Knowledgebase: Mailing
Lists/SmartList
Can
SmartList handle a very large subscriber list?
SmartList is capable of handling subscriber lists upwards of 90,000. However,
there are a few things to be aware of:
1 - A large list will take hours to send out, on occasion even over a
day, this is not due to SmartList capablities, but to the nature of sendmail
and procmail and the handling of bounced mail.
2 - It will generate a correspondingly large volume of bounced mail. This
bounced mail may need special handling not to choke the list admin's mail
box.
3 - It is a good idea to refer to the list's documentation and to the
SmartList mailing list and archives for information on handling the hugh
volume of bounces and for optimization tips for large lists before setting
out. The needed documentation can be found at http://www.hartzler.net/smartlist/SmartList-FAQ.html
How
do I customize a SmartList autoresponder?
User can do this part in a SSH session on server:
upon subscription:
~$ cd /home/$user/$domain-mail/$list
~$ ../.bin/led subscribe.txt
[make changes]
<:wq>
upon unsubscription:
~$ ../.bin/led unsubscribe.txt
[make changes]
<:wq>
How to edit lines printed by *program* upon subscription/unsubscription.
This, the server owner does, in SSH session:
upon subscription:
~# cd /home/$user/$domain-mail/.bin
~# ./led subscribe
[find and edit the line]
<:wq>
upon unsubscription:
~# cd /home/$user/$domain-mail/.bin
~# ./led subscribe
[find and edit the line]
<:wq>
How
does SmartList handle bounced mail?
Bounced mail is usually directed to the "request" address of
an existing list and is therefore processed with list/rc.request.
How
do I setup a mailing list?
How do I set up a new mailing list?
1 - Go to your Control Panel
2 - Click on the Mail Manager
3 - Create a list in Mail Manager by clicking on "New List".
4 - Add the name of the list. You'll get a message giving you instructions
on how to subscribe to the list.
5 - After reading this click Home on the left hand side.
6 - Click on the name of the list and you'll see the following:
Maintainer email address:
Maintainer's password:
The maximum number of emails that can be stored in archive:
After you input and edit the maintainer information and click edit you
will get the following message: Now, modify '/home/delta/deltafarms-mail/test/rc.custom'
file. Done This file doesn't need to be edited, it is just informing you
that it has been edited. Your list is now created.
My
list sends unevenly. What could be the problem?
A certain amount of erratic behavior is par for the course with lists.
Unfortunately this does not depend on how our servers are performing.
The behavior of the list is dependent upon all servers the list is being
sent to. For example, one ISP bouncing too many messages can affect the
whole list (as it 'clogs' the sending server).
We will definitely work with clients to ensure that our server is functioning
properly and that the server is sending out the list. However, optimizing
the list itself so that it goes out as quickly and smoothly as possible
is the job of the client. For some suggestions, see KB article "Can
SmartList handle a very large subscriber list?" When you are having
problems with a list, you can get information about the nature of the
slowdown using these commands in ssh:(~$: is the command line prompt)
1 - ~$: tail -f /var/log/maillog
Run this *while* the list is sending. This will show you how sendmail
is handling the mail. (use control - C to quit)
Look for messages like:
stat=Sent (AAA09275 Message accepted for delivery)
stat=Sent (Message received: 7727432D137.AAA37F4)
These messages come from the receiving server.
2 - ~$: mailq
Run this a day or two after the list is sent. This will tell you all the
mail that's in the queue, which usually @includes a lot of lists. The messages
are actually generated by the recipients' servers which have been asked
to receive the mail but are saying "no."*Deferred means the
mail could not be sent and sendmail will try again. Sometimes the server
on the receiving end is down or busy or full. After a pre-set number of
bounces, smartlist will unsubscribe such an address. Refused means that
the other server is actively blocking the mail. You could ask the recipient
to contact their ISP; sometimes servers will block *all* lists as spam
except upon explicit request by one of their customers.
