headers that are normally added to every message sent to the list membership. These greatly aid recipients who are using standards compliant mail clients. They should normally always be enabled.
include_list_post_header
Should postings include the List-Post: header?		 The List-Post: header is one of the headers recommended by RFC 2369. However for some announce-only mailing lists, only a very select group of people are allowed to post to the list; the general membership is usually not allowed to post. For lists of this nature, the List-Post: header is misleading. Select No to disable the inclusion of this header. This does not affect the inclusion of the other List-*: headers.
include_sender_header
Should the Sender header be rewritten for this mailing list to avoid stray bounces? Yes is recommended.		 RFC 2822 defines the Sender header and defines it as "the mailbox of the agent responsible for the actual transmission of the message." Mailman replaces this header by default with the list's bounce address. While it is debatable if Mailman is such an agent, setting this header helps directing bounces from some broken MTAs to the right destination. On the other hand, some mail clients show unexpected behaviour if this header is set (like missing addresses in forwarded mails and copies sent to the bounce address on reply-to-all), so it can be disabled here.
max_days_to_hold
Discard held messages older than this number of days.		 Determines how many days a message held for approval will be held before being automatically discarded. Automatic discarding is disabled by default.
Passwords
Configuration Setting Explanation
administrator password Set the administrator password used by those individuals responsible for managing the list's settings.
moderator password Set the moderator password used by those individuals responsible for managing the list's day-to-day activities.
 
Language Options
Configuration Setting Explanation
preferred_language
Default language for this list.		 This is the default natural language for the mailing list. If more than one language is supported then users will be able to select their own preferences for when they interact with the list. All other interactions will be conducted in the default language. This applies to both web-based and email-based messages, but not to email posted by list members.
available_languages
Languages supported by this list.		 These are all the natural languages supported by the list. Note that the default language, specified in preferred_language setting, must be included.
encode_ascii_prefixes
Encode the subject prefix even when it consists of only ASCII characters?		 If your mailing list's default language uses a non-ASCII character set and the prefix contains non-ASCII characters, the prefix will always be encoded according to the relevant standards. However, if the list receives both encoded and unencoded subject headers it may cause some mail clients to display extra, or missing spaces between the prefix and the original header. It is strongly encourage to leave value of this setting to As needed.
 
Membership Management
Configuration Setting Explanation
Membership List Displays a list of current members, as well as their membership options. For lists with large numbers of members this will be split across multiple pages. The specific number of accounts displayed per page can be adjusted with the admin_member_chunksize variable available in the General Options category.
Mass Subscription Subscribe new members to the list using this page. Please read the Mailman Guide for List Administrators for more information.
Mass Removal Remove members from the list using this page. Please read the Mailman Guide for List Administrators for more information.
Address Change Use this page to quickly change a list member's address. You must know their current and new address. You may also elect to send a notification to the person's original address, new address, or both. Please read the Mailman Guide for List Administrators for more information.
 
Non-digest Options
Configuration Setting Explanation
nondigestable
Can subscribers choose to receive mail immediately, rather than in batched digests?		 Choose whether subscribers should be able to receive individual messages as they are sent to the list, or if they should be limited to digests only.
msg_header
Header added to mail sent to regular list membes.		 This text will be added to the top of every message sent to the list (including digests). This can be regular text, or Python format strings. For example, if you want to include the descrption of the list at the top of every message that is sent out, you would specify the following Python format string in the msg_header area:

%(description)
msg_footer
Footer added to mail sent to regular list members.

