Mailman 3 May 2007 - Mailman-Users

"No subject" messages in archives
by Ivan Van Laningham 25 May '07

25 May '07

Hi All-- I have managed to recover and restore all the archives, covering eight or nine years, for all my mailing lists, following the excellent advice and pointers given by members of this list. But I have one list for which I used archives from two previous incarnations of the list, plus the current archive mbox, as input to arch. I made sure that the previous archives were in mbox format and that they contained only one "From " line per message. Once I was convinced they were all ready, I combined the old archive mbox with the current archive mbox using cat, and ran arch. It worked perfectly, creating archive pages going all the way back to 1999, except that in the archive page for the month in which I ran arch (May) for the day on which I ran it (May 7), I have in the vicinity of 5000 entries for messages with "No subject" and no body. The index page for May looks like this: # [Guppies] Malice 2008 Suzanne Williams # No subject # No subject # No subject ... 5000 entries # No subject # No subject # [Guppies] harsh words for cheating peg908 at aol.com # [Guppies] harsh words for cheating Vwright I tried to find these mysterious entries in the current archive mbox, but they don't appear. The _only_ thing I can see, in the current mbox, is that the end of the last message from the old archives ends on one line and the "From " line for the next message begins on the very next line, with no blank lines between, and everywhere else there are either one or more blank lines or one of those message separator lines from AOL: >"----------MB_8C9379FAFA8ECEC_DAC_6C2A_WEBMAIL-MC05.sysops.aol.com--"< These bogus entries aren't really hurting anything, I suppose, but they are annoying and it is irritating to have to scroll down 5000 lines to get to the next real message. What is causing this? And is there anything I can do to get rid of the problem? I am willing to live with it if I have to, but I would prefer having a fix. Thanks! Metta, Ivan -- Ivan Van Laningham God N Locomotive Works http://www.pauahtun.org/ http://www.python.org/workshops/1998-11/proceedings/papers/laningham/laning… Army Signal Corps: Cu Chi, Class of '70 Author: Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours

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Moving Lists
by carconni 25 May '07

25 May '07

Hi, I'm having some trouble with my mail server (xserve 10.4.9). We discovered that there were some hardware issues and I'm in the process of building a new mail server to replace the old. I understand that the current MAC OS doesn't support clustering so what we would like to do is move user data to a shared drive. The service will remain on the server but we'd like to move the data to a shared file system. Only one server will be processing mail but because of multiple failures, we'd like to find a way to safeguard our data. I'm moving postfix's /var/spool to /mounted_file_share/mail/var/spool and I've changed the path in the main.cf file to point to it. Is there anyway to do this with mailman? Can I move /var/mailman to / mounted_file_share/var/mailman and is there a configuration file in / usr/share/mailman that I should modify? Thank you

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Configuration script bails
by Douglas Phillipson 24 May '07

24 May '07

Installed on Debian Testing, mailman updates fail, causing other packages to fail to install with the following output, any help would be greatly appreciated... Doug P apt-get install mailman Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree... Done mailman is already the newest version. 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 109 not upgraded. 1 not fully installed or removed. Need to get 0B of archives. After unpacking 0B of additional disk space will be used. Setting up mailman (2.1.9-7) ... Looking for enabled languages (this may take some time) ... done. Installing site language en ............................................ done. No updates are necessary. Traceback (most recent call last): File "/var/lib/mailman/bin/withlist", line 297, in ? main() File "/var/lib/mailman/bin/withlist", line 272, in main r = [do_list(listname, args, func) for listname in Utils.list_names()] File "/var/lib/mailman/bin/withlist", line 201, in do_list return func(m, *args) File "/usr/lib/mailman/bin/unicodify_archives.py", line 59, in unicodify_archives h.database.mapKeys(unicodify_fst, archive, hdr) File "/var/lib/mailman/Mailman/Archiver/HyperDatabase.py", line 341, in mapKeys self.__openIndices(archive) File "/var/lib/mailman/Mailman/Archiver/HyperDatabase.py", line 251, in __openIndices t = DumbBTree(os.path.join(arcdir, archive + '-' + i)) File "/var/lib/mailman/Mailman/Archiver/HyperDatabase.py", line 65, in __init__ self.load() File "/var/lib/mailman/Mailman/Archiver/HyperDatabase.py", line 170, in load self.dict = marshal.load(fp) ValueError: bad marshal data dpkg: error processing mailman (--configure): subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1 Errors were encountered while processing: mailman

