[Mailman-Users] Mailman Problems under OSX Lion

[Lindsay Haisley]

On Sun, 2012-08-19 at 12:22 +0900, Matthias Schmidt wrote:
> Am 13.08.2012 um 00:25 schrieb David Dodell:
> 
> > This list is my last hope on getting my problems fixed.
> > 
> > I am running OSX Lion  (not Mountain Lion).     Mailman was part of
> > the default installation.
> > 
> > I have two issues which I have gotten absolutely no help from Apple
> > Enterprise Support ... basic answer, we don't support open source >
> > software and couldn't answer me on why they installed / advertised >
> > mailing lists but don't support it ... but I regress.

There are lots of mailing lists available.  Mailman is only one of them.
Apple no doubt supports _a_ mailing list, but as Apple Enterprise
Support says, one can seldom expect support from a proprietary software
vendor for software which isn't their own.

> > (1) First issue is cosmetic.    At the bottom of each administrative
> > page, mailman does not display the icons which I see on ever other >
> > mailman website ... basically the mailman / python logos.   Not a >
> > real big deal, besides the cosmetic irk.   I've checked the docs, >
> > found the path in the config file, and sure enough the images are  >
> > there in the path, but they still do not display.   Ideas?
> 
> where is apache looking for the icons.
> I think I read on the OS X Server List that the icons are on a
> different place than they should be.

Look in your apache error log.  If a page is trying to display a
graphic, another page, or any file that's linked from a served page, and
apache can't find it, it'll log the error.

> > (2) Second issue is more serious.    I can't get list moderation to
> > work.    A message comes in to be moderator, I get email
>> notification of this.   However, if I login to the administrator
>> page, "pending moderator requests", if I try to approve, reject, or
>> any other command on that page, NOTHING happens ... the message keeps
>> appearing, no action is taken etc.
> 
> anything in the logs (apache, mailman ...)?

The vast majority of problems on any Unix type system leave footprints
in logs at a system level.  These are definitely your first recourse in
any investigation.  Logs in Unix-type OSes (OS X, Linux, BSD, etc.) are
almost invariably in /var/log, and are one of the things I really love
about Unix-flavor systems :)

> > 
> > I've repaired all permissions, but besides that, lost on what to try
> > next.
> 
> did you try your own install of mailman as it was suggested on the os
> x server list?

I've very frequently had the best luck installing Mailman (and other
software packages) from a tarball and _slavishly_ following the install
directions.  My policy on such installs out of the chute is: do not
deviate, do not pass Go, do not collect even a singly byte of what you
perceive as slack!  If the install screws up and some part of it won't
work, you have a clear path back from which others on forums such as
this one can follow your tracks, plus if there's a genuine bug, you can
report it as same without concern that it might be the result of some
step you skipped, or added, or some non-standard procedure that you
followed.  If one does a totally politically correct install, and still
has problems, then it's time for some sleuthing and experimentation.

-- 
Lindsay Haisley       | "Never expect the people who caused a problem
FMP Computer Services |  to solve it." - Albert Einstein
512-259-1190          |        
http://www.fmp.com    |