This text will be added to the bottom of every message sent to the list (including digests). This can be regular text or Python format strings. By default, list messages have the following footer:

_______________________________________________
%(real_name)s mailing list
%(real_name)s@%(host_name)s
%(web_page_url)slistinfo%(cgiext)s/%(_internal_name)s

This will display in list messages similar to the following:

_______________________________________________
listname mailing list
listname@lists.uaa.alaska.edu
https://lists.uaa.alaska.edu/mailman/listinfo/listname

Replacing listname with the actual name of the mailing list.
scrub_nondigest
Scrub attachments of regular delivery message?		 Set this option to Yes if you want to prevent any attachments (e.g. Word documents, Spreadsheets, etc.) from being transmitted to the list. When you scrub attachments, they are stored in the list's archive, and links are made in the message so that the member can access them via a web browser. If you want the attachments to totally disappear, you can use content filtering options.
regular_exclude_lists
Other mailing lists on this site whose members are excluded from the regular (non-digest) delivery if those list addresses appear in a To or Cc header.		 The list addresses should be written in full mail address format (e.g. mailman@example.com). Do not specify this list address mutually in the exclude list configuration page of the other list, or members of both lists won't get any message.
regular_exclude_ignore
Ignore regular_exclude_lists of which the poster is not a member.		 If a post is addressed to this list, and to one or more of the exclude lists, regular members of those lists will not be sent the post from this list, but if the poster is not a member of an excluded list, the post may not be accepted by that list which leaves the members of that list with no copy of the post. Setting this to Yes ignores any of the exclude lists of which the poster is not a member.
regular_include_lists
Other mailing lists on this site whose members are included in the regular (non-digest) delivery if those list address don't appear in a To or Cc header.		 The list addresses should be written in full mail address format (e.g. mailman@example.com). Note also that the site administrator may prohibit cross domain siblings.
 
Digest Options
Configuration Setting Explanation
digestible
Can list members choose to receive list traffic bunched in digests?		 Setting this option to Yes will allow individuals to choose between digests and individual messages. If the list gets a lot of traffic, some members may prefer to receive their messages in digest format. If messages sent to the list may be considered time-sensitive, you may not want members to receive digests. Please note that you should not rely on the Mailman server to deliver messages immediately if you are trying to distribute time-sensitive material.
digest_is_default
Which delivery mode is the default for new users?		 Choose whether you want new subscribers to receive individual messages (Regular) or digests by default. Members can change their own settings once they are subscribed.
mime_is_default_digest
When receiving digests, which format is default?		 Members can choose between MIME formatted, or plain text digests. This setting defines which one they will receive by default. MIME digests will include any attachments sent to the list whereas plain text digests will not include the attachments.
digest_size_threshold
How big in kilobytes (KB) should a digest be before it gets sent out?		 Mailman will collect list messages to be distributed in a digest until the threshold is reached. For lists with heavy traffic, this may result in the digest being sent out to those members who have elected to receive it multiple times in a day. This can be useful since a large digest with too many messages can seem unmanageable. On the other hand, list members may prefer to receive only a single daily digest regardless of size, in which case this setting should be set to a larger size threshold. If you elect to set this, do not use a value larger than 25000 KB (e.g. 25 MB).
digest_send_periodic
Should a digest be dispatched daily when the size threshold isn't reached?		 If set to Yes, Mailman will send out a daily digest even when the threshold for the digest size has not been reached. This is good for lists with low traffic to ensure that subscribers don't go days, or even weeks before receiving their digest.
digest_header
Header added to every digest.		 This text will be added to the top of each digest in the same way the msg_header text is added to non-digest messages.
digest_footer
Footer added to every digest.		 This text will be added to the bottom of each digest in the same way the msg_footer is added to non-digest messages.
digest_volume_frequency
How often should a new digest volume be started?		 You can choose to have a new digest volume started yearly, monthly, quarterly, weekly, or daily. When a new digest volume is started, the volume number increases by 1, and the issue number is reset to 1.
new_volume
Should Mailman start a new digest volume?		 Selecting this option performs an immediate action, and starts a new digest volume with the next digest that is sent out. It does not modify the digest_volume_frequency setting.
send_digest_now
Should Mailman send the next digest right now, if it is not empty?		 Selecting this option instructs Mailman to send the next digest to list members now rather than waiting for the size threshold to be reached, or for the next daily digest if digest_send_periodic is set to Yes.
 