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Mailing lists fail
by Aaron Schubert 24 May '07

24 May '07

We are currently are running mailman on a Redhat box called listserv. This box sits in the DMZ. We also have our mail servers which are sitting inside the DMZ which pass traffic to our sendmail relay box to get to "listserv". Our mail is current mail setup looks like this: Groupwise --------> Sendmail Relay ----------> Listserv (Client mails to list) (Relays mail to DMZ) (Accepts list and mails out) Once listserv gets the mail it then delivers to the recipients. It's route is like this: Listserv ----------->Sendmail Relay------------>Recipients (Can be internal or external) On the Sendmail Relay I see mail successfully going from Groupwise to Relay to Listserv. They are all accepted and reach the correct place. But when Listserv sends the mail back out to the recipients I see the following errors on the Relay server from the maillog: Listserv maillog: stat=Deferred: Connection timed out with sendmailrelay.xxxxx.xxxx Sendmail Relay maillog: May 23 14:07:31 hostname sendmail[19397]: l4NJ1qpd019397: listserv.xxxx.xxxx [xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx] did not issue MAIL/EXPN/VRFY/ETRN during connection to MTA May 23 14:14:32 hostname sendmail[19439]: l4NJEUUY019439: lost input channel from xxxx.xxxx.xxxx [xxx.xxx.xx.xxx] to MTA after mail I have replaced the hostnames and ip addresses with xx for security reasons. The mail successfully makes it from the user through the relay and then to the listserv. But when it comes bash through, it get the errors. I can telnet to the sendmail relay on port 25 from listserv just fine, I can send and external mail to my earthlink account from listserv just fine using the command line "mail -s Test xxxxx(a)earthlink.net. I can see my mail successfully go through the listserv and the mail relay, then out. But when it tries to send outbound to a list is when it doesn't go through and I see the message. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

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MSN and HotMail "Eating" Messages
by fshagan 24 May '07

24 May '07

Recently, my Mailman list users who use either a HotMail or MSN.COM email address have not received any messages. Mailman does not record a "bounce" from these email addresses, but they do not receive any of the list traffic. When trying to send a message to a Mailman list, the user gets the following error message: "This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification. Delivery to the following recipients failed." And it lists the Mailman list email address. However, Mailman does not receive a bounce message. (My server is not listed with SpamHaus.org, or any of the other blacklists, so it should not be a spam filter sort of thing). One user requested help from MSN, and they responded with: "You are experiencing this issue because your .Net Passport <user's email address here> Profile (which is extensively used for authentication purposes) is corrupted (not updated). In order to resolve this issue, I would suggest you to Update your .NET passport profile." They follow that with instructions to go to their MSN .NET Passport profile and re-type all the information by hand (not by cut and paste). Then a 15-step procedure is given to delete all cookies, history and temporary internet files and re-set the disk cache (space for files) to 10MB. They believe that will solve the problem but alas, it has not for the 4 users I have with MSN or HotMail email addresses. Anyone else run into this and resolved it? I didn't see anything in the archives. If any of you have users with MSN or HotMail addresses, be advised they probably will not be able to receive emails, but you will not get "bounce" messages. They only way they will know is if they try to post to a Mailman list.

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mailman aliases
by Christopher Adams 24 May '07

24 May '07

Just for clarification, what is the use for the mailman list that is listed in the aliases file? Is this a required list and if so, what is it's purpose. If that is not required, what are the necessary entries in the aliases file to take care of mailman-bounces, mailman-owner, etc? Would that just be aliases to individual email addresses to take care of messages pointed to those mailman addresses. I have been runnning mailman for a number of years and it recently was pointed out that the mailman(a)mydomain.com didn't go anywhere. So, I added an alias to it and to mailman-owner and mailman-bounces to my email address in the aliases file. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree here, but these have to point somewhere. I have read through the Mailman installation docs and FAQ, but can't find a definitive answer. Pointing me to some documentation would be sufficient. Thanks -- Christopher Adams adamsca(a)gmail.com

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Re: [Mailman-Users] Subject Lines Wrapped After Commas, (LikeThis?)
by Mark Sapiro 23 May '07

