[Mailman-Users] Mailman

[Jeffrey Goldberg]

On May 1, 2009, at 2:37 PM, Mike Hughes wrote:

> I have a mailing list that has been running under Mailman. Another  
> fellow has been hosting the mailing list for me. I would like to  
> begin doing so myself. I have a computer available for the task.  
> What Linux version will work best?

Use whatever version of Linux (or other Unix) you are most comfortable  
administering.  Because it will be an Internet facing server, you (or  
someone) will have to keep up with security updates.  Note that you  
can run Mailman on OS X, which you appear to have some familiarity  
with.   Any modern Unix-like system will do, but choose something that  
you will be able to maintain.

> What will I need to do to set up mailman?

You personally or someone else working with you will need to  
understand mail transport and what it means to be running a machine  
that receives and sends mail to the Internet.

With apologies for sounding patronizing, but the fact that you asked  
the question above makes me doubt that you currently have that  
understanding.  But that's okay as long as you are willing to learn.   
But there is much more to learn than just installing and configuring a  
couple of software packages.  Getting your DNS records configured so  
that your mailserver doesn't look like a source of spam takes work and  
thought.

This stuff is great fun to learn, but have someone close at hand who  
you can consult with and who can look over your shoulder and offer  
advice.

If your question was what other packages does mailman depend on, that  
information is in the installation guide.  But basically you will need

  Apache (other webservers will work, but all of the examples that  
you'll see for things use Apache),
  python,
  an MTA,  (I use postfix; I like exim a whole lot, and sendmail  
remains very popular).
  cron (or on OS X, launchd.).

You will probably want to have spam filtering as well, SpamAssassin is  
a popular choice.  If you want to add virus checking of mail, then  
something like clamav is a good choice.

Your server will need

  A static public IP address.
  Proper DNS PTR and A records (getting the proper PTR records can be  
a frustrating experience).
  DNS MX record

Best wishes,

-j


-- 
Jeffrey Goldberg                        http://www.goldmark.org/jeff/