Privacy Options - Subscription Rules
Configuration Setting Explanation
advertised
Advertise this list when people ask what lists are on this machine?		 Set this option to Yes if you want your list to appear on the general Mailing Lists page.
subscribe_policy
What steps are required for subscription?

When someone wants to subscribe to your list, should an email confirmation from the individual be required; should the list owner have to approve the subscription; or should both a confirmation from the user and an approval by the list owner by required?

In order to help minimize the amount of fraudulent list subscriptions propagated by bots, it is generally recommend that this option be set to either Require approval, or Confirm and approve.
subscribe_auto_approval
List of address (or regexps) whose subscriptions do not require approval.		 When subscription requires approval, addresses in this list are allowed to subscribe without administrator approval. Add addresses one per line. You may begin a line with a ^ character to designate a (case insensitive) regular expression match. You may also use the @listname notation to designate the members of another list in this installation.
unsubscribe_policy
Is the list moderator's approval required for unsubscription requests?		 When members want to leave the list, should it require your approval? No is recommended for most lists.
ban_list
List of addresses that are banned from membership in this mailing list.		 Addresses in this list are banned outright from subscribing to this mailing list, with no further moderation required. Add addresses one per line; start the line with a ^ character to designate a regular expression match.
private_roster
Who can view subscription list?		 Choose who should be allowed to view the subscription list from the list information page, or via email commands. When set, the list of subscribers is protected by member or admin password authentication.
obscure_addresses
Show member addresses so they're not directly recognizable as email address?		 Setting this option causes member email addresses to be transformed when they are presented on list web pages (both in text and as links), so they're not trivially recognizable as email addresses. The intention is to prevent the addresses from being snarfed up by automated web scanners for use by spammers.
 
Privacy Options - Sender Filters
Configuration Setting Explanation
default_member_moderation
By default, should new list member postings be moderated?		 When a new member is subscribed, their initial moderation flag takes its value from this option. Set this option to No to accept members posting by default. Set this option to Yes to moderate member postings first. You can always manually set an individual member's moderation setting by using the Membership List page.
member_verbosity_threshold
Celing on acceptable number of member posts, per interval, before automatic moderation

If a member posts this many times, within a period of time the member is automatically moderated. Use 0 to disable. See member_verbosity_interval for details on the time period.

This is intended to stop people who join a list, or lists and then use a bot to send many spam messages in a short interval.

Be careful when using this setting. If it is set too low, this can be triggered by a single post cross-posted to multiple lists or by a single post to an umbrella list.
member_verbosity_interval
Number of seconds to remember posts to this list to determine member_verbosity_threshold for automatic moderation of a member.

If a member's total posts to all lists in this installation with member_verbosity_threshold enabled reaches this list's member_verbosity_threshold, the member is automatically moderated on this list.

