[Mailman-Users] Search and import

[Brad Knowles]

At 10:46 AM +1000 2005-08-11, Kai Hendry wrote:

>>  >  I have a bunch of emails from another system that I wish to import
>>  >to mailman.
>>  	Not a problem.  The answer is in the FAQ.
>
>  Aha!
>  http://www.python.org/cgi-bin/faqw-mm.py?req=show&file=faq05.001.htp
>
>  I wonder how I convert my messages which are individual files to a mbox?
>  Just cat them?

	No, you can't just "cat" them.  7th edition mbox format is very 
specific in terms of the delimiter characters.  Usually the 
safest/easiest thing to do is to re-process the individual files with 
the "formmail" program from the "procmail" package, in order to turn 
them into the correct 7th edition mbox format mailbox.

	This answer is definitely in the archives, and should also have 
been in the FAQ.

>>  	The issue here is that Mailman was never designed to be abused in
>>  the way that hosting companies are now doing.  It was intended to be
>>  something that an organization sets up for itself, and where you've
>>  got complete control over everything yourself.  It was never intended
>>  to be used in a hosting environment.  People who abuse it in that way
>>  need to provide a lot of support to their hosting customers,
>>  otherwise you lose much of the functionality.
>
>  Please! I think it is a bit harsh to call it "abuse".

	Mailman was never designed to be used that way, so it is quite 
appropriate to call it abuse.  Especially in the case where hosting 
providers put the program up and then say that they don't provide any 
support for it.

	If you were one of the principal authors of Mailman, or one of 
the administrators/moderators of the mailman-users mailing list, I 
might be willing to listen to your arguments on this matter.

>  Ideally there should be a mail or Web interface for this feature.

	Which is why you should file an RFE at the SourceForge Mailman 
Request For Enhancement page at 
<http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=103&atid=350103>.

-- 
Brad Knowles, <brad at stop.mail-abuse.org>

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

     -- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), reply of the Pennsylvania
     Assembly to the Governor, November 11, 1755

   SAGE member since 1995.  See <http://www.sage.org/> for more info.