23 May '07

Mike Ewall wrote: > >Thanks for clarifying the terms for me and for explaining how the >subject line behavior works. Unfortunately, this isn't the first >"feature" of Mailman that I see as a bug. I don't know about other >email readers, but in Eudora, only the part of the subject before the >fold shows up in the table of contents, making this feature rather annoying. It is the underlying Python email library that folds the Subject: header and determines where to fold. You could argue that it shouldn't give preference to foldable whitespace following a comma or semicolon in the unencoded value of the subject as these aren't syntactically significant in a subject, and that may be valid, but it is still folding in a standards compliant manner. I would argue that Eudora is much more at fault here for not unfolding the subject before presenting it in its TOC. What does Eudora do with RFC 2047 encoded Subject: headers such as the example in section 8 of the RFC (http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2047.html>. >I'd very much prefer to have things folded without regard to commas, >as in your examples below. If Eudora would unfold the header before putting as much as fits into the subject field of its TOC, this wouldn't be an issue. From my point of view, you're asking that Mailman, which is already standards compliant, alter its behavior to compensate for a non-compliant MUA. >Is there any way to configure Mailman not to fold at higher-level >syntactic breaks? No. I think that this would require modifying the Header module in the Python email library. -- Mark Sapiro <msapiro(a)value.net> The highway is for gamblers, San Francisco Bay Area, California better use your sense - B. Dylan

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Subject Lines Wrapped After Commas, (Like This?)
by Mike Ewall 23 May '07

23 May '07

I've noticed that on several Mailman lists I'm running, subject lines sometimes get chopped after commas or semicolons. This doesn't always happen, though. It's not just a matter of things being chopped after the 78-or-so chars, either. Sometimes, it's after a single word. Below are examples from a list I run on ethanol issues. The first batch are examples with commas that came through just fine. Below it are examples where the subject lines got chopped/wrapped prematurely. This always happens at commas or semicolons. I'm running Mailman version "2.1.9.cp2" (control panel 2?). Any guidance on how to stop this inappropriate subject line wrapping would be much appreciated. Mike ----- *** THESE CAME THROUGH FINE *** Subject: [Ethanol] Ethanol plant question,Palestine Il?? Subject: [Ethanol] Barrie, Ontario vs. proposed ethanol plant Subject: [Ethanol] Jim Dunn vs."dumbest" PA ethanol plans. U.S. Taxpayers pay, Russians profit! Subject: [Ethanol] Tufts' Grant Reid: ETHANOL, SNAKE OIL FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Subject: [Ethanol] ABC, MSNBC, etc.: Not "green, " ethanol = more smog, cancer, death *** THIS MAY HAVE BEEN CHOPPED DUE TO LENGTH *** Subject: [Ethanol] UN warns: Biofuels risk farmers, food, environment, climate *** THESE WERE CHOPPED AFTER COMMAS OR SEMICOLONS PREMATURELY *** Subject: [Ethanol] Unlike U.S., Canada issues fines for railway ethanol spills Subject: [Ethanol] Not Iraq, is 2008 U.S. election' about who profits most from ethanol? Subject: [Ethanol] As in NY, Vinod Khosla's CA ethanol plans need "proper environmental review" Subject: [Ethanol] Genetically Engineered Biofuels: The Next Big, Dangerous Hoax Subject: [Ethanol] Wisconsin residents replace local officials, stop ethanol plant Subject: [Ethanol] Dover, Wisconsin ciizens VOTE on "monster" ethanol plant April 3 Subject: [Ethanol] Cambria, Wisconsin CITIZENS vote on a Didion ethanol plant April 3 Subject: [Ethanol] PA officials snub NC's ethanol-backing, job-hunting Bill Martin Subject: [Ethanol] Leaving E85 ethanol "mess" in NC, Bill Martin job-hunts in PA Subject: [Ethanol] PA newspaper wins top award; blew whistle on secret ethanol study Subject: [Ethanol] NY drops ethanol from energy agenda; favors wind, solar power

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one mailman installation and lists for two domains
by TRON478 22 May '07

22 May '07

Hi, i have set up a linux machine with mailman successfully. it works fine. now i need a second mailinglist but based on another domain. That means i have the first domain = lists.myfirstdomain.com -> this works, now i need to set up a second domain -> lists.myseconddomain.com with mailinglists. Is that possible? And if yes, how to make it? thanks yavuz

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How to change subscriber address
by Mailman Users 22 May '07

22 May '07

I'm running Mailman 2.1.9 with RHEL. Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS release 3 (Taroon Update 1) The question is how can a user change their subscription address? The web page http://system.name/mailman/options/listname shows a place to enter a new address. This does not actually change the user's subscription address. What do I have wrong here? Thanks. Charlie Smith charlie at elektro.cmhnet.org

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Mailman-Users May 2007