[Mailman-Users] Proxy Problems

[Chuck Dale]

Hi there,

I had a number of problems when initially using mailman due to the cache
hierarchy that I go through to access the web. I'm not sure if this has
been discussed but I'll explain the problem anyway.

The problem was that as I went through the Mailman admin site, the proxy
which made the request would change almost every page I loaded. So, for
example, if I was editing preferences then tried to press Save I would
be returned to the password entry page. The annoying thing was that I
could get it to work by submitting the form as many times until I got
the same cache and things worked ok.

I fixed the problem for the time being by changing my proxy to be one
further up the hierarchy so it would be the same every time. This isn't
really a long term solution though.

My ISP cache hierarchy goes like this:

   remote webserver

      ^
      |
      |

   connect.com.au caches - there are at least two on some sort of load
   balancing mechanism

      ^
      |
      |

   my ISP's cache (just one at the moment)

      ^
      |
      |

   my netscape

What session tracking does mailman do that causes these problems?
Cookies or what? Is there any setting to alleviate the symptoms? Or
additional coding that needs to be done? This is a very annoying problem
for new users and I know that a number of ISPs, at least in Oz, use a
similar hierarchy as connect.com have a big customer base and big cache.

Thanks for your time,
Chuck