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OpenBSD Mailing List Server

                       An Overview of Majordomo 2

This help message is from the Majordomo list management software at
  OpenBSD Mailing List Server

You interact with the Majordomo software by sending commands to
  majordomo@openbsd.org
in the body of a mail message. Please do not put your commands in
the subject!  Majordomo only processes commands in the message body.

Majordomo is designed to manage electronic mailing lists automatically.
This document presents an overview of how Majordomo works, from the
perspective of someone who wants to participate in a mailing list.  If
you are looking for an overview from the perspective of a list
administrator, use the "help admin" command.

This document describes many of the common commands, but some features
are not mentioned here.  To see a complete list of subscriber commands,
use the "help commands" command.  To see a complete list of all
Majordomo commands, use the "help topics" command.

Important E-mail Addresses
--------------------------

This Majordomo server is running at the domain "openbsd.org".
There are two important addresses that pertain to every
mailing list at this domain

majordomo@openbsd.org

  This is the list server address, the address to which 
  Majordomo commands (such as "subscribe", "help", or "lists")
  should ALWAYS be sent.  Mail sent to this address is processed
  automatically; do not expect a human being ever to read it.

owner-majordomo@openbsd.org

  This is the address of the person or persons who administrate the 
  entire domain.  Write to this address in case of an emergency,
  such as a mail loop or system failure.

In addition, there are two unique addresses for every mailing
list supported by this domain.  Replace LISTNAME with the actual
name of a mailing list at this domain.

LISTNAME@openbsd.org

  This is the address to which you should post messages, once
  you have subscribed to a mailing list.  Posted messages may
  be read by hundreds or thousands of people, so use discretion.
  NEVER send Majordomo commands to this address.

LISTNAME-owner@openbsd.org

  This is the address of the person or persons who maintain the
  mailing list.  If you have private questions that are specific to a
  particular mailing list, write to the owners at this address.

Which Mailing Lists are Served at openbsd.org?
----------------------------------------------------------

  To see a list of public mailing lists at this domain, with brief
  descriptions of each list, use the command

    lists

  If you would like to see more details about each mailing list, such as
  the number of subscribers and how often messages are posted, use this
  command instead:

    lists-full

  There are three documents associated with each mailing list, 
  the frequently asked questions (faq) document, the info document,
  and the intro document.  To obtain these documents for a specific
  list, use the following commands:

    faq LISTNAME
    info LISTNAME
    intro LISTNAME

Subscribing to a List
---------------------

  Once you've determined that you wish to subscribe to one or more lists on
  this system, you can send commands to Majordomo to have it add you to the
  list, so you can begin receiving mailings. You don't need to involve the
  list owner in this process (usually), and doing it yourself will save
  them LOTS of time. Remember a list owner is normally a volunteer with
  other things to do and lots of people subscribed to one or more lists.

  To receive list mail at the address from which you're sending your mail,
  simply send a "subscribe" command to the server as detailed in the help
  file for "subscribe". To get that file, send this one line in the body 
  of a mail message to majordomo@openbsd.org

   help subscribe

  You supply at least the list's name, and you can supply your real name
  and email address if it is not in your email headers.  For example,

   subscribe LISTNAME

   subscribe LISTNAME Your Name <youraddress@example.com>

  Based on configuration decisions made by the list owners, you may be
  added to the mailing list immediately, or you may receive notification
  that an authorization key (or token) is required for subscription.
  This can be a bit of extra hassle, but it helps keep you from being
  swamped in extra email by someone who forged requests from your address.
  In this case, follow the instructions in the help file for "accept".
  (Or send a "reject" command if you don't want to be subscribed.)

  You may also get a message that your subscription is being forwarded to
  the list owner for approval; some lists have waiting lists, or policies
  about who may subscribe.  If your request is forwarded for approval, the
  list owner may contact you soon after your request, or the list owner may
  simply add you to the list when they have time.

  Upon subscribing, you should receive an introductory message, containing
  list policies and features.  Please SAVE THIS MESSAGE for future
  reference; it should contain exact directions for unsubscribing.  If
  you lose the intro mail and would like another copy of the policies,
  send this one-line message to majordomo@openbsd.org

    info LISTNAME

  ...substituting, of course, the real name of your list for "LISTNAME".