Posts which are counted towards this list's member_verbosity_threshold are all posts to any list with member_verbosity_threshold enabled that arrived within that list's member_verbosity_interval.
member_moderation_action
Action to take when a moderated member posts to the list.		 Choose whether postings from moderated members should be held for approval by the list owner/moderator; automatically rejected with a note being sent back to the member, see member_moderation_notice; or discarded with no notice sent to the member.
member_moderation_notice
Text to include in any rejection notice to be sent to moderated members who post to this list.		 If member_moderation_action is set to Reject messages sent by moderated members, you can specify the text of the rejection notice here.
accept_these_nonmembers
List of non-member addresses whose postings should be automatically accepted.		 Postings from any of these non-members will be automatically accepted with no further moderation applied. Add member addresses one per line; start the line with a ^ character to designate a regular expression match (read Using Regular Expressions with Mailing Lists for some ideas). A line consisting of the @ character followed by a list name specifies another Mailman list in this installation, all of whose member addresses will be accepted for this list (e.g. @listname, @list2name, etc.)
hold_these_nonmembers
List of non-member addresses whose postings will be immediately held for moderation.		 Postings from any of these non-members will be immediately and automatically held for moderation by the list moderators. The sender will receive a notification message which will allow them to cancel their held message. Add member addresses one per line; start the line with a ^ character to designate a regular expression match (read Using Regular Expressions with Mailing Lists for some ideas).
reject_these_nonmembers
List of non-member addresses whose postings will be automatically rejected.		 Postings from any of these non-members will be automatically rejected. In other words, their messages will be bounced back to the sender with a notification of automatic rejection. This option is not appropriate for known spam senders; their messages should be automatically discarded. Add member addresses one per line; start the line with a ^ character to designate a regular expression match (read Using Regular Expressions with Mailing Lists for some ideas).
discard_these_nonmembers
List of non-member addresses whose postings will be automatically discarded.		 Postings from any of these non-members will be automatically discarded. That is, the message will be thrown away with no further processing or notification. The sender will not receive a notification or a bounce, however the list moderators can optionally receive copies of auto-discarded messages. Add member addresses one per line; start the line with a ^ character to designate a regular expression match (read Using Regular Expressions with Mailing Lists for some ideas).
generic_nonmember_action
Action to take for postings from non-members for which no explicit action is defined.		 When a post from a non-member is received, the message's sender is matched against the list of explicitly accepted, held, rejected (bounced), and discarded addresses. If no match is found, then this action is taken.
forward_auto_discards
Should messages from non-members, which are automatically discarded, be forwarded to the list moderator?		 Set this to Yes if you would like the list owner(s) and moderator(s) to be notified when messages from non-members are automatically discarded.
nonmember_rejection_notice
Text to include in any rejection notice to be sent to non-members who post to this list. This notice can include the list's owner address by %(listowner)s and replaces the internally crafted default message.		 If your list is configured to reject non-members then they will receive a default email notifying them they are not permitted to post to the list as a reply to any attempts made to post. This option allows list owners to create a custom rejection notice which will be sent instead of the default message. A rejection notice is the key difference between rejecting a message and simply discarding it. Including the %(listowner)s variable will cause the list administrator email address (e.g. listname-owner@lists.uaa.alaska.edu, where listname is the name of the list) to be displayed in the rejection message. It will not disclose the list owner(s) personal email addresses.
 
Privacy Options - Recipient Filters
Configuration Setting Explanation
require_explicit_destination
Must posts have list named in destination (To Cc) field (or be among the acceptable alias names)?		 Most spam messages do not explicitly name their destinations in the To or Cc fields. By setting this option to Yes, you will catch all such messages that do not have the list address viewable in the To or Cc fields and those messages will be held for approval. The cost is that the list will hold for approval any postings (even legitimate ones) that are blind carbon copied or addressed to other lists to which your list is subscribed). If your list is subscribed to another list, you can add that list's address to the acceptable_aliases setting to bypass this setting.
acceptable_aliases
Alias names that qualify as explicit To or Cc destination names for this list.		 Alternate addresses that are acceptable when require_explicit_destination is enabled. This option takes a list of addresses, one per line, that are matched against every recipient address in the To or Cc fields of the incoming message. If a match is found, the message will not be held because of an "implicit destination" (see require_explicit_destination).
max_num_recipients
Ceiling on acceptable number of recipients for a posting		 If a posting has this number, or more, of addresses in the To or Cc fields, it is held for administrator/moderator approval. Use 0 for no ceiling. Note that this reefers to the number of addresses listed in the To or Cc fields of the incoming message, not the number of subscribers on the list.
 
Privacy Options - Spam Filters
Configuration Setting Explanation
header_filter_rules
Filter rules to match against the headers of a message.

Specify filters to match against particular headers and perform a specified action on messages that match. Each header filter rule has two parts: A list of regular expressions, and an action to take. The regular expressions will be matched against a message's headers and if any matches occur, the specified action will be taken. You can choose to Defer (temporarily disable the filter rule), hold, reject, discard, or accept the message. You can have multiple filter rules for you list; each one will be matched in turn so order does matter.

