[Mailman-Users] Digest "flag" in membership list? ...

[Jason LaMar]

A disclaimer: I realize our implementation is not at all what was intended
for "typical" Mailman usage, but ...

We have lists where:

* the subscribers don't know their individual passwords for Web access

* the subscribers don't have Web access to Mailman subscription features

* we (the admins) manually control whether subscribers get to use digest
mode, based on their e-mail requests

The lists are set up this way because this is the main "campus-wide
alert/announcement system" for e-mail, so we want to guarantee that everyone
is SUPPOSED to get every message sent to these lists.

OK, so here's the kicker. Based on a somewhat transient user population (we
regularly lose and add a small fraction of students, and sometimes even
employees), we've developed an external script to regularly cross-check the
current subscriber list and then update it with subscriber additions and
removals as necessary.

Unfortunately, when the lists are "refreshed," all individual subscriber
parameters (like digest mode) are wiped out to their defaults. So my
question is: Is there some sort of flag associated with each subscriber
entry that indicates digest usage, that we should be sure not to touch
during the list refresh? Or, to put it more broadly, how would you suggest
doing backend (non-subscriber) list maintenance that doesn't impact
individual subscriber preferences?



Thanks,

Jason

_________________________

Jason LaMar
Interim Director of Information Services
Libraries and Information Services
Ohio Wesleyan University; Delaware, OH 43015
Tel: 740-368-3131, Fax: 740-368-3272, Web: http://www.owu.edu/