I am trying to customize my monthly password reminder for a specific list. As I understood the documentation, in 'templates' I had to create the directory path 'lists/<list name>/en' and place an edited copy of 'userpass.txt' into it. However, when the monthly reminder is sent, it uses the original default text for the reminder. What am I misunderstanding about the hierarchy of customized files? TIA.
Dennis Putnam wrote:
I am trying to customize my monthly password reminder for a specific list. As I understood the documentation, in 'templates' I had to create the directory path 'lists/<list name>/en' and place an edited copy of 'userpass.txt' into it. However, when the monthly reminder is sent, it uses the original default text for the reminder. What am I misunderstanding about the hierarchy of customized files? TIA.
First of all, the template for monthly reminders is cronpass.txt, not userpass.txt. userpass.txt is for 'on demand' reminders, but that isn't the only issue.
A second issue is list specific templates do not go in templates/lists/<listname>/<lc>/. They go in a language (en or whatever) directory in the already existing lists/<listname> directory (the directory that contains config.pck), but there is yet another issue.
Monthly password reminders are sent from the site (mailman) list. A single reminder message includes passwords for all lists with the same host_name to which the recipient is subscribed with reminders enabled. Thus, the template is processed without a list context, and a customized cronpass.txt template placed in a list directory will not be consulted. You have to put it in templates/site/en/cronpass.txt or templates/<host_name>/en/cronpass.txt, and it will apply to reminders for all lists or all lists with that host_name.
I have just updated the FAQ at <http://wiki.list.org/x/jYA9> to mention this fact.
-- Mark Sapiro <mark@msapiro.net> The highway is for gamblers, San Francisco Bay Area, California better use your sense - B. Dylan
Thanks for the reply. The information that I want to add to the monthly reminder is specific to the members of one particular list. While I guess it does not hurt to send it to all lists if I word it correctly, it would be nice to have list specific reminders. Is there a relatively simple way around this or is it hard coded? Perhaps this could be added as a feature for a future release.
On 10/2/2011 10:45 PM, Mark Sapiro wrote:
Dennis Putnam wrote:
I am trying to customize my monthly password reminder for a specific list. As I understood the documentation, in 'templates' I had to create the directory path 'lists/<list name>/en' and place an edited copy of 'userpass.txt' into it. However, when the monthly reminder is sent, it uses the original default text for the reminder. What am I misunderstanding about the hierarchy of customized files? TIA.
First of all, the template for monthly reminders is cronpass.txt, not userpass.txt. userpass.txt is for 'on demand' reminders, but that isn't the only issue.
A second issue is list specific templates do not go in templates/lists/<listname>/<lc>/. They go in a language (en or whatever) directory in the already existing lists/<listname> directory (the directory that contains config.pck), but there is yet another issue.
Monthly password reminders are sent from the site (mailman) list. A single reminder message includes passwords for all lists with the same host_name to which the recipient is subscribed with reminders enabled. Thus, the template is processed without a list context, and a customized cronpass.txt template placed in a list directory will not be consulted. You have to put it in templates/site/en/cronpass.txt or templates/<host_name>/en/cronpass.txt, and it will apply to reminders for all lists or all lists with that host_name.
I have just updated the FAQ at <http://wiki.list.org/x/jYA9> to mention this fact.
On 10/4/11 11:04 AM, Dennis Putnam wrote:
Thanks for the reply. The information that I want to add to the monthly reminder is specific to the members of one particular list. While I guess it does not hurt to send it to all lists if I word it correctly, it would be nice to have list specific reminders. Is there a relatively simple way around this or is it hard coded? Perhaps this could be added as a feature for a future release.
I think the issue is that while their are per list options for a subscriber, the password is a global setting for that email address, so the reminder is by nature not list specific. If you have multiple list subscriptions on one server, you get only a single reminder message listing all the lists you are subscribed with. Which lists reminder should it use?
I suppose the generic reminder might be able to mark a spot for list specific insertions, and each list having (optional) text to add in there.
Dennis Putnam wrote:
Thanks for the reply. The information that I want to add to the monthly reminder is specific to the members of one particular list. While I guess it does not hurt to send it to all lists if I word it correctly, it would be nice to have list specific reminders. Is there a relatively simple way around this or is it hard coded? Perhaps this could be added as a feature for a future release.
There is a patch at <https://bugs.launchpad.net/mailman/+bug/867611> to enable per-list password reminders which will use a list specific cronpass.txt template. This patch will never be incorporated in a future Mailman 2.1.x release because it would be too annoying for people who are members of multiple lists in the installation[1], and it is moot for Mailman 3, but you are welcome to use it if you think it's appropriate for your installation.
[1] If you currently have users who report password reminders as spam from your server to their ISPs, think what will happen if they start receiving a reminder per list instead of just one.
-- Mark Sapiro <mark@msapiro.net> The highway is for gamblers, San Francisco Bay Area, California better use your sense - B. Dylan
participants (3)
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Dennis Putnam -
Mark Sapiro -
Richard Damon