Once a header_filter_rule is created, and the Submit Your Changes button is clicked, buttons will appear that allows you to Add new items... (before or after existing one(s)), Move rule up, Move rule down new, or Delete header_filter_rules.
bounce_matching_headers
Hold posts with header value matching a specified regular expression.		 Use this option to hold posts with matching headers. The target value is a regular expression for matching against the specified header. For example, you can use this setting to hold all messages with the word "vacation" in the subject line by entering the following: 
Subject: .*vacation.*
 
Bounce Processing
Configuration Setting Explanation
bounce_processing
Should Mailman perform automatic bounce processing?		 Use this option to manage how a specific mailing list handles bounce processing. By default the value is set to yes; however, if no is selected this will disable automatic bounce processing for the list. All bounced messages will be automatically discarded so the list owner isn't inundated with them.
bounce_score_threshold
The maximum member bounce score before the member's subscription is disabled.		 Each time a message bounces from a member's address, the member is assigned a bounce score. This value determines what level a member's bounce score can reach before the membership is disabled. If set to a high number, more bounced messages to a subscriber's address are allowed before that address is disabled.
bounce_info_stale_after
The number of days after which a member's bounce information is discarded if no new bounces have been received in the interim.		 If no new bounce messages are received from the member for the number days specified in this setting, their bounce information will be considered stale and will be discarded.
bounce_you_are_disabled_warnings
How many Your Membership Is Disabled warnings a disabled member should get before their address is removed from the mailing list.		 This setting works in conjunction with the bounce_you_are_disabled_warnings_interval setting. The subscriber whose mail is bounced will receive the specified number of warnings in the specified period of time before being unsubscribed from the list. Set to 0 to immediately remove an address from the list once their bounce score exceeds the threshold.
bounce_you_are_disabled_warnings_interval
The number of days between sending the Your Membership Is Disabled warnings.		 This setting works in conjunction with the bounce_you_are_disabled_warnings setting. The subscriber whose mail is bouncing will receive the specified number of warnings in the specified period of time before being unsubscribed from the list.
bounce_unrecognized_geos_to_list_owner
Should Mailman send you, the list owner, any bounce messages that failed to be detected by the bounce processor? Yes is recommended.		 While Mailman's bounce detector is fairly robust, it's impossible to detect every bounce format in the world. You should keep this variable set to Yes because if this really is a permanent bounce from one of your members, you should probably manually remove them from your list.
bounce_notify_owner_on_bounce_increment
Should Mailman notify you, the list owner, when bounces cause a member's bounce score to be incremented?		 By setting this value to Yes, Mailman will send a notice including a copy of the bounce message to the list owners whenever a bounce increments a member's bounce score, but doesn't cause a disable or a probe to be sent.
bounce_notify_owner_on_disable
Should Mailman notify the list owner when bounces cause a member's subscription to be disabled?		 By setting this value to No, you turn off notification messages that are normally set to the list owners when a member's delivery is disabled due to excessive bounces. An attempt to notify the member will always be made.
bounce_notify_owner_on_removal
Should Mailman notify the list owner when bounces cause a member to be unsubscribed?		 By setting this value to No, you turn off notification messages that are normally sent to the list owners when a member is unsubscribed due to excessive bounces. An attempt to notify the member will always be made.
 
Archiving Options
Configuration Setting Explanation
archive
Archive messages?		 Do you want messages posted to the list to be archived for later retrieval?
archive_private
Is archive file source for public or private archival?		 If you select Private, the archived messages will be password protected so that only list members can access them. Public archives are not password protected and anyone, including non-members, can access them. The contents of public archives will turn up in a Web search (e.g. Google).
archive_volume_frequency
How often should a new archive volume be started?		 You can choose whether you want a new archive started yearly, monthly, quarterly, weekly, or daily.
 
