INSTALL 5.html
Keywords: INSTALL,fml, flexible mailing list manager, not listserv style but fmlserv emulates listserv or majordomo style

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5 Creating A New Mailing List

    By makefml, you can create a new mailing list and control the
    fundamental parameters for a ML.

    "makefml" command syntax is as follows:
    	makefml command [parameters or options]

    5.1	Creating A New Mailing List

    When you create a new "elena" Mailing List, you do just

    	/usr/local/fml/makefml newml elena

    You can find the samples for each ML under /var/spool/ml/"listname"/
    e.g. the include sample for elena ML is

    	/var/spool/ml/elena

    You can see a sample to add to /etc/aliases is shown in the last
    action of makefml. Please cut and paste them in /etc/aliases and
    "newaliases". This sample is in /var/spool/ml/etc/elena/aliases.
    If you encounter some errors, see 11.0

    If /var/spool/ml/elena already exists, makefml stops to avoid
    overwriting. If you want to force to overwrite elena ML, run

    	/usr/local/fml/makefml -F newml elena

    where -F is 'force'.

    In default examples are for sendmail. If you use qmail, please see
    INSTALL_with_QMAIL and examples generated by "makefml qmail-setup ML".
    Fml provides tips for each MTA such as:

    sendmail	INSTALL_with_SENDMAIL (almost dummy :-)
    postfix		INSTALL_with_POSTFIX
    qmail		INSTALL_with_QMAIL
    exim		INSTALL_with_EXIM

    Don't forget to permit relay from localhost since fml uses SMTP since
    latest MTA rejects mail relay in default.
    Please see manuals and faq's of MTA's.

    If you create another "mirei" ML, you do the same way again for mirei
    in replacing "elena" with "mirei".

    Created samples are the following files:

    [Files]
    	aliases		/etc/aliases samples
    	include		include file for post address
    	include-ctl	include file for command address
    	include-mead	not used in default. This is for mead
    			which analyzes error mails to remove obsolete address

    	config.ph	the FML configuration file for each ML

    	guide		guide
    	help		help for ML and user commands
    	help-admin	command index for remote administration
    	objective	objective of ML
    	welcome		when automatic subscription, we send back this file
    	confirm		send back this explanation when confirmation mode
    	crontab		vixie cron 's sample
    	deny		deny post from not member

    	fmlwrapper.c	C Wrapper
    	fmlwrapper.h	fmlwrapper.c header file

    5.2	Remove a Mailing List

    	rm -fr /var/spool/ml/listname

    and delete the entries in /etc/aliases.

    5.3	Digest Delivery

    Digest delivery is to send articles in one mail periodically not real
    time delivery of mail when the server receives mail.

    	% crontab /var/spool/ml/elena/crontab

    For each user who used "makefml newml listname", the user can find

    	/var/spool/ml/etc/crontab/user-name

    which entries are automatically added when you create a new ml.
    This file has all crontab entries the user administrates.

    	/var/spool/ml/etc/crontab/USERNAME

    Please use crontab(1) in the following way:

    	% crontab /var/spool/ml/etc/crontab/USERNAME
    	   or
    	% crontab /var/spool/ml/etc/crontab/USERNAME.master (see below)

    cron wakes up periodically, checks articles in the mailing list spool
    and deliver articles in one mail.

    If your OS has not Vixie cron, please see the manual of "crontab" or
    the chapter on "cron" of doc/English/ in the fml source.

    =
    ***** When a lot of ML run in ONE MACHINE? (must be always yes on ISP
    ***** accounts)?

    When in operational point of view, as usual to say, a lot of people
    should avoid to run programs simultaneously on one machine. Plural
    people run msend programs for plural ML's, each msend should run in
    shifted phase, 10:00 min for A ML, 10:03 min for B ML, 10:06 for C
    ML... Cron does its work as defined but not tunes itself up. System
    administrator should check its system tuning.

    /var/spool/ml/etc/crontab/USERNAME.master helps you to avoid
    concurrent plural msend running. This crontab example follows:

       0 * * * * /usr/local/fml/bin/msend_master.sh -E /usr/local/fml -M /var/spool/ml

    You should run msend in order, now elena, next mirei, ...
    msend_master.sh kicks off msend.pl in order for each ML's in
    /var/spool/ml (-M option).

    Crontab Example to avoid concurrent msend running:

       0 * * * * /usr/local/fml/msend.pl /var/spool/ml/elena -q
       2 * * * * /usr/local/fml/msend.pl /var/spool/ml/mirei -q
       4 * * * * /usr/local/fml/msend.pl /var/spool/ml/anna  -q

    5.4	fmlserv (Listserv or majordomo like interface for fml)

    "fmlserv" is listserv/majordomo style emulator. If you would like to
    set up it, run

    	/usr/local/fml/makefml fmlserv

    You can see the example setting in

    	/var/spool/ml/fmlserv

    Please cut and paste the example of "aliases" which is seen in the
    last of "makefml" for /etc/aliases and do "newaliases".
    To check the action of "fmlserv", please send "help" to the
    fmlserv@your-domain.

    The command syntax of "fmlserv" is

    	command	   listname   [arguments or options]

    Precisely speaking, "fmlserv" recognizes a command for each mailing
    list as the syntax above. The part of "listname" is added to the
    default fml command syntax.

    In fml, "config.ph" for each ML defines each command set for each ML.
    fmlserv can understand each proper commands defined for each mailing
    list since fmlserv can emulate each mailing list in the action.
    fmlserv just offers in another "fmlserv" (listserv) syntax.

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    Copyright (C) 1993-2000 Ken'ichi Fukamachi
    All rights of this page is reserved.

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