Your Personal Password
----------------------

  When you first subscribe to a mailing list at openbsd.org, you will
  receive a password, and have your address registered in the Majordomo
  central registry.  No matter how many subscriptions you have at
  openbsd.org, you will never have more than one password 
  for your e-mail address.

  Once you have obtained a password, you can use it to avoid the extra
  step of confirmation when you change your settings with the set 
  command, or subscribe to a new list with the subscribe command.

  Please see "help approve" and "help default" to learn how to use
  your password when you issue commands.

  In addition, if this site is configured to use Majordomo's built-in
  WWW interfaces, you can use your password at the following WWW page
  to change your settings, unsubscribe, or join other mailing lists:
    https://lists.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr/domain=openbsd.org

Unsubscribing from Mailing Lists
--------------------------------

  Your original intro message should contains the exact command for
  removing your address from the list.  However, in most cases, you
  can simply send the command "unsubscribe" followed by the list name:
       unsubscribe LISTNAME
  This command may fail if your email address has changed since
  you first subscribed to the mailing list.

  To remove an address other than the one from which you're sending the
  request, refer to the help file for "unsubscribe" to get details on
  how to remove yourself. If you have your old password, you can quickly
  remove your old address even if you no longer have access to the
  account. If your old account is forwarding mail to your new account,
  you can also use "accept" from the new account once the server asks
  you for confirmation.

  If you want to unsubscribe from all lists on this server at once,
  send an "unregister" command instead of "unsubscribe". This will
  remove you from all email lists reachable from majordomo@openbsd.org

Posting Messages
----------------

  When you post a message to a mailing list, your message may not be
  delivered to the subscribers immediately.  There are many possible
  reasons that this might happen:  the list may be moderated;  you
  may have accidentally included a word or phrase that Majordomo recognizes
  as a command; or the list may be configured to require the moderators'
  approval for posted messages from new subscribers, for example.  If
  your message is moderated or denied, you will usually receive a 
  notice from Majordomo why that happened.  If not, use the command

   help set

  to learn about your personal settings, then use the 

   set LISTNAME

  command or the 

   show 

  command to see the current settings.  If the settings that start with
  "ack" are turned off, you will not receive notices about the progress of
  your posted messages.

Receiving Messages in a Digest
------------------------------

  A mailing list can be configured to bundle sets of posted messages
  together into a collection called a "digest."  Each mailing list
  can have several digests configured.  The most basic way to change
  your delivery class to receive a digest is to use the following
  command (substitute the name of a mailing list for LISTNAME):

    set LISTNAME digest

  Three digest formats are available for every digest:  MIME, text, and
  index.  MIME digests contain every part of every message, including any
  attachments; this is the most common format.  Text digests include only
  plain text message parts.  Index digests display the subject line
  and other information about each message, but the message contents 
  are omitted.  

  To choose a new digest format, add its name after the word "digest"
  in the set command, for example: 

    set LISTNAME digest-mime

  Each mailing list can have several digests.  To see a description
  of the digests that are available for a particular mailing list, 
  use the following command:

    lists-full LISTNAME

  As an example, if a list has three digests (daily, weekly, biweekly),
  you can include their names in the set command, for example:
   
    set LISTNAME digest-daily-index
    set LISTNAME digest-weekly
    set LISTNAME digest-biweekly-mime
   
Going on Vacation
-----------------

  To stop receiving mail from a mailing list temporarily, use the 
  "nomail" setting.  The simplest example is

    set LISTNAME nomail

  Then, when you wish to resume receiving mail from the list, use
  the command
  
    set LISTNAME nomail-return

  However, you can also tell Majordomo to automatically start sending
  you mail again after a period of time.  For example, if you are
  planning to travel for 15 days, use the command

    set LISTNAME nomail-15d

  If you return early, you can still use the "nomail-return" setting to
  resume receiving mail anytime. 


See Also:
   help alias
   help commands
   help faq
   help info
   help intro
   help lists
   help password
   help set
   help show
   help subscribe
   help unregister
   help unsubscribe

This is the "overview" help document for 
Majordomo 2, version 0.1201103110.

For a list of all help documents, send the following command:
   help topics
in the body of a message to majordomo@openbsd.org.

For assistance, please contact the openbsd.org administrators.
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