Mail <-> News Gateways
Configuration Setting Explanation
nntp_host
The Internet address of the machine your News server is running on.		 Mailman does not have its own NNTP server so you need to specify one here if you would like your list to be linked with a newsgroup.
linked_newsgroup
The name of the Usenet group to gateway to and/or form.		 A Usenet group must already exist in order to use the Mailman list to newsgroup gateway. You can specify the name here.
gateway_to_news
Should new posts to the mailing list be sent to the newsgroup?		 The setting controls whether or not messages sent to the Mailman list are also posted to the newsgroup.
gateway_to_mail
Should new posts to the newsgroup be sent to the mailing list?		 The setting controls whether or not messages sent to the newsgroup are also posted to the Mailman list.
news_moderation
The moderation policy of the newsgroup.		 This setting determines the moderation policy of the newsgroup and its interaction with moderation policy of the newsgroup and its interaction with the moderation policy of the Mailman list. This setting only applies to messages sent to the Mailman list that are being gatewayed to the newsgroup (rather than being sent directly to the newsgroup). If you are not gatewaying from a Mailman list to a newsgroup or the newsgroup you are gatewaying to is not moderated, set this option to None.

If the newsgroup is moderated, the Mailman list can be configured to be the moderation address for the newsgroup. By selecting Moderated, all messages posted to the Mailman list will have to be approved before being sent to the newsgroup or to the members of the Mailman list.

If the newsgroup is moderated but you do not want the Mailman list to be moderated, select Open list, moderated group. Mailman will then follow the rules for moderation that are set in Privacy Options but messages being gatewayed to the newsgroup will need to be moderated.
news_prefix_subject_too
Prefix Subject: headers on postings gated to news?		 Mailman prefixes Subject: headers with customized text (specified in the subject_prefix setting under General Options). This prefix will show up in messages gatewayed to the newsgroup unless this option is set to No.
mass_catchup
Should Mailman perform a catchup on the newsgroup?		 When you tell Mailman to perform a catchup on the newsgroup, messages will begin to be gatewayed to the Mailman list with the next new message found. All current messages on the newsgroup are ignored so Mailman list members will not see any current or old messages from the newsgroup (only new ones).
 
Auto-responder
Configuration Setting Explanation
autorespond_postings
Should Mailman send an auto-response to mailing list posters?		 You can have Mailman send an automatic reply to anyone who posts to the list. If you do so, you also need to specify the text of the autoresponse message in the autoresponse_postings_text setting.
autoresponse_postings_text
Auto-response text to send to mailing list posters.		 If autorespond_posting is set to Yes, specify the text of the autoresponse message with this setting.
autorespond_admin
Should Mailman send an autoresponse to emails sent to the -admin and -owners addresses?		 This option is similar to the autorespond_postings option except that it only regards messages sent to -admin and -owner addresses rather than messages posted to the list. If set to Yes, you also need to specify the text of the autoresponse message in the autorespond_admin_text setting.
autoresponse_admin_text
Auto-response text to send to -admin and -owner emails.		 If autorespond_admin is set to Yes, specify the text of the autoresponse message here.
autorespond_requests
Should Mailman send an autoresponse to emails sent to the -request address?		 Choose whether Mailman should send an auto-response to emails sent to the -request address. If you choose, Yes, also decide whether you want Mailman to discard the original email or forward it on to the system as a normal mail command.
autoresponse_request_text
Auto-response text to send to -request emails.		 If autorespond_requests is set to Yes, specify the text of the autoresponse message here.
autoresponse_graceperiod
Number of days between auto-responses to either the mailing list or -admin/-owner address from the same psoter.		 How often should a person receive an autoresponse message when they post to the mailing list or the -admin-owner addresses? Set to 0 for no grace period (i.e. auto-respond to every message).
 