Look for messages like:
(host map: lookup (ingramo.com): deferred)
(Deferred: No route to host)
(Deferred: Connection timed out with hannal.wncc.nwe.us.)
(User unknown)
Finally, although we would not offer technical support on these, there
are programs out there similar to "choplist", which split large
mailing lists into smaller segments and send the smaller segments. Choplist
is the program that SmartList uses to handle this and is considered by
most to be the best. The other programs available to handle this function
have their own pros and cons. You might wish to look into these to optimize
your lists' performances, but remember that to switch from choplist to
something else involves programming, ie altering SmartList code to call
your program instead of choplist.
My
list's log file is full. How do I fix this?
Sometimes the /home/username/domain-mail/.etc/log fills up with 'From'
headers from bounced mail that are just the list address, also /home/username/domain-mail/listname/bounces/
fill up with message id's that contain only the list address. This is
caused by the list maintainer address being the same as the listaddress.
The solution is to Look in 'rc.custom' located in /home/username/domain-mail/listname/.
Near the top of the file look under 'maintainer='. If this is the same
as the list name then there is the problem. To solve: In a browser, go
into http://domain.com/menu and click on the listname in mail manager
and change the maintainer address.
[ Back to Top ]
How
do I send mail to the list?
To send email to the mailinglist, write to the following address:
To: listname@domainname.com
How
do I updates, change, and administer the list?
Through the control panel you will need to use the mail manager to administer
the files associated with SmarList.
Where
would I find user support for SmartList?
SmartList Archives: http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/~casterln/smartlist-arc/maillist.html
The FAQ is available in html and text format at http://www.hartzler.net/smartlist/
How
do I administer a SmartList?
The Mailing List Manager (Xcommand), available from the Mail Manager allows
the administrator of the list to:
Show List of Subscribers
Show List Log
Wipe List Log
Search list of subscribers for a near match
Directly subscribe/unsubscribe a user
You can get to the Mailing List Manager by selecting the list from under
'Edit List' in the Mail Manager, then selecting 'Mailing List Manager'.
You will need to know the Maintainer email and password to administer
the list. The results of the commands will be sent to the list maintainer's
email address.
How
do I create a moderated list?
Please use the Control Panel mail manager to edit lists.
How
do I create only a subscriber list?
Please use the Control Panel mail manager to edit lists.
How
do I setup a newsletter using SmartList?
Below are instructions for creating a newsletter manually. We do not recommend
that you do this unless you really know what you are doing! We cannot
support manually-created newsletters. When you use SmartList to send out
an electronic newsletter, you limit the submissions accepted to yourself,
and tell SmartList not to accept "foreign" submissions. Anyone
who signs up will still receive the list but now cannot send to it.
If you want all your lists to be newsletters, edit the rc.init file rather
than the rc.custom file below.
For the list "listname":
1 - Create the list via the mail management utility; http://$domain.com/menu
For the rest of these steps, you will need to SSH to server:
2 - Edit the rc.custom file (in /home/$user/$domain-mail/$list):
type at prompt ($:) cd $domain-mail/$list
type at prompt ($:) vi +/foreign rc.custom
delete the ##s in front of the second foreign_submit line by typing 'x'
over each one type: :wq
(If editing the rc.init file, also place a comment (#) in front of the
first foreign_submit line; the one with the 'yes'.)
3 - Delink the distribution file from the accept postings file:
type at prompt ($:) ../.bin/delink dist
4 - If there are already subscribers to this list, then remove non-posting
addresses from accept file, else just add authorized poster's address
to accept file:
type at prompt ($:) vi accept
move cursor to beneath the line at start of file
type: ndd (where n is the number of lines you wish to delete)
continue until all addresses are gone
type: addresses of those authorized to post to list, one per line
type: :wq
When these steps are completed, those authorized to post may send to the
list by e-mailing to $list@$domain.com. If anyone else attempts to mail
to the list, it will be sent to the list maintainer rather than the list.