Content filtering
Configuration Setting Explanation
filter_content
Should Mailman filter the content of list traffic according to the settings below?		 If you want Mailman to filter the content of list traffic, set this setting to Yes. If set to No, all other settings under Content Filtering will be ignored.
filter_mime_types
Remove message attachments that have a matching content type.		 Use this option to remove each message attachment that matches one of these content types.
pass_mime_types
Remove message attachments that don't have a matching content type. Leave this field blank to skip this filter test.		 Use this option to remove each message attachment that does not have a matching content type.
filter_filename_extensions
Remove message attachments that have a matching filename extension.		 Use this option to define a list of filename extensions (e.g. .exe, .bat, .cmd, etc.) that if sent to the mailing list as an attachment will have the listserv automatically remove the attachment from the message before the message is sent it to the list.
pass_filename_extensions
Remove message attachments that don't have a matching filename extension. Leave this field blank to skip this filter test.		 Use this option to define a list of filename extensions (e.g. .pdf, .xlsx, .jpg, .png, etc.) that are allowed to be sent to the mailing list. Any message attachment that doesn't have a matching filename extension will be automatically removed from the message before the message is sent to the list.
collapse_alternatives
Should Mailman collapse multipart/alternative to its first part content

Many email messages are sent as type multipart/alternative which contains both text/plain and text/html that enable viewing the same message in multiple formats. This allows individuals with email clients that do not support HTML, or who have this feature disabled, to see the text/plain message, while other individuals are able to read the HTML version.

Setting this option to yes will 'collapse' the message to text/plain and the text/html part will be discarded. Having this option set to no will preserver the multipart/alternative subparts. Note: if you have this set to no you'll also want to make sure that the convert_html_to_plaintext option is also set to no, otherwise the HTML parts of the message will be converted to text/plain.
convert_html_to_plaintext
Should Mailman convert text/html parts to plain text? This conversion happens after MIME attachments have been stripped.		 Mailman will attempt to convert html attachments to plain text.
filter_action
Action to take when a message matches the content filtering rules.		 This action is taken when the message matches on of the content filtering rules and the message ends up empty. This action will not be taken if the message contains content. When messages are discard, a log entry is written containing the Message-ID of the discarded message. When messages are rejected or forwarded to the list owner, a reason for the rejection is included in the bounce message to the original author. When messages are preserved, they are saved in a special queue directory on disk for the site administrator to view (and possibly rescue) but otherwise discarded. This last option is only available if enabled by the site administrator.
 
Topics
Configuration Setting Explanation
topics_enabled
Should the topic filter be enabled or disabled?		 The topic filter categorizes each incoming email message according to regular expression filters you specify in the topics setting. If the message's Subject: or Keywords: header contains a match against a topic filter, the message is logically placed into a topic "bucket." Each user can than choose only to receive messages from the mailing list for a particular topic bucket(s).
topics_bodylines_limit
How many body lines should the topic matcher scan?		 The topic matcher will scan this many lines of the message body looking for topic keyword matches. Body scanning stops when either this many lines have been looked at, or a non-header-like body lines is encountered. By setting this value to zero, no body lines will be scanned; only the Keywords and Subject headers will be scanned. By setting this value to a negative number, then all body lines will be scanned until a non-header-like line is encountered.
topics
Topic keywords, one per line, to match against each message.

Each topic keyword is actually a regular expression, which is matched against certain parts of a mail message, specifically the Keywords and Subject message headers.

Each topic will have three sections to define. These are:

  • Topic name: Define a name for the topic.
  • Regexp: Define a regular expression used to search and filter content based on the keywords and subject message headers.
  • Description: Write a brief description describing the purpose of the topic.

Once a topic is created and the Submit Your Changes button is clicked, buttons will appear that allows you to create new topics, or delete existing topics.

Need additional help or have issues

For support, requests may be submitted anytime by Requesting Support for the Mailing List service. Support Requests are worked by Priority based on the Impact and Urgency of need as well as the order they are received by the IT Employees with the knowledge and permissions to assist with the request.

For immediate assistance please review the Contact Us page for ways to contact the appropriate support group.

Print Article

Related Articles (4)

Mailman Guide for List Administrators
An introduction to Mailman for individuals responsible for managing a mailing list.
Use Regular Expressions with Mailing Lists
A brief introduction on the use of Regular Expressions (regex) with mailing lists.