Since the owner, and those he/she authorizes, are now the only addresses
in the accept file for the list, no other submissions will be accepted.
NB: editing the rc.init instead of the rc.custom file means that all lists
created thereafter will also function as newsletters.
How
do I subscribe a list of contacts I already have?
The 'dist' file is the distribution list -- the list of recipients. To
add a pre-existing list of recipients, copy it into the dist file:
/home/username/domainname-mail/listname/dist
You can add a short list by hand or by cut-and-paste. For a really long
list, you may want to download the dist file, edit it using a word processing
program, save it
as text or ASCII, and then upload the edited file.
The following conditions apply:
One subscriber per line.
Empty lines are allowed.
The mail address of the subscriber must be the first word on the line.
Comments may follow the address (but separated from the address by at
least one whitespace character).
Everything preceding the line containing:
(Only addresses below this line can be automatically removed)
is write-protected from changes (i.e. these addresses can never be automatically/accidentally
unsubscribed).
If the line:
(Only addresses below this line can be automatically removed)
is not present at all, automatic unsubscriptions to this list are impossible.
New subscribers will always appear on the line immediately following the
last filled entry in the dist file.
Some sample entries (the preferred format):
joe@some.where
joe@some.where (some comment)
joe@some.where (some comment) (some more comments)
Depreciated, but allowed:
<joe@some.where>
<joe@some.where> some comment
<joe@some.where> (some comment
Not allowed:
(some comment) joe@some.where
some comment <joe@some.where>
Note: adding to the dist file for a list automatically adds to the accept
file as well, unless you have turned off foreign submissions.
How
do I subscribe to a mailing list?
How do I subscribe to a list?
From email:
To subscribe to the mailinglist, simply send a message with the word "subscribe"
in the Subject: field to the -request address of that list.
To: listname-request@domainname.com
Subject: subscribe
To subscribe to the digest:
A digest sends all messages at once, in one big message, rather than sending
each one individually.
To subscribe the digest, simply send a message with the word "subscribe"
in the Subject: field to the following address.
To: listname-d-request@domainname.com
Subject: subscribe
How
do I unsubscribe from a mailing list?
How do I unsubscribe to a list?
From email:
To unsubscribe from the mailinglist, simply send a message with the word
"unsubscribe" in the Subject: field to the -request address
of that list.
To: listname-request@domainname.com
Subject: unsubscribe
To unsubscribe from the digest
To unsubscribe from the digest, write an e-mail like this.
To: listname-d-request@domainname.com
Subject: unsubscribe
How do I view the email addresses of those subscribed
to my list?
In order to view the email addresses of people who have subscribed to
a particular mailing list, in a SSH session, you need to:
1. Change directories to, "/home/$user/$domain-mail/$listname".
~# cd /home/$user/$domain-mail/$listname
~# ls
2. Cat on the dist file
~# cat dist
NOTE: never remove the line that says, 'addresses above this line can't
be unsubcribed' or something simular; also leave the $list-d user subscribed
or messages will not get to the digest
What does it mean to uncomment?
These instructions are to be carried out in a SSH session. A comment is
a line of text that a human can read but a computer ignores. To uncomment
means to delete the # or ##'s in front of a line of code, which "activates"
or "turns on" whatever the code does.
If there are two lines in rc.custom, always uncomment the second line.
TO UNCOMMENT IN RC.CUSTOM
Step 1: Go to the file
type at prompt: cd /home/username/domainname-mail/listname
type at prompt: ../.bin/led rc.custom (The 'led' editor is a special vi
editor session that prevents use of the list until editing is complete.)
Step 2: uncomment
search for line to be uncommented and delete ##'s then write and quit;(:wq).
Example:
BEFORE:
#foreign_submit
##foreign_submit = yes # uncomment this line if you
# want to restrict submitting to
# people on the accept list
AFTER:
#foreign_submit
foreign_submit = yes # uncomment this line if you
# want to restrict submitting to
# people on the accept list
**Note, the second line is uncommented.
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